Township Administrator Position In Limbo

Tonight Washington Township council members are expected to get an update on the selection process for a permanent town administrator. Currently Lilly Chin is serving as acting administrator and council members want Mayor Janet Sobkowicz to move forward with the process of choosing a person to permanently fill the position.

Last month there was a heated discussion about the issue because council members said it seemed like Sobkowicz was moving slowly to choose a permanent administrator. Sobkowicz said she was looking into the issue, but said she needed Chin to stay on until a final decision is made because "the most critical part of the year is coming up." She said she needs the administrator to help her prepare the township's budget.

While council members said they agreed the township needs an administrator, several said Sobkowicz had many months to make a decision. Council members agreed to a six-month term for Chin as acting administrator, then extended that 90 more days at Sobkowicz's request. They said it didn't seem right that she was requesting another extension for an additional three months.

"It's not that hard to finish the process," said Council President Joseph D'Urso. "You have five strong candidates."

But Sobkowicz said some of the applicants had already found other positions and Chin is fulfilling the role. "We need to function every day. We need to have someone there," she said. "We have someone who's doing the job and doing it correctly."

The council ultimately decided to extend Chin's contract until today instead of not having an administrator for a number of weeks. The vote was 3-2 with Goetz and Councilman Steven Cascio voting against the extension. D'Urso said he only voted yes because Sobkowicz said she would conduct further interviews.

Also on tonight's agenda, the introduction of the 2010 salary ordinance, Eagle Scout commendations and raffle license requests.

Tonight's council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at the .