Hampton nears selection of manager’s successor

And then there were two.

The Hampton Township council is close to making the decision on who will replace longtime municipal manager Christopher Lochner, with a pair of final candidates who met all the qualifications set forth by council.

After a long and arduous effort, council members feel confident they will choose the right person when the position comes up for a vote Sept. 13.

“We hope to have a new manager available to start this fall on an interim basis. The new hire will shadow Chris for two or three months before he retires,” said Carolyn Johnson, council president.

Council members began working on filling the future vacancy in June and July, when they selected six applicants out of 16 who applied. Those six candidates were given initial interviews.

With the help of Lochner, council generated a detailed hiring script and specific job requirements based on his current responsibilities. His day-to-day operations were recorded and used as guidelines for the future manager.

“In early spring, council asked Chris to review and update his current job description. He did that and assembled a brochure about Hampton that highlighted our future challenges and past successes. The brochure was a helpful recruiting tool when looking for his replacement,” said Jonson.

After the initial round of interviews, the top two contenders were selected for in-person interviews. They were invited to the municipal building last week to meet with Chris Lochner, the accounting department and other township employees.

“The interviews included a presentation from each candidate on two topics that council had selected and provided in advance,” said Johnson:

• What do you envision the Township of Hampton’s emergency services might look like in 2030, and what is the path that you believe would get us to that vision? What changes would need to be implemented, and how would you achieve buy-in from the relevant stakeholders for those changes?

• The township recently completed both an implementable comprehensive plan that addressed our parks in part, and a comprehensive recreation, parks and open spaces plan update. How would you prioritize the recommendations related to the parks in those plans over the next 10 years, and what would be your plan to fund those changes?

Council was happy with both candidates’ preparedness and responses.

Lochner, who is retiring at the end of the year, has been Hampton’s manager since 1986. He previously served as borough manager in Edgewood for three-and-a-half years, starting at age 24.

“All the people that I’ve worked with over the years have been great. Let me put it to you this way, I’ve been involved in the hiring or hired all but three of the employees here in Hampton,” he said.

He is proud of countless accomplishments over the years, but what stands out most is the construction of the Hampton Township Community Center.

“Just figuring out what we needed and what we wanted in the building and then just making it all happen and finally seeing the finished project, it was amazing,” said Lochner.

When asked what advice he will give his successor, he replied:

“Just be yourself. Don’t try to do it the way I would have done it. Just be you.”