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Marla Marcinko
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TAB 7
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (PA)
April 16, 2009
Managers parading through Penn Hills
Author: Tony LaRussa
John Brennan said he doesn't know any of the three people who followed him as Penn Hills
manager after he was fired in March 2004. But he's not surprised they didn't last long.
"Penn Hills has always been politically volatile, and it's usually the manager that ultimately
pays," said Brennan, 59.
Each of Brennan's successors said interference from council members made it impossible for
them to effectively manage the day-to-day operations of Allegheny County's second-largest
municipality.
"I felt there was no point in continuing to work in Penn Hills if they weren't going to let me do
my job," said Peter Colangelo, 71, of Monroeville, who resigned in June 2005 after four months
on the job. "I was really excited about that job. I found a number of areas I thought could be
improved or where a significant amount of money could be saved."
Colangelo said his resignation was a "mutual decision" between him and council. His successor,
Marla Marcinko, described her resignation as mutual, and for some of the same reasons that
Colangelo cited. Marcinko declined to elaborate on her experiences working in Penn Hills.
Marcinko was followed by Terry Van Horne, who was fired after 18 months. He refused a
request by the mayor and deputy mayor that he quit.
Van Horne said council members regularly ignored the municipality's home rule charter by
dealing directly with department heads instead of going through the manager. "With so many
people in and out of the manager's chair in such a short time, it's pretty clear (elected officials)
aren't satisfied with setting policy and then letting people do their jobs," he said.
Deputy Mayor Sara Kuhn, who has accepted the resignations of two managers and voted to fire
another since taking office in November 2005, said council has a responsibility to replace underperforming
employees. "We answer to the voters," Kuhn said. "It might not be the popular thing
to do, but if we have to go through 10 managers to find someone who can do the job right, then
that's what we'll do." Kuhn said the previous managers failed to:
• Present council with accurate annual budgets.
• Develop employee policy and procedure manuals that provide clearly defined job
descriptions, goals and evaluations.
• Follow through on projects and assignments.
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