Upper Mac Supervisors Squabble About Open Position

Upper Macungie Township supervisors tabled discussion on whether to advertise the soon-to-be-open position of Director of Community Development, which will be vacated by the retirement of Bruce Wlazelek later this year.

Supervisors Kathy Rader and Sam Ashmar verbally sparred  during Thursday night's agenda session concerning the need to fill the position or delegate the duties to existing employees in order to save salary and benefit costs.

Rader suggested forming an ad hoc committee to interview up to 10 potential candidates and narrow down the field in order to make an August hire. Wlazelek is scheduled to retire in late October or early November.

Ashmar, who also sits on the township's Planning Commission, suggested many of Wlazelek's building code responsibilities either went away or have been delegated elsewhere.

"We've already grown a lot," Ashmar said. "In my opinion, we're looking too quickly. We'll fill the position and the role when the need arises and at the appropriate time. We don't have an economy that's robust and we don't need to spend the salary and benefits."

Rader warned that not filling Wlazelek's position would be a mistake.

"What township of our caliber doesn't have a similar position?" Rader said. "We need to get moving on this. It's important to find a new person to start in August and work with Bruce until he retires."

Rader reiterated Wlazelek's important role on the Planning Commission and the amount of planning work needed when companies continually move into the township's industrial parks.

Township building code official Ken Moloney told supervisors that Upper Macungie, which boasts a population of just more than 20,000 as of the 2010 U.S. Census, is nearly built out on a residential scale.

"There's no more land to develop in the township. There might be room for about 1,500 more homes and then we're built out," Moloney said. "You might hire someone now, but you won't need them down the road."

He added that delegating Wlazelek's remaining duties might be cheaper than hiring a new employee with a full salary and benefits.

Supervisor chairman Edward Earley abstained on the vote, stating he hadn't discussed it yet, and the matter will be carried over to June's meeting.

In related news, Earley responded to a query from resident Phil DelVecchio and stated that the hiring of a was "an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy."

DelVecchio asked the board about the possibility of such a hire last December.

Earley said he spoke with all five township department heads and all agreed that hiring for such a position -- with a salary of about $110,000 plus benefits -- was quite costly at this juncture.

"It's not a dead issue," Earley said. "We can see how it plays out. Certainly, Mr. Wlazelek's departure is another layer."

Ashmar concurred. "It's not off the table," he said. "We're trying to be (fiscally) conservative."

Upper Macungie residents incurred a 1-mil tax increase in 2011.