Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

Harrisburg’s financial oversight board names executive director, attorney

Harrisburg’s state-mandated financial oversight board completed its organizational phase on Wednesday, appointing an executive director and legal counsel.

The board unanimously named Jeffrey Stonehill (pictured) as its executive director, meaning that he will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (ICA).

Stonehill accepted the part-time, $50,000-per-year position pending the approval of his “loan” from Chambersburg, where he serves as borough manager, a position that he said he would retain.

““I think it’s important when you have two municipalities cooperating together,” he said. ”I believe as strongly as possible that I can help the city of Harrisburg. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Stonehill said that he became interested in the job because he has worked extensively with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, which oversees the state’s Act 47 program for financially distressed municipalities.

Last year, the state legislature agreed to let Harrisburg retain its current, elevated levels of taxation for five more years, which will allow it to exit Act 47. However, the legislature also mandated the creation of the ICA to oversee the city’s finances and its continuing recovery process.

In addition to Stonehill, the ICA board appointed Jeffrey Engle of Harrisburg-based Shaffer & Engle as legal counsel and Dave Robertson, the owner of Harrisburg-based Factory 44, as its website developer.

David Schankweiler, ICA chairman, said that Stonehill had the best mix of knowledge and experience from the applications the board received for the position.

“We needed a good backroom guy who could get all the pieces together for us, and we then could lead out front,” he said. “Jeff can do that.”

Also at the meeting, Bruce Weber, the city’s budget and finance director, completed a presentation that he began at the prior meeting, recounting the city’s recent financial history and the challenges it faces going forward.

Harrisburg, he said, was in solid financial shape, due, in part, to careful budgeting and management, but also because, under Act 47, it has been allowed to impose higher earned income and local services taxes than otherwise would be allowed. Under current legislation, the city can only retain those taxation levels for another five years.

“The city operates very lean,” Weber said. “It doesn’t spend money on anything considered unnecessary or extravagant.”

Harrisburg, he added, is on track to present a draft five-year financial plan to the ICA board next month, a plan that must be finalized by late August.

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