Harrisburg committee advances finance director confirmation, county tax-committee appointment

Harrisburg City Counciladministration committee members on Tuesday discussed and advanced two related resolutions that would appoint Robert C. Kennick II as the citydirector of financial management and designate him as Harrisburgs voting delegate to the Dauphin County Tax Collection Committee. Both items were moved to the councillegislative session agenda for a formal vote.

The measures matter because the delegate role implements local compliance with county-level tax collection rules and the finance director oversees the citydepartment during ongoing audit and reporting obligations. President Bowers read the resolutions into the record and asked Kennick to introduce himself.

Robert C. Kennick II, identified in the meeting as the cityfinance director, told council he had attended a single Dauphin County Tax Collection Committee meeting since taking the role and observed little dissension there. "For Dauphin County, I've only attended one meeting so far," Kennick said. "From what I was able to observe, they seem to have their ducks pretty much lined up in a row. There seemed to be very little dissension among the ranks. For the most part, it looks like I would probably just stay the course within the Dauphin County Tax Collection outfit, unless something were to surface here that would cause me to think otherwise."

The administration committee noted Kennick replaces the cityformer director of financial management, Marita Kelly, for the Dauphin County delegate slot. The committee also referenced statutory authority: "Section 505(b) of Act 32 requires the governing body of school districts, townships, boroughs, and cities to appoint a voting delegate to represent the entity on the tax collection committee," President Bowers said.

On his goals as finance director, Kennick said he planned to focus on rebuilding the finance team, moving audit completions back on schedule and meeting government reporting requirements. He told council he had passed all parts of the Maryland CPA exam and had private-sector controllership experience, and that he had already adjusted the timing of a fuel tax report so eleven months of annual data could be completed in advance of the January filing.

Council members asked about residency and conflicts of interest. Kennick said he was not employed elsewhere and had no apparent conflicts; he noted he does not currently live in Harrisburg and did not plan to move at this time. Multiple council members expressed no immediate questions; President Bowers moved both resolutions to the next legislative session for a formal vote.

Formal votes on the resolutions were not taken at the work session; the measures were advanced for consideration at the councillegislative meeting.

The administration committee will present the resolutions for formal action at the next legislative session; details on the scheduled vote were not provided during the work session.