Buehler resigns from Forward board of supervisors
Forward Township’s board of supervisors has a seat to fill as of Tuesday night, April 9, when supervisor Steve Buehler turned in his resignation.
According to township manager Tom Hartwig, Buehler no longer had time to focus on his township duties due to increased responsibility at his full-time job. Buehler serves as assistant superintendent for the McCandless Township Sanitary Authority in Allegheny County.
“Mr. Buehler’s job responsibilities increased, resulting in less available personal time to spend on township business,” Hartwig said.
Prior to his resignation, Buehler had served on the Forward Township board of supervisors since 2022, and his term was set to expire at the end of 2027.
By Pennsylvania law, the term of Buehler’s replacement would expire at the end of 2025, and they would have to win reelection to fill out the remaining two years of Buehler’s term.
To fill Buehler’s seat on the board, Forward Township is now asking for letters of interest from any township resident who wants to serve the remainder of his term. Interested residents must have lived in Forward Township for at least a year and be registered to vote.
The township will collect letters of interest until Tuesday, April 30. Afterward, the two remaining supervisors — Mark Wilson and Susan Oliver-Stough — will sift through the letters to find the most qualified candidate. The new supervisor will be officially appointed at the township’s monthly work session May 7.
“We have to make that appointment, by law, within 30 days,” Hartwig said. “They’ll review (the letters) and make a shortlist and probably meet with two or three of the shortlisted candidates, and then make a decision.”
If the township somehow fails to decide on Buehler’s replacement within the allotted time, then according to Pennsylvania law, the responsibility of picking a new supervisor would fall to a special vacancy board. This board would consist of the remaining supervisors and “one registered elector of the township.”
That board would have to make a decision within 15 days. If no decision is made by then, it would be up to the Butler County Court of Common Pleas to fill the vacancy.
