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Township’s personnel takes over

By Patty Yauger 4 min read

CONNELLSVILLE TWP. – Supervisors took little time to clear personnel from the township payroll and install others for the positions during the Tuesday reorganization meeting for the municipality. Shortly after Sally Stoots took the supervisor oath of office administered by Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty, by a 2-to-1 vote margin, the officials voted to replace the law firm of Cupp and Cupp with attorney Richard Bower as township solicitor and placed Leah Brothers in the position of secretary/treasurer, a post held by Evelyn Kuhns for the past year.

Newly elected tax collector Andrea Doppelheuer and re-elected constable Todd Brothers were also sworn into office by Haggerty.

Stoots’ resolutions to replace the legal counsel and secretary were supported by Supervisor Chairman Don Hann with Supervisor Charles Basinger casting the single dissenting vote.

“I believe it was time for a change,” said Stoots following the meeting concerning the removal of the Cupp and Cupp law firm and Kuhns. “Evelyn (Kuhns) has done a fine job, but we need to do things differently and Leah (Brothers) will help us do that.”

Supervisors approved Bower’s annual retainer fee of $750 and an $85 per hour cost for legal services.

Leah Brothers will receive an annual salary of $15,000 along with a $100 per month fee for the use of her home as an office.

Stoots said the supervisors are seeking office space where records can be stored and the public can easily access the facility.

“When we find something suitable and within our budget, we’ll move everything to the township office,” she said.

In other action, the supervisors approved Hann to serve as roadmaster at an hourly salary of $13.25 pending approval of the township auditors and the three officials as road superintendents at a yearly salary of $3,600.

Turning to other reorganization matters, the supervisors also conducted the following business:

– Agreed to conduct monthly meetings the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Connellsville Township Volunteer Fire Department social hall.

– Appointed Widmer Engineering Inc. of Connellsville as the township engineering firm.

– Named Jeff Stepanik as sewerage enforcement officer.

– Appointed K-2 Engineering as engineer for Uniform Construction Code inspections.

– Re-appointed Centax as wage tax collector.

– Named PNC Bank, Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust (PLGIT) and Scottdale Bank as municipal depositories.

– Elected Hann and Basinger as state convention voting delegates and agreed that all officials should attend local conventions.

– Named Todd Brothers as code enforcement officer and William Stoots as zoning officer and building code official.

– Appointed Allen Sandusky to a three-year term on the zoning hearing board and Dan Arnold to a two-year term. The board vacancy created with the earlier resignation of Sally Stoots will be addressed at a later time, said supervisors.

– Named Tom Fosbrink, Diane Cassidy, Evelyn Kuhns and Myra Opperman, to 4-, 3-, 2- and 1-year terms respectively, on the planning commission.

– Designated Fayette EMS as the township ambulance service.

– Appointed Robert Leiberger as emergency management coordinator and Charles Eicher as vacancy board chairman.

In addition to reorganization matters, the supervisors also agreed to re-open the municipal budget in order to revise the listing of expenditures, during the regular meeting of the panel.

While Hann supported the motion presented by Sally Stoots to restructure the 2006 spending plan to provide additional detail, Basinger declined to take part in the matter.

“We’ve operated this way in the past,” he said when casting his dissenting vote.

Bower said the revisions would eliminate general categories that are now a part of the budget and replace them with line items that would allow all officials and the public to track spending.

The supervisors will meet Jan. 17 to present the revised spending plan and Feb. 2 to adopt the budget. Both meetings are scheduled to be held at 7 p.m.

In other financial matters, the officials hired Johnson Tax Service of Connellsville to prepare the township employee payroll.

Turning to other matters, the officials also conducted the following business:

– Agreed to pay the $115 per person registration fee for the upcoming state township convention. Hann and Basinger will attend the conference.

– Reminded landlords that occupancy reports are due Jan. 31.

– Reminded residents that recyclable items are collected on the second and fourth Fridays of each month.

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