Half a century ago, the Monroeville Government Study Commission drafted a home-rule charter with a requirement that the municipal manager be a local resident.

Today’s municipal officials seek to remove the stipulation through a ballot question in the Nov. 7 general election, asking voters to amend the charter accordingly.

“It’s really an effort to attract a larger pool of candidates for the position,” Mayor Nick Gresock said. “We would love for the future manager or any employee to live in Monroeville. But this is a very specialized position we’re looking for, and we don’t want to limit the potential of getting the right person in here because of the residency requirement.”

When longtime manager Timothy Little gave notice that he plans to retire at the end of the year, officials began working with consultants from Allegheny League of Municipalities Public Partners on finding a successor. Scrapping the requirement was a top recommendation.

“You could have really qualified applicants who are well within a commuting distance,” Gresock said. “Maybe they have kids in high school and don’t want to uproot their families, so we won’t even get those applicants.”

Public Partners consultants further recommended increasing the necessary amount of professional experience. As such, voters’ approval of the ballot question would amend the home-rule charter to require five to eight years in a similar position, with a minimum of five years as municipal manager.

Additionally, the question addresses education: “A master’s degree no longer will be ‘preferred,’ but would be ‘desirable.’”

Changing the charter at this point would not guarantee permanent waiving of mandatory residency, according to Gresock.

“In the future, at any time, any council can require the manager to live in Monroeville by his or her contract,” he said.

As Monroeville’s chief administrative officer, the manager is responsible to the mayor and council for the overall operation of the municipality and its administrative functions. The manager appoints all employees and department heads, with council’s consent.

The advertisement for the position, posted on the municipal website, instructs applicants to provide an “expected salary range,” and “Competitive salary/excellent benefits” is noted as an incentive.

A salary for the manager position is not listed specifically in 2023 municipal budget. The govsalaries.com database lists the 2021 figure at $132,012.

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