Robinson manager set to take reins in North Huntingdon
As the new manager of North Huntingdon, Jeffrey Silka of Monroeville anticipates addressing a full range of economic, development and municipal management issues in his new job.
Mr. Silka, 50, is currently manager of Robinson, Allegheny County, and is a former manager of Monroeville.
North Huntingdon commissioners voted 7-0 on Oct. 5 to hire him as township manager to replace John Shepherd, who resigned to become manager of Roxbury, N.J.
Mr. Silka will begin his new job Nov. 1 at a starting salaryof $110,000 per year.
Hesaid he is looking forward to meeting with North Huntingdon staff and commissioners to learn about the township and develop a list of shortand long-term management priorities. He noted that one difference betweenRobinson and North Huntingdon is that 90 percent of the businesses in Robinson are local sites of national companies, while North Huntingdon has a lot of small businesses and more parks and green spaces.
Mr. Silka grew up in Johnstown and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and a master’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
He has worked for a number of municipal governments, including as city manager of Johnstown. He also was executive director of the Somerset County Economic DevelopmentCouncil.
In 2013, Mr. Silka resigned as Monroeville manager after he was told to fire Monroeville police Chief Doug Cole or lose his job. Chief Cole was demoted, then fired, but was later hired back.
Last week, when asked about his decision in Monroeville, Mr. Silka said, “Sometimes you have to do whatyou feel is right to do.”
North Huntingdon also is involved in a controversy with its former police chief, Andrew Lisiecki, who was fired in September 2016.
Mr. Lisiecki filed a federal lawsuit in December against four North Huntingdon commissioners, saying his firing was retaliation for his role in the termination of a township police officer in 2014. Mr. Lisiecki is suing to get his job back. The lawsuit is pending.