The Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners, at its June 8 meeting, approved the addition of a ballot referendum for November’s election to consider whether the residents of Whitehall Township would like to remove the township treasurer’s elected position and possibly replace it with a non-elected finance director.

The referendum passed in a 5-2 vote, with Vice President Thomas Slonaker, Secretary Randy Atiyeh and Commissioners Ken Snyder, Taylor Stakes and Lee Christman voting in favor and Commissioner Elizabeth Fox and board President Jeffrey Warren against.

Snyder said the reason he pushed for the motion to remove the position and replace it with a finance director was that, according to him, Pennsylvania has come out and said townships operating under a treasurer are “moving to a more professional arrangement” such as a financial director.

Township Treasurer Tina Jo Koren rejected his claims regarding Pennsylvania’s standing on operating under a treasurer, saying they weren’t true.

Koren reported she belongs to the Pennsylvania Taxpayers Association and added that, in Pennsylvania, in a first-class township, there are more than 2,560 municipalities with elected tax collectors. Whitehall is a first-class township.

“We receive tax bills. We make sure that everything is done correctly,” Koren said.

Snyder said the referendum has nothing to do with Koren personally.

He also noted the current treasurer position requires you to be at least 25 years old to run and serve.

Snyder first brought up the idea of a referendum regarding the treasurer last year, and it didn’t move forward with the board of commissioners at the time due to a lack of support from other commissioners. Commissioners at that time argued it was too soon to take another vote on possibly removing the position. They said the voters spoke on the referendum in 2023 and were against it.

According to supporting documentation, if the referendum were to pass this November, the finance director would be a non-elected position chosen and appointed by the mayor and board of commissioners for an indefinite term. The director must also be 25 years of age and “be qualified by education and experience in financial management and public finance.”

Warren said he had asked to “beef up education requirements” on the finance director position, stating that, while the referendum failed to pass by a fair margin not too long ago, it gives voters in the township another chance to express their wishes regarding the treasurer position.

Fox voted against the referendum, stating, “I still think it should be the people’s vote.”

Warren stated he voted against the referendum due to the educational language missing in the referendum. However, he said he was pleased the people of the township would get another say on whether they’d like to keep the tax collector as an elected official or opt for a financial director instead.

Residents who spoke at the meeting regarding the treasurer’s position noted they were against removing it for a finance director, while also saying it was too soon to take another look at removing the position.

“Regardless of the work she’s been doing, it hasn’t been that long ago that we’ve had a referendum — less than three or two years ago,” Dave Hassick said.

Resident Trish Keenan asked the board if the finance director would have a higher salary than the current treasurer’s position.

“There’s so much discussion about revenue; how do you justify this increased expenditure?” Keenan asked the board, which did not answer the question or comment further.

The motion regarding a referendum passed, and Solicitor Jack Gross reported the referendum will be added to the November ballot.