Newly Hired Upper Dublin Township Manager To Start Job In July

UPPER DUBLIN, PA — After seeking a replacement to take over for longtime township manager Paul Leonard, Upper Dublin officials announced recently that they have hired a new administrator to oversee this eastern Montgomery County municipality.

Upper Dublin commissioners recently approved the hiring of Kurt Ferguson as the new township manager.

He is scheduled to begin his position in early July.

"He's real excited. We're real excited," Upper Dublin Board of Commissioners President Ira Tackel told Patch in an interview.

Tackel said the township began seeking interested applicants back in January, undergoing what he said was a "deliberative, arduous process of recruitment."

A total of 16 people applied for the position, with four ultimately being interviewed.

Tackel said the board ended up choosing Ferguson, the current township manager in Lower Makefield, Bucks County, because they were impressed by his resume.

"There's no question that we got the cream of the crop," Tackel said of Ferguson.

In an interview with Patch, Ferguson, 53, who has been with Lower Makefield for the past four years, said he's very excited about the position he'll be starting this summer.

"For me, Upper Dublin is a destination position that I just had to take a chance at," he said. "Fortunately, they offered me the job so my strong desire is that this will be the last job of my career."

Ferguson, who originally hails from the Pittsburgh area, came to southeastern Pennsylvania 10 years ago to take a position in neighboring Bucks County

He first served as the manager in Newtown Township for six years and then got the job in Lower Makefield Township, where he has been for the past four years.

Ferguson, who resides in Doylestown, Bucks County, said that he knew of former Upper Dublin Township Manager Paul Leonard by reputation in the region.

Leonard was one of the longest-serving municipal managers in the area before he retired after 26 years of service back in January.

Ferguson agreed that he has big shoes to fill after the departure of Leonard, who was also a volunteer firefighter and heavily involved in emergency management in the region.

But he also said he's more than up to the challenge.

"I'm as committed to public service as he [Leonard] was," Ferguson said. "I love public service and I'm excited to get going."

Ferguson said while he doesn't officially start until early July, he has visited the government complex since his hiring, meeting with township staffers and learning about the community so that he can "hit the ground running" when he starts this summer.