Mar 15, 2024 By Paul Paterra 2 min read

In an apparent about-face, former Charleroi Borough manager Joe Manning appears to be eyeing a return to the position from which he resigned.

While the motion to hire Manning at an annual salary of $63,000 was on Wednesday’s meeting agenda, council opted to postpone the vote until next week.

Council President Kristin Hopkins-Kalcek said Manning expressed interest in returning to the position.

“Joe reached out to us and said he was interested in finishing what he started,” she said. “Since he was previously vetted by the DCED and hired before by the borough, we conferred with our solicitor and asked if we could just appoint him to save time, since time is of the essence, so we added it to the agenda.”

The borough has been without a manager since July, when council terminated Matt Staniszewski from the job after being suspended for 10 days, citing “disrespectful behavior.” Staniszewski has since filed suit against the borough, alleging breach of contract.

After some discussion Wednesday, council recessed the meeting until 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, when a vote is expected to be taken on the manager position.

“There were a lot of questions that were posed,” Hopkins-Kalcek said. “In order to do our due diligence, we are going to reconvene next Tuesday to further discuss.”

Council approved a three-year contract for Manning in June 2021 at an annual salary of $60,000.

The manager position had been recommended by the state Department of Community and Economic Development during its early intervention with the borough to avoid a financial crisis.

In a move shrouded in secrecy, council voted to approve a personnel move in January 2022 without providing specifics. A month later, members approved a separation agreement with Manning and accepted his resignation. Reasons for his departure were never made public.

When contacted Thursday, Manning declined to comment.

“Let council make its decision,” said Manning, who also is a former Washington councilman and city firefighter.