Zarnick recognized for work in government
The last two years that Butler Township Commissioner Dave Zarnick has spent working on behalf of the 92 first-class townships in Pennsylvania, including Butler Township, has earned him recognition from the state and organizations that support those townships.
Zarnick, township commissioner president, received the Governor's Award for Local Government Excellence from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development's Governor's Center for Local Government Services last week.
He was supposed to be presented with the award at a ceremony at the Pennsylvania Governor's Residence in Harrisburg in April, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The award was mailed to him and he was recognized virtually.
Zarnick was nominated for the award by the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners before his yearlong term as president of the association concluded Oct. 31.
In March, the state Senate approved a commendation recognizing Zarnick for the award and his years of service to the township. State Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, sponsored the commendation.Last month, the Pennsylvania Municipal League recognized him for serving and leading the PSATC. The group presented Zarnick with its President's Award in 2006 for outstanding and dedicated service to the organization.His two-year term as president of the Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania Association of Township Commissioners, which, like PSATC, does lobbying and advocacy work for first class townships, ended in September.“It was a challenging couple years serving as president of both organizations,” Zarnick said Friday.He and retired township manager Ed Kirkwood spent the past three years serving on a committee that revised the 3,500-page First Class Township Code, which was last updated in 2003.“We have rewritten the First Class Township Code that first class townships must abide by,” Zarnick said.He said he and Kirkwood would travel to Harrisburg, stay overnight and then work on the code nonstop the next day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. once every other month.“We would go line by line, word by word,” Zarnick said.After the committee would complete its draft of a few chapters, those chapters were sent to PSATC lawyers and to first class townships for review and comments. Final versions were prepared after all parties agreed on language. That process continued until the code was completely revised.He said no major changes were made to the code and most of the work involved revising the language, so it contained the same terminology as the Second Class Township Code and borough codes to make it acceptable to state lawmakers.The House and Senate approved the new code and Gov. Tom Wolf signed it into law Oct. 29.As PSATC president, Zarnick said he organized the annual lobby day in Harrisburg when members would meet with their area legislators to discuss topics affecting townships, such as pension relief.
The message to lawmakers was: “This is the way the townships see it and this is what we need,” he said.Because the virus put a halt to face-to-face meetings, Zarnick said he sent “action emails” to members asking them to contact their legislators about certain topics.Action emails were sent when the code was removed from the General Assembly's agenda, and the code was eventually brought up for voting.“We bombarded them with emails and phone calls, and got that put back on the agenda,” Zarnick said.He did that work in addition to his regular duties in the township, for which he is paid $4,200 a year.He called his year at the helm of the PSATC a good and successful one.“I enjoy it. If you don't enjoy it, it's work,” Zarnick said. “Local government works. We get things done. I wish other governments worked like us.”He said it takes understanding from his family for him to dedicate time to the township.“Everyone knows you don't do it for the money,” he said. “You do it to do what's best for township residents. Fortunately, I have an understanding wife and she never complains about the time I spend.”He said he and Judy, his wife of 33 years, have two adult children.
