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Middle Smithfield board adopts ordinance to create township manager position
Summary
On May 28 the Middle Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 252 to create an office of township manager; the ordinance establishes appointment/removal rules and the manager’s duties but does not itself hire or set salary. Public commenters asked whether supervisors’ paid duties would be eliminated and about tax impacts.
The Middle Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 252 on May 28 to create a township manager position within a new Chapter 65 of the code of ordinances. The motion to adopt the ordinance was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote at the close of a public hearing.
Solicitor Pat Armstrong described the ordinance during the hearing as creating "a new chapter 65 township manager within the code of ordinances for Middle Smithfield Township, providing for the appointment and removal of the township manager as well as the qualifications and powers and duties associated with that job." Armstrong also noted the measure had been advertised in accordance with the Second Class Township Code.
The ordinance establishes the legal framework for appointing and removing a township manager and lists candidate qualifications and delegated powers; adopting the ordinance creates the position but does not hire anyone or set a salary. During public comment, a resident who identified herself as Regina asked whether "the township manager will obviously receive a salary and that the per DM pay that down supervisors used to get will be eliminated and supervisors will be strictly volunteer after this person is hired." The board and solicitor responded that supervisors currently receive a state stipend for their elected office and that a separate employment role can exist; they emphasized that adoption tonight would only create the position and any hiring, job posting and compensation decisions would come later as part of a separate process.
Board members discussed potential fiscal impacts and the hiring process; at the hearing the board repeatedly described the current vote as procedural (creating the position) and noted that details about candidate recruitment, specific job duties and the ultimate budgetary effect will be determined if and when the board seeks applicants and makes a hiring decision. No civil-service or compensation changes were enacted at the time of adoption.
The next steps the board signaled are posting the new job if it elects to recruit, collecting applications, interviewing candidates and returning to the board for any hiring action. The ordinance was recorded at the meeting as Ordinance No. 252 and was adopted by the board at the conclusion of the hearing.
Authorities referenced at the hearing include the Second Class Township Code (advertising and notice requirements) as the legal basis for the public hearing and adoption process. The board adjourned the public meeting and entered a brief executive session on personnel matters after taking other business.
