When two new supervisors are sworn in on Jan. 2, Connoquenessing Township’s era of embarrassing government hopefully will end, replaced by a new majority committed to advancing the township rather than keeping it mired in conflict and questionable decision making.

Unfortunately, reminders of what has dominated the past several years will remain entrenched, with Supervisor Jack Kaltenbaugh’s continued service on the board.

Unless he decides to step down, Kaltenbaugh’s term won’t end until January 2014.

He would do the township a great service if he chose to take that step soon — to give the township a clean slate on which to move ahead.

For the second year in a row, the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commissioin has found Kaltenbaugh guilty of a state ethics violation. The latest violation of the state Public Official and Employee Ethics Act stems from work performed by the company that he co-owns.

Last year, the state ethics panel ruled that he violated the commonwealth’s ethics law when he participated in a vote to appoint himself as township code enforcement officer, and failed to file a statement of financial interests for 2007 by May 1, 2008.

Meanwhile, the ethics commission announced in January that Supervisor Evelyn Hockenberry, who will leave office at the end of this year, had been found guilty of four violations of the ethics law, including for paying herself $10,000 in township funds for no valid reason from May 2008 through December 2009 and illegaly appointing herself township treasurer and secretary.

In an editorial on Jan. 26, the Butler Eagle called for Hockenberry’s resignation, something she refused to do.

With two ethics violations under his belt, Kaltenbaugh should do the township a favor and step down.

In fact, township residents and others have cause for wondering why there are no state provisions for automatic removal of elected officials found guilty of serious ethics offenses.

In the case of both Hockenberry and Kaltenbaugh, their violations hardly were minor instances of failure to understand what were and were not appropriate actions.

Now, with his latest scrape with the ethics panel, Kaltenbaugh has shown that he no longer is worthy of his elected position.

Connoquenessing Township deserves the opportunity to move beyond the past and direct all of its attention toward dealing with issues in a proper, transparent way — the way in which well-run municipal governments do.

Even if he decides to stay, Kaltenbaugh must not inhibit that process on the new supervisors board, who are Scott Longdon and Terry Steinheiser, both of whom bring good credentials to the board.

Connoquenessing Township is a growing community. It needs officials working on behalf of its betterment, not officials mired in personality conflicts and questionable choices.

With the election past, the future looks brighter for the township. It would look even brighter if Kaltenbaugh chose to step aside.