Lincoln Township is moving forward with plans to change its government structure.
The Lincoln Township Board of Trustees voted at Tuesday's meeting to begin transitioning from the current form of supervisory government to a managed government. This means that when longtime Lincoln Township Supervisor Dick Stauffer steps down at the end of the year, the township will no longer have an elected supervisor serving as its top administrator, but a hired administrator to replace him. It means that it will be placed.
Board member Mark Florian said as Lincoln Township grows, there is an increasing need for an apolitical, professional administrator to run the office.
“This eliminates the loss of organizational knowledge that can occur every four years,” Florian said. “Here as a town, we are blessed to have a supervisor who has never quit and has never lost office over a long term. And you run the risk of voting someone into that position because that person may be the only candidate or one of a small number of candidates who are unqualified.”
Those qualifications include managing a $12 million budget and employees, Florian said.
Nearby St. Joseph Township has a controlled form of government, and Lincoln Township Trustee Deb Peterson worked there for 30 years. She said hiring a manager is good for employees.
“It was nice to have a break between the town board and employees,” Peterson said. “It felt like the middle of an hourglass. It converged into a funnel, and it fell into a funnel. We were able to make requests to management and point out things that we realized could be improved. and we didn’t have to wait for a town board meeting to do it.”
Florian floated the idea of the transition last month, noting that Lincoln Township thoroughly studied the possibility in 1994. He presented the results of a 1994 study that he said remains true and shows there are benefits to hiring hired managers.
A public comment period begins ahead of a special meeting on April 19 to consider a draft organizational chart for the new form of government. He hopes to find a manager by September and be transferred in November.
The vote to proceed at Tuesday's board meeting was unanimous.
Supervisor Dick Stauffer is running for trustee in this year's election, choosing to step down as supervisor after serving in the role for 20 years.
