Samuel Sulkosky
Harrisburg has a new chief of staff.
Mayor Wanda Williams announced Samuel Sulkosky as her new business administrator during her State of the City address last week.
Sulkosky, who started on Oct. 9, fills a vacancy left by the previous business administrator, Dan Hartman, who stepped down in June.
Sulkosky served in borough and city manager positions over the last several years. Most recently, he was the interim borough manager of Punxsutawney and, before that, served as the city manager of Duquesne. He also held borough manager positions in Kittanning, Mount Joy and Columbia. He also worked as a self-employed financial advisor for over 17 years and as a county auditor in Indiana County for four years.
Sulkosky, during a phone call with TheBurg, said that he decided to take the job in Harrisburg, seeing it as an “excellent challenge.” He specifically liked the way the city has prioritized paying off large amounts of debt and felt that his experience with lower-income communities and those under Act 47, a state program for financially distressed municipalities, would be helpful.
“The main thing that drives me from a public service standpoint is the biggest interest I have, and concern, is doing what’s best for the community as a whole,” Sulkosky said.
In 2020, Lancaster Online reported that the Mount Joy Borough Council fired Sulkosky from his borough manager role, providing no explanation as to why. When asked about it, Sulkosky explained it as “local politics” that had nothing to do with job performance. Around that time, new council members were elected and wanted to bring in new staff members, Sulkosky said. He added that he was part of a “staff purge” that included dismissing the chief of police, codes officer, borough engineer and others. Sulkosky said that, in retrospect, he probably should’ve resigned, but due to a dispute about his severance payment, didn’t.
In 2023, the Leader Times, reported that the Kittanning borough council eliminated Sulkosky’s borough manager position, clarifying a previous article saying Sulkosky had been fired. Sulkosky told TheBurg that his position had been eliminated.
In his new role as business administrator in Harrisburg, Sulkosky will serve alongside Mayor Wanda Williams in overseeing day-to-day operations of the city.
Sulkosky said that, based on his experience, he’s accustomed to working with councils, mayors, vendors, stakeholders, state and federal agencies and community members. He’s also had extensive experience overseeing economic development, public works and recreational projects, he said.
“I’m sure there’s some things I haven’t seen, but I’ve seen a lot more than I haven’t seen, I can tell you that,” he said. “There aren’t too many scenarios I’m not used to.”
Sulkosky said he is specifically looking forward to working with City Council and building relationships.
“I think I can bring to the table the ability to communicate,” he said.
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