Penn Hills council fires manager
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In a unanimous vote, the Penn Hills municipal council fired its manager last night.

Terry Van Horne, who did not attend the meeting, had been on the job since July 2007 and was the municipality's fourth manager in four years. He was a Democratic state legislator for 20 years before an unsuccessful run for U.S. Congress in 2000.

Mayor Anthony DeLuca Jr. said Mr. Van Horne did not move into the municipality within the required period and his duties as solicitor of East Deer township distracted him from his $93,000 per year job.

"How much commitment did he actually have to Penn Hills?" Mr. DeLuca said.

A handful of residents spoke out against Mr. Van Horne's firing, including former council member Don Sanker, who accused the council of micromanagement and ulterior motives.

That prompted a lengthy, angry retort from Deputy Mayor Sara Kuhn, who said residents frequently called her to complain about things that fell under the purview of the manager, and the budget he proposed in the fall relied on deeply flawed revenue figures.

The council appointed public works director Moe Rayan as interim manager.

First published on February 3, 2009 at 12:00 am

Penn Hills council names interim manager
Thursday, February 05, 2009
By Daniel Malloy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The seat to the left of Mayor Anthony DeLuca Jr. was conspicuously vacant at Monday night's Penn Hills council meeting.

The seat's usual occupant, municipal Manager Terry Van Horne, decided against making an awkward appearance. On the agenda: his firing.

The five-member council voted unanimously to remove Mr. Van Horne, the municipality's fourth manager in four years, from the $93,000-a-year position.

Council appointed public works Director Moe Rayan as interim manager.

The move was spearheaded by Mr. DeLuca and Deputy Mayor Sara Kuhn, who met with Mr. Van Horne Jan. 19 and asked him to resign.

At Monday's meeting, Mr. DeLuca and Ms. Kuhn revealed their reasons for firing Mr. Van Horne, saying he didn't move into the municipality within the required time, he didn't show up for work on a recent Friday, his job as solicitor for East Deer was taking time from his duties in Penn Hills and the budget he submitted in the fall was flawed, among other complaints.

"How much commitment did he actually have to Penn Hills?" Mr. DeLuca asked.

In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Van Horne said municipal officials were just playing politics.

"Those were more like excuses than reasons," he said.

Mr. Van Horne said no one expressed any serious problems with his performance before asking for his resignation.

He said the budget was a difficult exercise because of the economy, and that his position with East Deer took up perhaps one hour a month, usually in the evening. He also defended a criticized switch in telephone providers for the municipality.

Mr. Van Horne said he was consulting with attorney David Regoli about whether to seek a public hearing on his dismissal. Mr. Regoli said the municipal charter allows for it, even though council has the power to fire employees without cause.

Such a hearing, Mr. Van Horne acknowledged, likely wouldn't be that much different from Monday's meeting, which became heated at times.

A handful of residents spoke out against the decision, including former councilman Don Sanker, who accused council members of micromanaging and ulterior motives.

That prompted an angry, lengthy reply from Ms. Kuhn, who said she often fielded complaints from residents about tasks that should have been completed by Mr. Van Horne.

A Democratic state legislator for 20 years, Mr. Van Horne, 62, ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2000.

His government connections were touted when he was hired by Penn Hills and brought up again by his defenders Monday night.

"Who's going to bring in all that Obama [stimulus] money?" Mr. Sanker asked.

After hearing about the meeting secondhand, Mr. Van Horne said he was glad his chair remained empty Monday night.

"I decided I'm not going to sit there and lower myself to that kind of conduct," he said.

"I was half-tempted to go, but I thought, 'What useful purpose does that serve?' "