Candidate for
Commissioner; Township of Collier

COLLIER TOWNSHIP INVOLVEMENT

My involvement in Collier Township began in 1997 as a member of Collier Township's Planning Commission. In 2005, I was elected Chairman of the Planning Commission. We worked to manage the growth in the Township and continue the practice of keeping the Township's Zoning Ordinances relevant to the changing principles of good community planning.

In 2004 I was elected Chair of Citizens' Advisory Committee of the Volunteer Fire Departments (VFD) in Collier. As a Committee we developed a monthly service report to the Board of Commissioners (BOC) reporting on the collective service activity of three VFDs, worked to promote joint training and provide consolidated financial results and annual projections of the coming year. The Citizen Advisory Committee has evolved into the Collier Township Firefighters Association (CTFA) in 2009. The CTFA has continued the practice of providing the BOC monthly reports, promoting joint training and seeking opportunities for joint planning of future hardware and volunteer recruitment.

In 2007, with combined effort of Commissioner Roger Horgan, Manager Jeanne Creese and me, we initiated the first Hall of Flame Golf Outing. With the significant help of a number of Collier residents from the three VFD service areas, the Hall of Flame Committee has successfully run three (2007, 2008,2009) Hall of Flame Golf Outings raising in total over $100,000. The funds were distributed equally to each of the three VFDs to help support their rising costs of operations.

In late 2007, I was elected to serve a two year term (2008 & 2009) as a Commissioner. Along with another Commissioner, I currently serve on the Finance Committee and the Public Safety Committee. Similarly, along with another Commissioner, I serve as a liaison to the Parks and Recreation Board. I am also an alternate to the Council on Government.

The Finance Committee has focused on improving our budgeting process, helping the Township to upgrade their financial reporting system by installing QuickBooks, and developing and installing an improved purchasing procedure. The object of the new purchasing procedure is to focus on containing our cost by requiring three signatures on all expenditures. The Finance Committee has also provided monthly monitoring of the actual results compared to the annually BOC approved budget.

The Public Safety Committee oversees public safety through proper manpower deployment, scheduling random speed checks, installing speed signs and monitoring police service statistics. A new Police contract was negotiated in 2008.

The two member Commissioner liaison team to the Parks and Recreation Board has assisted in completing a Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Plan, improved the communications and reporting between the Public Works Department and the Board, assisted in development of Grant Application for the `little' Kelly Park and helped to establish a non-profit organization, the Friends of Collier Parks and Recreation, to raise funds for supporting the ongoing improvement of the Township's Park facilities and Recreation activities.

For the past three years, I have served on the Kelly Center Local Redevelopment Authority (KCLRA) formed by the Allegheny County Development Division. The KCLRA Committee is charged with guiding the planning process associated with developing a re-Use Plan for the Charles E. Kelly Support Facility (NIKE Base) which is scheduled for closing. Our efforts have led to a submission to the National Parks Service for a Public Benefit Conveyance (PBC) of a 93 acre parcel for parks and recreational use. We are encouraged that this should occur in the 2010/11. We are now in the process of seeking a six acre PBC from FEMA for a Fire/EMS site and a two acre PBC from Department of Education for an Educational/Library site.

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

I worked at Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania from 1957 to 1994. Starting as a computer programmer, my career over the next 37 years included being the Actuary, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Operating Officer and the Senior Health Care Officer. Following retirement from Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania, I was employed by MED3000, Inc and again served a number of management positions before retiring after four years of service.

During my business career and following into my retirement, I serve on the following boards: Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania, Advantage Credit Counseling Service, and Robert Morris University's Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management Advisory Board and Duquesne University's Accounting Advisory Board.

EDUCATION TRAINING

Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Duquesne University; a Master's of Busniess Administration form University of Pittsburgh; Fellowship in the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries

PERSONAL

My wife, Rosemarie, and I have lived in Collier Township for almost twenty four years. We moved to Collier Township just as our two children, Linda and Larry, left home to begin their adult lives. Linda is married and lives in Carnegie and is a high school teacher at Keystone Oaks High School. Our son, Larry, is married and lives in Stevensville, Maryland and is a systems engineer.