A common quote says “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” In the past 10 years the borough of Slatington has had five different borough managers. Two left suddenly for unexplained reasons, two were fired and one most recently had her contract not renewed as detailed in an article in the Jan. 3 edition of the Times News.

In the business world if there is a problem that keeps recurring, then it is important to find out why. A tool called Root Cause Analysis is used to identify the root cause of the problem. The exercise results in the implementation of corrective actions that prevent the problem from recurring. Perhaps the members of borough council should consider this approach to determine why they have been so unsuccessful in retaining a borough manager.

Could all five of these former borough managers have been the wrong person for the job? If so that would seem to indicate that there is a problem with the screening and hiring process. Are there any common factors among any of the former managers that may have been overlooked?

What about borough council? Are there any members who took part in the decision-making process involving the hiring and firing of all five former borough managers? Was council guided by advice of the same solicitor in the hiring and firing of all five former borough managers?

If you know the answer to some or all of these questions then you already know where the problem lies. The Borough of Slatington actually has a lot of potential and deserves better. But until the root cause is clearly identified and corrective actions are implemented, the insanity will continue.

Respectively,

Herb Pfeiffer

Former Borough Manager of Slatington