On the heels of allegations of Sunshine Act violations, Saucon Voice has learned from at least two sources that seasoned Lower Saucon Township Zoning Officer Jim Young has submitted his resignation. Mr. Young was unanimously appointed to the position of Township Zoning Officer in 2018.
The departure of Mr. Young continues the long list in a short time of staff turnover since a new Council majority took control this past January. This is now the fourth key staff member to resign or be let go since the first of the year.
Longtime Township solicitor Attorney B. Lincoln Treadwell, Jr. was dismissed by the new Council at its reorganizational meeting in January 2024. Council moved 3-1 (with Republican Tom Carocci absent) to replace Mr. Treadwell after he had served the Township for more than 20 years across multiple different administrations and political ideologies from past councils.
Young and Treadwell are homegrown Saucon Valley School District graduates with considerable years of professional experience in their positions and with deep ties to their community for which they served.
Treadwell would be replaced by Bucks County law firm Curtin & Heefner’s Attorney Mark Freed by a 3-2 party line vote. But the new solicitor, with minimal explanation to either Council or the public, would resign just a mere 16 days later.
As Saucon Voice covered at the time, a letter dated January 18, 2024, stated, “We believe it is in the best interests of both Curtin & Heefner LLP and Township Council that Curtin & Heefner LLP terminate its representation of Lower Saucon Township as Solicitor and Labor Counsel.”
With Mr. Freed’s resignation, Township Council voted 3-2 along party lines to appoint Attorney Steven Goudsouzian as interim Township Solicitor. This appointment marked the third solicitor to serve the Township Since December 2023.
The next staff member to leave would be Township Manager Mark Hudson. Mr. Hudson had been appointed and confirmed unanimously in August 2022 after the resignation of longtime manager, Ms. Leslie Huhn. Most recently, Mr. Hudson helped guide the Township through one of Lehigh Valley’s worst railway disasters in history.
As was reported by Saucon Voice at the time, it was not immediately clear why Mr. Hudson was leaving. He is now serving Hanover Township, Northampton County as its manager.
The resignation of Mr. Young will leave open a key staff position. No additional information is known at this point regarding an interim or permanent replacement or what effect this vacancy, if any, will have on open township permits and development business. As more information is made available this article will be updated.
The next Lower Saucon Township Council meeting is scheduled for May 15, 2024, beginning at 6:30 PM and located at Lower Saucon Township Town Hall.