Attempt to fire Halfmoon Township manager sparks concerns about board of supervisors
A four and an half hour long meeting of the Halfmoon Township Supervisors Thursday featured interruptions, arguments and an attempt to fire the township manager — with some questioning how business is being conducted by the elected officials.
Supervisors had a full agenda of business to tend to, with items including continuation of services from C-NET and “manager action.”
When the board voted to approve the agenda, Supervisor Robert Strouse asked what the “manager action” referenced. David Piper, chair of the board, wouldn’t give additional information, saying “we’ll get to that when we get to it” and that it was related to a previous meeting.
In an email to the Centre Daily Times, Strouse said he had “suspicions” as to the agenda item, but he wasn’t provided with information as to what it meant or the intent. Denise Gembusia, township manager, said during the meeting that she didn’t know what “manager action” was.
When they got to the item, Piper made a motion to dismiss Gembusia effective immediately, with two weeks severance pay. It was seconded by Supervisor Charles Beck. The motion failed 3-2, with Piper and Beck voting in favor, and Supervisors Patricia Hartle, Ronald Servello and Strouse voting against it.
The only reason Piper gave for wanting to terminate her was, “she is defiant.” Piper, Servello, Beck and Gembusia did not respond to a request for comment from the Centre Daily Times.
In a phone call, Hartle declined to comment on personnel issues, but said she didn’t have any concerns with the manager’s performance. Hartle has been on the board since Gembusia was hired in 2020.
“She is very skilled in what she does. She’s very knowledgeable, and she uses her skills and her commitment to the township and leadership and a very strong work ethic to serve our township very well in an excellent manner,” Hartle said. “She has accomplished many of the goals that we have strategically set for the township. ... In my opinion, and from my observation and involvement with her, she has done an excellent job.”
During the meeting, Strouse said he thought Gembusia brought a level of professionalism to the organization of the township and has accomplished more in the two years she’s served as manager than other managers had accomplished in ten.
Longtime Halfmoon Township resident Virginia Squier also spoke in support of Gembusia during the meeting, saying she’s a professional, competent and well-respected manager.
C-NET services
Halfmoon has been a C-NET member since 2008. C-NET, a government and educational access network, records and broadcasts the township meetings on its website, cable channel and YouTube, among other things. Past meetings are archived on its website and each meeting is broken down into chapters.
Halfmoon pays annual dues to C-NET — $16,375 in 2022 — but not with tax dollars; they are paid with Franchise Fees from Comcast. The township has been a C-NET member since 2008 and dues have increased over the years, but never more than $1,000/year.
Piper wasn’t convinced the services were worth the price.
“I think this is an expensive service. Maybe it’s a good service, but I don’t think it’s worth the money,” Piper said. When Hartle asked what services the township would be losing and how much it would cost to replace them, Piper said he wasn’t sure the township needed the services at all. He said using a pen, paper and a tape recorder was cheaper.
C-NET Executive Director Cindy Hahn said though the township could use Zoom, people aren’t always capable of using it and internet connection isn’t always reliable. But the distribution network that C-NET has goes further than just allowing people to attend via Zoom. She also addressed transparency.
“...Municipalities that do not have a level of transparency, do not invite the sunshine, where residents are invited to view the meetings and watch the actions and get to know the supervisors, sometimes do suffer from corruption. Transparency opens all of that up,” Hahn said.
Concerns about transparency if the township no longer were to use C-NET were raised by some residents and supervisors, including Halfmoon Township resident Dennis Thompson.
“It’s night and day difference since C-NET has been a part of the meeting. I am not a C-NET user, I don’t have Zoom in my home either, but both are accessible. And if I want to listen to what’s going on at the township without driving down here, I can do so. And I think it would be one heck of a mistake to revert back to the way things were in the 1970s and ‘80s and ‘90s. So I think you would be ill advised to drop transparency as a part of our governmental process,“ he said.
Piper made a motion to leave C-NET; the motion failed 3-2 with Piper and Beck voting to leave.
Concerns among the board
Squier said Thursday’s meeting was the longest she’s attended, putting blame on Piper.
“I think that you are, sometimes, you talk over people. I think sometimes you are disrespectful to people who are trying to say their opinion. And I would like to ask if there is a possibility for a reorganization of the board of supervisors because I am not comfortable with the way this board is run,” Squier said.
The supervisors, with a majority vote, could reorganize the board and name a new chair, the township’s solicitor told them, but such a vote was not taken.
Strouse and Hartle told the Centre Daily Times they have concerns about how business is being handled by the board.
“I am tremendously concerned with the way business has been conducted in our Halfmoon Township meetings since re-organizing on Jan. 3,” Strouse wrote in an email. “There has been a marked decline in preparedness and professionalism that needs to be restored as soon as possible for the good of the community.”
Neither knew what “manager action” was, and Hartle said it’s uncommon for something to be added to the agenda without providing any information.
Moving forward, Hartle said the board has work to do.
“I am concerned about how the township’s business is conducted. I’m concerned that proper procedure was not followed and at times, business was not conducted professionally or respectfully by the board. And it was a poor reflection on the entire board. And as supervisors, I think that we need to address the current dysfunction in our board in order to best serve our community,” she said.
