Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Government Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Middletown supervisors swear in elected officials, elect officers and confirm legal and engineering appointments
Summary
At a reorganization meeting, Middletown Township sworn in its newly elected auditor and supervisors, elected Bernadette Hannah as chair, confirmed multiple solicitor and engineer appointments and set administrative bonds and meeting schedules; most motions passed unanimously.
Bernadette Hannah was elected chair of the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors on a voice vote during the board’s reorganization meeting. The board also swore in newly elected officials and approved a slate of legal, engineering and administrative appointments.
Judge Dan Baranowski administered the oaths of office to newly elected auditor David Tilley, tax collector Ray Chapman and supervisors Ryan Layton and Christian Gallardo. After the swearing-in, board members congratulated the new officials and invited residents to volunteer for township boards and commissions.
The newly constituted board moved quickly through organizational business. Hannah nominated Ryan Layton for vice chair; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. Christian Gallardo was nominated and elected secretary. The board repeatedly recorded motions as passing by unanimous voice vote (5-0) on officer elections and appointments throughout the evening.
The board confirmed several outside counsel and professional appointments: Eckard Siemens as police labor attorney; Curtin & Heafner as township solicitor; Hill Wallach as non-police labor counsel; Kilkenny Law as zoning hearing board solicitor; Remington & Verneck as township engineers; and Pinoni as township traffic engineer. Those motions were made, seconded and carried by the board.
Other administrative actions included appointing the township manager to serve as assistant treasurer, assistant secretary and chief administrative officer for pensions; naming the finance director as township treasurer; establishing and authorizing advertisement of the board’s 2026 public meeting schedule; and setting bond limits of $4,000,000 for the treasurer, assistant treasurer and township manager.
Township Manager Ratliff noted that several firms held their rates from 2025 to 2026, saying the firms “held their rates, to the township steady from 2025 to 2026” and that there was “no increase in their billable hours.” Board members thanked volunteers and reappointed numerous residents to boards and commissions, including specific appointments to the financial advisory committee and planning-related boards.
The board also filled a one-year vacancy on the zoning hearing board, appointing James Romancek. Following the organizational business and brief public comment about other vacancies, a motion to adjourn was made and the meeting concluded.
The board recorded the motions as passed by voice vote where noted in the transcript; specific roll-call vote names were not recorded in the meeting text. The board did not take policy votes on substantive land-use or budget matters at this meeting; most business at the session was procedural organization and appointment of outside firms and volunteers.
