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Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Q & A With Bethlehem Tp Manager Howard Kutzler

Howard Kutzler
You won't see his name mentioned too often in the newspapers, and that's the way Bethlehem Township Manager Howard Kutzler likes it. Like many of his counterparts in local government, this 47 year-old father of two is happiest when he's working behind the scenes. He's a Konkrete Kid, having graduated from Northampton High School. He's also a West Virginia University Mountaineer.

Q. How did you get interested in local government? - It started in 8th grade, when I was a basket attendant at the pool. I've been interested ever since. My grandfather was Northampton's Mayor, and my Dad was a police officer. I became a volunteer firefighter when I turned 16 and an EMS tech at age 18.

Q. What is it about Township government that appeals to you? - It has more of a hometown feel. Almost everybody knows each other.

Q. What do you consider the biggest challenge facing Township government? - Providing high quality service at a low price. That is the challenge. Residents expect that, and rightly so, but trying to keep costs down is always a big challenge.

Q. How many people work for Bethlehem Township, and what do they do? - Roughly 80 full-time staff and 100 part-timers, most of them at the Community Center. We provide police protection, public works, code enforcement, parks and recreation, finance and, of course, the physical plant. Although our EMS and volunteer firefighters are not technically employees, they are just as much a part of the Township family.

Q. Do you feel that Bethlehem Township is becoming more urban? Is that a good thing? - I'd say it's more suburbanized. It has definitely changed since 1980, when the population was only 8,000. Now it's 24,000. What's important to remember is that the township is in an area recommended for higher intensity development. We have the water, the sewer, the roadways, the infrastructure.

Q. In your 13 years with the Township, with two of them as Manager, what do you consider your biggest success? - I'd say that would be revamping the Planning and Zoning departments to make them more user friendly. Also, making do with less. We've added no staff since 2008, but do our best to give residents quality service.
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14 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 8, 2012 at 9:26 AM

    Begs the question, what is: "and, of course, the physical plant"?

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  2. AnonymousAugust 8, 2012 at 10:08 AM

    anon 9:26 really? do a Google search and you will easily answer your question.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_plant

    ReplyDelete
  3. concernedAugust 8, 2012 at 1:45 PM

    What's up with the Nazareth PD? Write about that Bernie, this is fluff.

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  4. AnonymousAugust 8, 2012 at 4:26 PM

    It's no accident you don't hear about local government leaders like Howard Kutzler since he is one of the many non-partisan, highly competent professionals in the well managed suburban municipalities that quietly go about their business. While we read about the questionable exploits of the elected and appointed officials in the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton all the time, we rarely catch a glimpse of those positive examples of hard working, honest public servants in the suburbs like Howard Kutzler. Your blog does a good job of this.

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  5. Bernie O'HareAugust 8, 2012 at 8:55 PM

    Thanks for the compliment, but I rarely write about the good guys. That is my fault. I'll try to do more of that in the future.

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  6. Bernie O'HareAugust 8, 2012 at 9:00 PM

    1:45, There are always 158 different stories about the nazareth PD, and in my experience, most of them are untrue. Seems to me that the most recent incident is a bit exaggerated. For example, one of the officers charged with trespassing is, in fact, a member. I also understand that numerous PDs have been using the range after hours. There have been some stray bullets, which is what got Stockertown worked up. Hopefully, the matter will be resolved.

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  7. D grubAugust 8, 2012 at 10:04 PM

    a wimp in charge of out of touch pussies. real men run bethlum

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  8. LighthouseAugust 8, 2012 at 10:05 PM

    Mr. Kutzler's has been a wonderful asset for Bethlehem Township. He did a great job revamping the Planning and Zoning functions several years ago, and has done a great job as manager under less than ideal budgetary contraints. Honestly, all of the Township employees have done a great job.

    Taxpayers don't fully appreciate that there is only so much fat, and then flesh, that can be "cut" before you get to the bone. A lot of municipalities--not just BT--have been doing more with less since 2009 budgets, and that only goes so long before either taxes have to raise or essential services begin to suffer. I know someone will likely spout off with some Tea Nut rant about what they don't like in government, or about "unions", but your local government is where your quality of life is most directly impacted. Kind of like linemen in football, they don't get all of the "glory" of the backs (national and state govts), but without them you would feel it right away.

    Anyway, any Twp taxpayer should look at their taxes and what they pay the school and county, and then notice how little they actually pay in Twp taxes for what they get.

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  9. Bernie O'HareAugust 8, 2012 at 10:15 PM

    Lighthouse, You sure know what is going on. Your assessments are always well reasoned, even when we disagree. Truly, you are a lighthouse.

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  10. Jack AssAugust 8, 2012 at 10:22 PM

    J Finnigain should just annex beth township.it could be called loserville with two boondoggle community centers

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  11. LighthouseAugust 8, 2012 at 11:00 PM

    Thanks.

    And thanks for your coverage of local and county government. I have said it before, but I think the public becomes aware more of what goes on often times (the good and the bad) from LVR than the local papers. For example, you were at the forefront of the NIZ story.

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  12. zoidAugust 9, 2012 at 7:47 AM

    Great post Bernie!!It is right on point.

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  13. AnonymousAugust 9, 2012 at 1:02 PM

    Jack Ass:

    GFYS

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousAugust 9, 2012 at 5:43 PM

    Bernie, you and Lighthouse should get a room...

    ReplyDelete

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