By Kelly Cantwell
Editor

While the Pierce Township trustees started the search for a new administrator thinking they wanted to keep all the duties the same, they have since found an option improve the way the township runs.

Administrator Tim Hershner resigned, effective July 2.

The trustees placed an advertisement on the Ohio Township Association website about a month ago for a new administrator. At the same time, they agreed to look at zoning, planning and engineering firms to work with to get them through the transition period and to see if they could have a long-term relationship with the firms, said trustee Bob Pautke.

The more the trustees looked into the idea of having four or more firms available to work with when needed and the more they talked with other municipalities about it, the more they liked the idea.

“We can get a deeper, broader set of expertise, more than just one person,” Pautke said.

So far the trustees have received an application from one firm, which they discussed during the July 13 meeting, and they expect to receive more. By using a firm the township will get deeper expertise at likely a lower cost. The administrator would then have less responsibility to do things like zoning, planning and grant writing.

For example, if road work needed to be done and the township needed engineering work, they would have to either do it in house or look for a firm. If they already have a relationship with a firm, then they could call them in for the project, Pautke said.

Or, a firm could look for and apply for grants for the parks and recreation department, which would likely have a higher chance of getting approved.

Attempting to find a new administrator that has zoning, grant writing, oversight and governance experience really reduces the pool of qualified candidates. By outsourcing, the new administrator will not need expertise in as many fields.

When the interview process begins, the trustees plan to create a scoring mechanism that they can use as a tool to help them figure out how they view each of the candidates. They will not set an interview schedule until after the advertisement closes on Aug. 1, Pautke said.

They have received applications and hope to make a decision by the August board meeting, but will not push themselves to do so.

The elected officials will have a stronger role in the daily operations while they search for a replacement, Pautke said in June.

Also during the July 13 trustee meeting, the trustees discussed a levy for the collection and disposal of garbage or refuse, which will be on the ballot Nov. 8. The levy is a renewal levy and expires in 2017. Trustees passed a resolution to allow the township to have more than 10 mills of levies.