BUTLER TWP — Butler Township is seeking to hire an assistant township manager amid a push to share a growing administrative workload to focus more on long-rang planning and to go after grant funding.

Commissioners Chairman Joe Hasychak called the addition prudent given the amount of work by township manager Ed Kirkwood. He said growth in the township makes adding another administrator a prudent move.

“I've been wanting to have an assistant manager in place for quite awhile,” Hasychak said. “I was always concerned that, if something were to happen to Ed, where would we go?”

According to a job description approved Monday by the commissioners, the position would be responsible for, among other things, preparing and filing state and federal reports, directing short- and long-range planning activities, maintaining fiscal records and insurance contracts, and attending public meetings in Kirkwood's absence.

Kirkwood said he also wants the position to focus on grant writing and working with the township's master plan for parks and recreation.

Kirkwood said recreation and recreational facilities are two areas he believes could reverse a trend of aging he sees in the township.

“When I look at my census data ... the trend is that Butler Township is becoming a very aged population,” Kirkwood said. “So to try and pull that back around and get some young people in here, you need to make sure you're hitting all the important aspects people are looking for.”

Kirkwood said he works about 70 hours a week, and his schedule makes it difficult to find time to seek grant funding for recreational initiatives.

“It takes an awful lot of time on an annual basis to make sure we're hitting on everything,” Kirkwood said. “It's very difficult for me to find a block of time to concentrate on doing these grants.”

Kirkwood said the job search isn't an indication that he's preparing to retire.

“I have no immediate plans to step away. Will there be a time when retirement becomes more appealing than working? Yes,” Kirkwood said. “It's not in the near future, I can tell you that.”

Hasychak said the new hire won't be groomed to replace Kirkwood once he does leave.

“This candidate would certainly be encouraged to apply for it, but we're going to go out and look for the best candidate for the job,” Hasychak said.

Township officials said the position's salary of $50,000 is in the proposed 2016 township budget.