Hess set to step down as Lancaster Township manager
Lancaster Township manager Mary Hess submitted her letter of resignation on Wednesday after more than two years in the role, citing an increasingly challenging work environment as the primary reason.
“It has become progressively harder to do the job because of misinformation that has spread among certain members of the public,” she said Thursday. “It’s sad, but that’s the case.”
Hess, a Zelienople resident with more than 17 years of experience in local government, began working for Lancaster Township in October 2023. She was a member of Zelienople Borough Council for 16 years before resigning midway through a four-year term last September.
“I am likely taking another position,” said Hess, who declined to provide specifics on her next destination.
While acknowledging the difficulties of the job, Hess said her decision to leave was not rooted in working relationships within the township’s government.
She praised her staff and the board of supervisors for their hard work and commitment to the community.
“I’m sad to leave my staff and the people of Lancaster that I’ve come to know and respect,” Hess said. “The staff here is amazing, and the board works extremely hard in what is often a thankless role. They only want what’s best for Lancaster.”
She noted that Lancaster has seen several managers leave after relatively short tenures, attributing that to tensions with the public over the role of a township manager and the division of responsibilities between that position and the board of supervisors.
“It’s the residents that have lived here a long time that need to accept the position of a manager,” she said. “They need to accept that the supervisors are truly a board of directors that make decisions, but they don’t run the day-to-day operations of the township.”
Hess added that one of the most significant friction points is the rapid population growth driven by major housing developments, such as Arden Wood and Scenic Ridge.
She said the township’s population has roughly doubled as a result of those projects, bringing increased infrastructure demands and a shift in resident expectations.
“A lot of people that are used to suburbia and not so much the farming community and the rural atmosphere have moved here,” she said. “So they have had different requests and different concerns.”
Hess said she would likely stay through the transition as the township completes its audit and ramps up renovations on the recently purchased $1 million property at 600 Perry Highway that is planned as the future site of a new municipal campus.
In her letter of resignation, Hess said she offered to continue assisting the township on a volunteer basis after her departure to help with the managerial transition and ongoing projects.
Despite the circumstances, Hess emphasized her appreciation for the people she has come to know well during her tenure.
“The vast majority of people in Lancaster have been wonderful, and I’ve loved working with them,” she said. “I’ve loved all of my supervisors and my staff. I will miss them the most.”
As of Thursday, the board had not yet formally accepted her resignation. Hess said she expects supervisors to consider her letter of resignation at their next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 19.
