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Robinson township manager is fired

2 min read

Robinson Township officials voted to terminate the township manager’s contract during a special meeting that was called to address personnel issues.

The board of supervisors voted 2-1 Wednesday to sever ties with township manager Michael Behrens, who also fulfilled the role of zoning officer. Supervisor Mark Brositz cast the dissenting vote, and Chairman Rodger Kendall and Vice Chairman Steve Duran both voted in favor of the motion.

Kendall declined to give details, but said the motivating factor for Behrens’ removal was a difference of opinion between Behrens and a majority of the board.

“We were heading in different directions … It just wasn’t working out,” Kendall said. “We are actively in search of a new manager.”

Duran was appointed to serve as a liaison between the township and police department until a new township manager is hired.

Reached Friday, Behrens declined to comment but said he was manager of Robinson Township since July 17, 2012. Behrens is currently the code enforcement and zoning officer of East Washington.

Duran and Brositz could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Behrens’ two-year contract was set to expire next year, and supervisors did not vote on the township manager’s position during the reorganization meeting in January.

Kendall said Behrens’ severance package – as well as an additional settlement payment that Behrens is requesting – will be subject to further discussion.

Also during that meeting, the board voted 2-1 to eliminate one full-time road crew position held by Terry Holeva. Brositz voted against that motion.

The motion reduced the number of full-time road crew staff from three to two, which Kendall described as a cost-cutting measure. The township’s general fund balance fell below $24,000 this month after paying March bills.

“We have to make some tough decisions and adjustments in order to survive long-term,” Kendall said.

Holeva was hired in June as a part-time employee and was eventually promoted to full-time for a limited number of days. Kendall said the township never addressed the matter again until Wednesday’s meeting, adding that the township had not had three full-time road crew employees at any point in the past 10 years.

Despite the lack of a zoning officer, Kendall said he will push forward with a revised version of the township’s zoning ordinance drafted by an attorney he hired. Copies of the proposed ordinance were provided to other supervisors, the solicitor and the planning commission for review.

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