Former Gregg Township secretary accused of $533K theft officially fired. Here’s what comes next
About two weeks after her arrest for allegedly stealing $533,000 from Gregg Township, the small municipality’s secretary/treasurer was officially fired at Thursday’s board of supervisors meeting.
A motion to terminate the employment of Pamela Hackenburg, 55, of Union County was passed almost immediately Thursday with a unanimous vote and little discussion. She was placed on indefinite leave without pay back in May but was not fired then at the recommendation of the township solicitor.
Hackenburg appeared in court on Tuesday for her preliminary hearing before Judge Gregory M. Koehle, where she faced two first-degree felonies related to theft and two third-degree felonies comprised of access device fraud and identity theft.
That preliminary hearing was continued to Jan. 2 to allow for Hackenburg to find a lawyer to represent her, according to Greg Lhota, a solicitor standing in for the Centre County township’s usual solicitor, David Gaines.
Throughout the saga — from the discovery and investigation of the missing funds to her arrest in late November —the township’s residents have continued to make their voices heard, with one Penns Valley resident expressing her gratitude Thursday for the supervisors’ ongoing diligence.
“I want to thank the supervisors and the employee and accountant that attended the hearing and took the time to do that, whether you had to be there or not,” resident Lisa Bierlein said. “I know it seems like a pain, and it is a pain. At this point she’s stealing time versus money, but it’s very important to, I think, all of us that have money missing, to see this through.”
Bierlein then furthered her thoughts, requesting that the supervisors not consider any potential plea deals presented to them in the future. Another resident expressed concern Hackenburg might try to receive unemployment, but was told by the solicitor that shouldn’t be an issue since the former secretary was terminated for intentional or willful misconduct.
Now that Hackenburg has officially been removed from her former position, the supervisors have also implemented a number of preventative measures to ensure that nothing like this could happen again.
Supervisor Ben Haupt announced at Thursday’s meeting a list of changes that have been made within the township’s policies, including mandatory yearly background checks, the regular viewing of all bank and credit card statements by the supervisors, a changing of the township’s monthly credit card limit to $1,000 and the supervisors now being granted access to — and regularly checking in on — the secretary’s computer and files, all security footage and the township’s mailbox.
“We’re doing our best to make sure that Gregg Township never has to go through another experience like this,” Haupt said. “It’s important to not only us but our residents too, that we keep things secure around here now, and we’re looking to do exactly that.”
Supervisor Charles Stover added to Haupt’s statement, saying that at some point in the future, Gaines will provide the township and its residents with a “full A-to-Z account of everything that’s happened,” policy changes included.
Gregg Township’s next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 6. This meeting will serve as the township’s reorganization meeting.
This story was originally published December 13, 2024 at 12:46 PM.