Salem Township supervisors reorganize board, approve appointments and 2025 administration

The Salem Township Board of Supervisors on Jan. 6, 2025, reorganized for the year, unanimously appointing Supervisor Bob Zundel as chairman, Supervisor Ken Trumbetta as vice chairman and Kelly Otto as secretary-treasurer, and approving a slate of departmental and volunteer appointments, administrative resolutions and the township’s 2025 meeting schedule.

The board’s organizational meeting at the Salem Township Municipal Building set leadership and administrative parameters for the coming year and addressed personnel, procurement and regulatory-administration matters that guide township operations. The votes confirmed legal, engineering and inspection relationships and adjusted employee compensation and standard reimbursement rates.

Supervisors approved a string of appointments and motions that established the board’s internal leadership and operational roles. The motion by Supervisor Ken Trumbetta to appoint Bob Zundel as chairman, seconded by Supervisor Kerry Jobe, passed unanimously, as did the motions appointing Trumbetta vice-chair and Otto secretary-treasurer. The board adopted Resolution 01-2025 to set Otto’s hourly pay from $24.00 to $25.25 and to increase annual vacation from 10 to 12 days.

The board also confirmed personnel and vendor roles: Doug Regola was named township engineer; Sam White was hired to audit the 2024 fiscal year for $7,775; Becky Maruca was appointed tax collector for Act 511 and institution-district taxes (compensation 4%), and for township real property taxes at 4% for the first $300,000 and 2% thereafter. The supervisors appointed Dave Jobe as primary sewage enforcement officer and Dan Dascani as secondary sewage enforcement officer. Several volunteer positions were affirmed, including Planning Commission and UCC Appeals Board members and Recreation Board volunteers.

Appointments to the township’s emergency and code functions were unanimous: Fred Cecchini was named emergency management coordinator and code enforcement officer, and Brandon Perfetta was appointed assistant emergency management coordinator. The board also appointed voting delegates to the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) convention and to the Westmoreland County Tax Collection Committee.

Several votes produced abstentions when the motion named the member being appointed to a salaried or paid operations role. When the board moved to appoint Supervisor Bob Zundel as full-time roadmaster he abstained; a separate motion to appoint Supervisor Ken Trumbetta as full-time roadmaster recorded Trumbetta’s abstention; and when the board appointed Supervisor Kerry Jobe as part-time roadmaster Jobe abstained. Each of those motions passed by majority vote.

The board approved a retainer arrangement for township legal services, voting to appoint Gary Falatovich as township solicitor at a $200 monthly retainer and $130 per hour for work outside monthly meetings. Residents raised concerns about whether solicitor services had been put out to bid. Resident Kent Boggs and resident Debbie Perino said they believed the position should be bid; Supervisor Bob Zundel responded that "Solicitor Falatovich has been here since 2002. We are confident that he will keep us out of lawsuits." Supervisor Kerry Jobe added that professional services are generally selected by interview rather than bid and said the local going rate exceeded $200 per hour.

On tax-collection staffing, the board tabled a proposed appointment of Marcy Montepart as deputy tax collector after resident Debbie Perino questioned why the tax collector’s son had been filling in during Becky Maruca’s illness. The supervisors said deputy appointments require bonding and judicial prerequisites and agreed to discuss the situation further with the tax collector.

On administrative policies and finance, the board approved Resolution 02-2025 naming First Commonwealth Bank, PNC Bank, S&T Bank, Commercial National Bank and Citizens Bank as township depositories; set the standard mileage reimbursement for 2025 at $0.70 per mile (up three cents from 2024 per PSATS/IRS guidance); and renewed membership in the Indiana-Westmoreland Council of Governments for $100.

The supervisors adopted Resolution 03-2025 to retain a third-party inspection agency to administer and enforce Ordinance No. 05-2004 and to handle plan review and permitting, and adopted Resolution 04-2025 making modifications to the fee schedule for on-lot sewage disposal systems. The board also approved the 2025 regular meeting calendar: monthly meetings on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., with the Planning Commission schedule set for monthly meetings at 6 p.m. to be held only if agenda items exist.

During old-business discussion, resident Eric Hageder asked for an update on the Crabtree sewage project; Supervisor Kerry Jobe said the intermunicipal group will report back after a scheduled meeting on Jan. 23, 2025. The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.; the first regular meeting of the year was set for Jan. 15, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the municipal building.

Quotes from the meeting reflect both resident concerns and board responses. On the solicitor appointment, Zundel said, "We are confident that he will keep us out of lawsuits." When asked by resident Eric Hageder, Kerry Jobe reported that one of the roadmasters worked "2 full days and 3 call outs" in 2024. The board repeatedly voted unanimously on most structural appointments and administrative resolutions, while the noted abstentions occurred only on motions to appoint sitting supervisors to paid roadmaster roles.

The board’s actions set the township’s administrative framework for 2025 and scheduled a follow-up on the Crabtree sewage matter; several resident questions were left for further clarification between the supervisors and the affected staff or appointees.