Scio Township Manager Joyce Parker is set to step down from her duties while the township looks ahead to what’s next for this important role inside township hall.

At the end of August, the Scio Township Board looked at where things stood with the Interim Township Manager Search. The Sun Times News followed up with township supervisor Will Hathaway to see how things are going and what’s next.

Hathaway said “Scio launched the search for an interim-manager in June, after Township Manager Joyce Parker announced her resignation.”

He said manager Parker agreed to stay through Sept. 15, to help the township with the transition.

“Our goal was to hire an interim-manager because we felt that the incoming Board of Trustees should determine whom to hire as manager in the long-term,” Hathaway explained.

However, that hasn’t happened.

Hathaway said three members of the current Board of Trustees agreed to serve on the search committee and worked with an outside consultant to post the position and narrow the field of candidates.

“We had three finalists and were scheduling interviews with the entire Board of Trustees when the August 6 primary occurred,” Hathaway said. “Despite an offer to include input from the incoming Board of Trustees members, some of those candidates elected in the primary, incumbent and non-incumbent, raised concerns about proceeding to hire an interim manager. Because of their objections, we halted the process.”

And then at the Aug. 27 meeting, Hathaway said the Township Board voted to reconstitute a search committee and start a new search for an interim manager.

“The opportunity for any overlap an interim and our outgoing township manager is now unlikely,” he said. “Instead, we will probably face a gap without any township manager.”