LOWER MERION — Lower Merion’s Township Manager and the township secretary are getting pay increases, keeping them in line with other township employees.
In two separate actions this week, the commissioners approved the contracts with Ernie McNeely, township manager, and Jody Kelley, township secretary, as part of the agenda for this month’s monthly board meeting.
According to township officials, the 3.5 percent increase they will both receive is in line with the other township employee contacts that the commissioners approved earlier this year.
The township manager and secretary are the only two positions in Lower Merion that report directly to the commissioners.
The pay increases were discussed during an Administrative and Human Resources Committee on April 10 and then approved by the commissioners on April 17.
Board President Todd Sinai said Lower Merion is extremely lucky to have McNeely as its manager since everything runs well.
“This township is fortunate to have an outstanding township manager,” Sinai said.
Lower Merion Commissioner Scott Zelov said he was on the committee that selected McNeely a decade ago.
“One of the things we said to Ernie was, ‘We’d like you to be our manager, and we’d like you to live here.’ He said, ‘I was already planning to move here if selected.’ He lives in our community. He knows what we want, and he knows what this community is like. That was not always the case with his predecessors, so it makes a huge difference that he lives here and is part of this community, and we greatly appreciate that,” Zelov said.
Following the approval of the township manager, the board then approved the new contract with the secretary.
Commissioner Jeremiah Woodring, chair of the Administrative and Human Resources Committee, said both have helped him since becoming a commissioner this year.
“I’m honored to have Jody as … one of my neighbors in Belmont Hill, so I’m always thankful for everything, and to our township manager, I think over these past three in change months, I’ve had a lot of questions, and it seems like every week I’m learning something new from one of them so I just want to thank you both for that because the onboarding process here has been just absolutely incredible and so very honored to serve on this board with you,” said of both McNeely and Kelley.
