At the Hanover Township Council meeting last Wednesday, Councilman Michael Woolley proposed legislation to limit the term of a council chairman to four years.

The ordinance was rebutted by Councilman Bruce Paulus, who had earlier held the position of chairman for 10 years.

"What benefit is it to the township?" he asked at the beginning of his argument.

"Council elects a new chairman every year in January," he said. If council is not satisfied with the chairman's performance, they can nominate someone new."

Prior to Paulus serving as chairman, Eleanor Hayden had also served the board as chairman for a long tenure. Councilman Randall Atkinson had served as chairman for four years.

Councilman William Kovacs, in his argument for the ordinance, indicated there is a level of intimidation for members who vote against a longterm council chairman.

The counter argument from Chairman Frank Dreisbach was that spreading the chairman's responsibility among all the members of council builds a stronger, more knowledgeable council.

Dreisbach indicated if he were re-elected chairman, he would serve no more than four years.

There has been little turnover in council members in the past.

"It takes about four years for a chairman to be able to fully address all of his responsibilities," Paulus said. "The job is more than just running the meetings. The chairman needs to be available every day to address problems that arise."

Dreisbach argued a chairman would work closely with the vice-chairman to make sure the township meets its obligations. Kovacs supported Dreisbach, noting that the township staff does most of the actual work getting projects completed.

Woolley asked township Solicitor Kimberly Spotts-Kimmel to explain how the limit would be addressed.

Council members debated whether previous years of service as chairman would count against the term limit.

Woolley indicated that was not his intent to factor in previous years of service when he presented the ordinance.

Council agreed prior years of service would not count toward a term limit.

Resident Tom Lerch, who regularly attends council meetings, addressed council during the debate.

"This seems to be a solution in search of a problem," he said. "If the chairman is elected every year, his term is already limited. The chairman is elected by council."

After listening to the arguments, Woolley said the ordinance was unnecessary and sided with Paulus, but was unable to persuade other members of council to join him.

The measure to limit a chairman's term to four years passed by a 3-2 vote, with Paulus and Woolley opposed. Dreisbach, Kovacs, and Atkinson voted in favor of the ordinance.

Also at the meeting, township Manager Sandra Pudliner reported progress on the landscaping project around the municipal building. Tall Timbers Nursery is providing the materials and labor to transform the site to a more manageable plan.

Council also passed a measure to allow the manager to sign two contracts granting easements to PennDOT for widening the Route 22 corridor.