Allegheny Township officials ponder next steps regarding manager's replacement

Allegheny Township supervisors voted to accept Manager Greg Primm’s resignation Monday amid praise for him and a question about the need for the position.

Primm, who has been the township manager since 2009, submitted his resignation last week. On the very night the township supervisors accepted his resignation, he was unanimously approved by Lower Burrell Council to be that city’s new manager.

“I don’t want to see Greg Primm go,” Supervisors Chairman Mike Korns said. “I am very sad to see him go.

“He saw a better opportunity somewhere else, so he is gone.”

The supervisors followed that action by authorizing an advertisement seeking applicants for the township manager position.

Supervisor Jamie Morabito brought up the idea of possibly hiring someone to fill the post on an interim basis.

He said he had spoken to Jason Dailey of Dailey Operations Consulting LLC about that possibility and said he would provide Dailey’s resume to Korns and Supervisor Ren Steele. Dailey had been acting as Lower Burrell’s interim manager since former Manager Amy Rockwell became Harrison’s manager in December.

“It might be a quick fix for a township manager rather than make a hasty decision when we go to hire a township manager,” Morabito said. “I don’t want to put us in a bind where we’re missing information or when it comes to (preparing) the budget.”

Korns and Steele said they would consider the idea. Korns said they also could consider consulting with Primm on the same basis since he has a wealth of knowledge about the township.

Primm, who began his career as a local government official in Jefferson County in 1991, will begin his new job in September. His resignation takes effect Aug. 31, and Korns said he would be using paid time off he is owed until then.

Several people lauded Primm and his service to the township.

Public works supervisor Roger Schwarz said Primm had a great influence on him when he suddenly found himself in charge of department after the unexpected death of beloved department supervisor Shawn Kuhn in 2021.

“(Primm) took me in his office and said, ‘I want you do this job, and I promise you I will not let you fail,’ ” Schwarz recalled. “I can’t tell you how much that meant to me to have your manager tell you that.”

Supervisor Ren Steele said of Primm: “He was one of the best people I’ve ever worked with in government.”

Former township Supervisor John Framel attributed the renovation of the township building and construction of the police department building to Primm’s involvement and noted it was done without raising taxes.

Resident Patrick Leyland said he has known Primm for 25 years and that he is considered one of the best township managers in the state.

But resident Lou Bartha questioned whether the township needs to spend money on hiring another manager. He noted that all of the department heads are capable people who can run the township on a day-to-day basis with oversight by the supervisors.

“We’re a township of 9,000 people. Do we really need a township manager?” Bartha said.

Bartha said he knows Primm is well-liked in the township and he wasn’t trying to be critical of the job he did but claimed that, based on figures he took from township records, the township has been operating at a deficit of about $500,000 to $800,000 for several years.

“We’re not permitted to have a deficit,” Korns said, referring to state law. “We have had a balanced budget for 14 years.”

Korns and Steele pointed out the budgets have been balanced without increasing taxes for 13 years. That brought a retort from Morabito, who noted the township tax rate is 16.5 mills and the limit, by law, is 17 mills.

“It’s a little misleading because we can’t raise your taxes, and I’ve been hearing, ‘This person didn’t raise your taxes and that person didn’t raise your taxes,’ ” he said.

However, former Supervisor Kathy Starr and Korns said that is not true, that the township can add millage for specific approved purposes.

Starr said the township got out from under $2 million in debt from 2010 by adding 2 mills to the budget specifically to pay for debt service, and the debt was paid off at the end of 2018. Another mill was set aside for fire protection, while the rest of the tax rate goes to the general fund.

“So, really, the general fund budget is 13 mills,” Starr said.

Korns promised to review Bartha’s figures and discuss it at a subsequent meeting, but he made it clear he didn’t agree with what he was proposing.

“To say that we don’t need a township manager is a little short-sighted in my opinion,” Korns said.