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04/19/2004: "Borough Manager Dismissed"

Perkasie Borough Council voted 8 to 1 in favor of firing Borough Manager John Cornelius tonight, following a motion by Councilman Bill Hettel and seconded by Harry McGonigal. The dismissal takes effect immediately. No reasons were given during the meeting, other than Councilwoman Joan Handy's comments that there were "some problems." But after the meeting she didn't remember making the comment and refused to elaborate. Council president Lee Metzger said after the meeting that it was "little things," but he couldn't give any examples; he said each person had their reasons, and they were different for each person. Councilman Rich Hendricks spoke out strongly against the action, stating that Council was making a huge mistake in dismissing the manager, but he was a lone voice and the only dissenting vote.

Cornelius served as Borough Manager for nine years, moving here with his family after serving in a similar position in western Pennsylvania. He is originally from Michigan. He hopes to find another position in the area and remain in Perkasie. In closing remarks to Council and to the public, he was very gracious and thanked everyone for the opportunity to have served, and especially his staff for their support over the years. He said was was very disappointed by Council's action, but understood they had the right to end his contract at any time. He assured everyone he would work with the new interim manager to smooth the transition over the next week or so.

Council then appointed Daniel P. Olpere, president of Local Government Management Services, LLC, North Wales, as Interim Borough Manager. Olpere will begin duties tomorrow (April 20, 2004).

Word of the impending dismissal had spread in advance of the meeting, and numerous citizens of Perkasie spoke out during the public forum at the beginning of the meeting, letting Council know in no uncertain terms their displeasure at the action Council was about to take. That appeared to set Council back on their heels a bit, and they immediately went into executive session for nearly 20 minutes following the public forum. But they seemed to regain their composure and returned to go ahead with the vote later in the meeting.

COMMENTARY: I had the privilege to know and work with John Cornelius the whole nine years he has served here. He is a class act, a gentleman, and undoubtedly one of the finest managers Perkasie has seen. It is a real tragedy the new Council moved so brashly before even getting to know him.

The Borough Manager is the fourth person to have either left or been dismissed because of the new Council that took office in January: the Director of Community and Economic Development, Don Lederach; the Borough Solicitor, Michael Kracht; the Borough Engineer, Schoor-DePalma; and now the Borough Manager, John Cornelius. All had been rumored to be on the unofficial "hit list" of Councilman Bill Hettel, and the rumors have obviously come true. The moves have virtually eliminated all history and transitioning from the previous to current Borough Council, at potentially devastating cost to the Borough. More than half of Council was new in January (some had never even attended a Council meeting in years before being sworn in); now they have eliminated the staff positions that might have filled them in on what they didn't know. It's truly a sad day for Perkasie. I urge you to take time to call your councilperson and ask them to explain their actions; they need to be held accountable, and they owe the voters more of an explanation than they've given. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did. Here are their names, phone numbers, and their explanation for their vote:

Name/phone/reason

Ward 1
Lee Metzger/215-257-7039/"Little things"
Eadie Burke/215-453-0479/"No comment"
James Liebenow/215-257-2597/"No comment"

Ward 2
James Boyer/215-257-1691/"No comment"
William Hettel/215-257-7908/"No comment"
Harry McGonigal/215-257-1006/"No comment"

Ward 3
Joan Handy/215-258-3306/"Some problems"
Nancy S. Keenan/215-257-6441/"No comment"

Voting against the firing (Ward 3)
E. Richard Hendricks/215-453-9869

Replies: 5 comments

Having never served in a public or government capacity, I’m not sure how my experience will transfer to the current situation. Over the years I was the dreaded “Hatchet Man.” I was hired to come in to companies that were in either financial or manufacturing trouble (usually both), losing money or about to go under. The situation was usually predictable before my arrival. There would be many people who served the company for years, if not decades, who were not doing the required job for the current marketplace, but no one would fire them because they had been there so long.

So the question becomes, do you rid the company of dead weight or let everyone lose their jobs as the company fails. Those who were willing to grow and learn new methods and ideas were welcomed to stay, but seldom did anyone even try. “We have always done it this way” is the death knell for any organization.

Now when we look at Perkasie, it isn’t a company in trouble, but a town whose voters wanted a change in the way it is governed. Although not failing, evidently the people wanted things to be done differently.

When I was hired by a company I went in as a Vice President, CEO, or COO, in charge of all operations, much like your new council came in accountable for of all Perkasie business operations. My first order of business was to convene all managers and supervisors and explain that there were going to be changes in the way the business was run. I explained that there could be only one plan in operation and one person responsible and in charge. The plan would be mine as would the responsibility for success or failure. At that point people had to decide if they could live with this arrangement or leave.

The one thing that I learned in 30 years of rebuilding failing companies was to never, NEVER, allow current employees to train, transition, or in any other way influence their replacements. It is the same as putting poison into the water cooler. I always gladly paid severance, vacations, bonus, and several weeks salary to replace “giving notice.” When I terminated an employee, they left immediately.

How this plays out in the public sector will be interesting to watch. Without taking any sides or declaring anyone right or wrong, I believe that new staff working with the new council will prevent any of the “bad” habits acquired over the years to continue onward. The people have spoken; they wanted a change. A total staff change is needed to insure that things don’t continue on the same path in both the short and long term. (BTW I never had a failure in rebuilding a company. The company that brought me to this area many years ago was doing $30 million/yr when I arrived and $250 million/yr when I left 4 years later)

As you said, Barry, this wasn't a failing company or even a failing town. Your business comparison is irrelevant. Nothing was broke here; this was dirty politics, pure and simple. Unfortunately we knew this was coming way back on the evening of May 6, 2003. I had just hoped against hope that Council wouldn't be so blatantly political and simple-minded, blindly following Hettel's lead. They'll wake up eventually -- maybe not until they're tossed out of office at the next election -- but unfortunately the damage has been done, and the taxpayers will pay. They're just beginning to find out what their apathy has led to ... Remember, only about 5% of Perkasie's voters put these people in office.

Bob, you said it right, Perkasie citizens apathy has led to this embarrassing sequence of events. So far, the new council has done exactly what they said they would do, or what we predicted they would do. So far, I have not seen one positive accomplishment by this new council. I also see things getting much worse before they get any better.

Didn't know about Michael Kracht til today. I'd heard MgGonagle make disparaging comments about Don L., so thought maybe he was the leader of the witch hunt. This is really tragic. I'd like to learn more about the "direction" Hetell and others would like the borough to go. Bringing Main Street vitality, a great park system, etc. seems like a pretty good track record to me.

As an owner of a "skateboard shop" my opinion probably won't mean much to any of the council members but hopefully it will for any of the non-voting citizens of Perkasie, especially those with children and/or businesses in the borough. It is now more obvious then ever that a deadly combination of council members and their agendas has been set in motion. With the biggest mistake yet being the firing of John Cornelious! All of the work that has been done to bring the town to its current existence with flourishing and inviting shops and happy kids playing in the renovated parks will struggle to survive without his guidance. It seems that anything that positively affects the "New Perkasie" has and will be thrown to the wayside for the next four years. So next election, make your vote count and then reach for the biggest shovel you can find because there will be major digging out to be done.
I would like to thank John for all of his help and support throughout the last few years because without him there would be no "local skate shop" or skate park for our children. Best of luck to you John........YOU WILL BE MISSED!