For 10 of the 13 years he’s been a Lebanon County Commissioner, Robert Phillips was the board chairman.
That streak came to an end on Thursday, Jan. 2, when commissioner Mike Kuhn was unanimously voted chairman during the board’s annual reorganization meeting. Phillips was named vice chairman while commissioner Jo Ellen Litz was selected as board secretary.
The reorganization meeting is held to set the board of commissioners’ leadership positions and liaison positions with a variety of organizations for the year, and occurs in conjunction with the first regularly scheduled board meeting of the commissioners in the new year.
Phillips and Kuhn both talked to LebTown after the meeting about the change in leadership.
“I’m honored to be a county commissioner and I am honored to accept this responsibility,” said Kuhn. “I have big shoes to fill. Bob has a lot of experience, a lot of wisdom that is invaluable to do this job – and so does commissioner Litz. Both of them are there for me to lean on if I have questions or need help or when we need to get together to work for the betterment of the county.”
“Out of a sense of fairness and recognizing Mike’s capability,” said Phillips about the decision to make the change. “For me, I did it when I needed to do it with the passing of Commissioner (Bill) Ames and so on, but I am just happy that he was willing to step up and take it.”
When congratulated by Phillips during the meeting following the vote, Kuhn jokingly asked if he also got the chairman’s “salary,” with county administrator Jamie Wolgemuth quipping that the chairman actually gets a car. To that joke Kuhn retorted that he had hoped the chairman got a Leer jet.
In other action concerning, Wolgemuth was named chief clerk/county administrator for 2025 and Matthew Bugli was voted as county solicitor for the coming year.
Other leadership positions selected for 2025 include:
Assessment Board
- Chair – Jo Ellen Litz
- Vice Chair – Mike Kuhn
- Secretary – Robert Phillips
- Administrator – Jamie Wolgemuth
- Solicitor – Matthew Bugli
- Chief County Assessor – Daniel Seaman
Elections Board
- Chair – Robert Phillips
- Vice Chair – Mike Kuhn
- Secretary – Jo Ellen Litz
- Chief Clerk – Sean Drasher
- Solicitor – Matthew Bugli
Salary Board
- Chair – Mike Kuhn
- Vice Chair – Robert Phillips
- Secretary – Robert Mettley
- Solicitor – Matthew Bugli
Commissioner Committee Appointments
Robert Phillips – Community Action Partnership, Commission on Drug & Alcohol Abuse, Elections, Department of Emergency Services, Expo Center, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Information Technology Services, City of Lebanon and Area Agency on Aging.
Mike Kuhn – Lebanon Valley Destination Marketing Organization, United Way, Economic Development Corp, Lebanon Transit, Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities/Early Intervention, Renova Center, Children & Youth, Governor Dick, and Planning.
Jo Ellen Litz – Assessment, Conservation District, Geographical Information Systems, Commission for Women, Veterans Affairs, South Central Workforce Investment Board, Building & Grounds, Chamber of Commerce, and Housing & Redevelopment Authority.
Concerning the salary board, commissioners voted to set salaries for all employees in the controller, coroner, courts, district attorney, prothonotary/clerk of courts, recorder of deeds, register of wills/orphans court, sheriff and treasurer’s departments and offices, effective Jan. 5.
Additionally, commissioners set the first and third Thursday of each month as the dates for 2025 public meetings. Those meetings are held in room 207 of the county municipal building, 400 S. 8th St., Lebanon. A special meeting was scheduled on Dec. 24 to adopt the 2026 general fund budget.
The board of assessment hearings for 2025 was also approved. Those meetings are on the first Thursday of each month except in September and October, when appeals are held every Thursday on an as-needed basis.
In other business, commissioners voted to approve various banks as depository for county programs and state and federally funded initiatives for money that comes to Lebanon County.
During the public meeting, commissioners also unanimously voted to:
- Authorize the 2025 SAVIN maintenance and service agreement with the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute at no cost to the county. SAVIN is a service that provides information for free to crime victims with certain notifications related to incarcerated individuals.
- Accept the nomination of Tomomi “T” Horning of Lebanon as an associate director at the Lebanon County Conservation District.
- Provide real estate tax exemptions to three fully disabled veterans.
- Approve the minutes of their special meeting on Dec. 26, the treasurer’s report and various personnel transactions.
The next meeting of the county commissioners is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 16, at 9:30 a.m. in room 207 of the county municipal building, 400 S. 8th St., Lebanon.
Read More: Lebanon County Commissioners approve nearly $104 million budget for 2025
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