The Connoquenessing Township Board of Supervisors, which has generated a troubling amount of controversy and unrest, should heed an unstated message emanating from a Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission ruling that the panel announced on Jan. 29.

That message is that the board needs to focus more on good government and less on personality clashes that have been consuming it for much too long.

Differences of opinion within government are a healthy thing that in the end can be productive. Constant infighting like what exists in Connoquenessing Township is not productive and not the way government on any level should operate.

The state ethics panel ruled Supervisor Jack Kaltenbaugh guilty of two violations of ethics rules and ordered him to pay a $500 fine to the state. According to the commission, Kaltenbaugh violated part of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act when he participated in a board of supervisors vote to appoint himself as township code enforcement officer. That occurred despite a provision in the second-class township code that no elected official may hold an appointed office simultaneously.

There would not have been the necessary two votes to appoint him if Kaltenbaugh had not voted.

The commission also determined that Kaltenbaugh violated the ethics act when he used his codes position to dismiss code enforcement actions subject to fines that would have been levied against himself and his brother, Ronald Kaltenbaugh, regarding property that they jointly own.

According to a report filed in 2006 by then-road crew superintendent William Chuba, the Kaltenbaughs' property, which is located at 184 Stevenson Road, had "junk, tires and hazardous materials" strewn across it.

Jack Kaltenbaugh was joined by supervisors Chairwoman Evelyn Hockenberry in the vote to dismiss the code violation charges.

Hockenberry also has been the target of an ethics investigation since last year, but based on the latest information available, the commission has yet to render a ruling on the chairwoman's conduct.

Although the commission rendered its Kaltenbaugh ruling Dec. 29, a month before it announced it, Kaltenbaugh said last week that he had heard "absolutely nothing" from the commission.

The "junk, tires and hazardous materials" on the Kaltenbaughs' property might not have been emitting an odor at the time of Chuba's report, but Jack Kaltenbaugh's action to dismiss the charges against himself didn't pass the smell test.

Either Kaltenbaugh had failed to familiarize himself with provisions of the second-class township code, as it applies to serving in dual roles, or he blatantly chose to ignore those guidelines.

Regardless, Kaltenbaugh had no good excuse for failing to understand and exercise the proper conduct that the township code demands. Elected officials without exception should familiarize themselves with the rules governing their service.

The ethics ruling and $500 fine levied against Kaltenbaugh should make officials of all municipalities take closer notice of the rules of proper conduct for their positions.

The nearly constant friction that has engulfed Connoquenessing Township has not been good for that municipality. It would be good if the Kaltenbaugh ruling would bring about a turning point toward a more professional conduct of government.

Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that will be the result.

The people of the township should not be content with the way their local government has been operating and should keep letting that be known at upcoming meetings.