Hempfield supervisors are considering hiring an assistant township manager instead of filling a planner position that has been open for a year.
Supervisors John Silvis and Doug Weimer said the administrative position being advertised would assume some of the work undertaken by township Manager Rob Ritson, who has filled the planning role since Benjamin J. Breniman resigned after a year on the job.
In addition to planning duties, in the past year Ritson's job has expanded to run a public safety task force, oversee an update to the township's zoning ordinance, and serve as a project manager for a new recreation building at Hempfield Park.
While some planning would be among the assistant manager's duties, the supervisors have decided to hire someone who also would handle constituent services and participate in the daily township operations.
"We're a growing township and we're changing our style of doing business," said Silvis, the board's chairman. "We're not just snow removal and roads. As people move in, they demand a lot more services."
Weimer said supervisors decided that hiring someone dedicated to planning wasn't the best fit for Hempfield.
Before Breniman was hired in February 2006, the township had been without a planning department since 2002, when supervisors eliminated it.
Weimer said the board has an ambitious agenda for 2008, including pursuing intermunicipal agreements for possible joint-purchasing services and considering recreation options that could be funded through fees developers pay in lieu of setting aside green space in new residential housing plans.
"We're looking at doing a lot more in the coming years, and we've got so much going on now that our manager -- we need more than one," Weimer said. "He can't be everywhere."
The township is accepting resumes until March 28.
Applicants are expected to have a minimum of two to five years of experience in municipal government and a bachelor's degree in public administration, business or a related field, with a minimum amount of experience in planning and land development. A salary range has not been set.
Larger text
Smaller text
Print this article
E-mail this article
