The Perkasie Opinion Blog

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
Bob Bergey on 04.19.04 @ 10:47 PM EST [link]