A familiar face has been appointed to the top leadership position in Berks County government.
During a press conference Tuesday morning, the county commissioners picked one of their own to be the county’s new chief operations officer when they selected Commissioner Kevin Barnhardt for the position.
Barnhardt has served as a commissioner since 2008, the lone Democrat on the three-member board during that span. He was set to run for reelection next year, but instead will accept the appointed post of chief operations officer.
A replacement to serve out the rest of Barnhardt’s term will be appointed by Berks County Court, Barnhardt said.
The hiring was made in preparation of the impending retirement of longtime county employee Ronald Seaman, who informed the commissioners this spring that he plans to leave his post in early 2023.
As chief operations officer, Barnhardt will be tasked with overseeing the daily administrative and operational functions of county government. Berks is home to nearly 435,000 residents, the employer of more than 2,000 people and has an annual operating budget greater than $575 million.
Barnhardt will begin his new role Jan. 9.
Also at Tuesday’s press conference, the commissioners announced the hiring of Larry Medaglia to fill the newly created role of deputy chief operations officer. Medaglia will also begin his new job Jan. 9.
Medaglia is currently the county’s register of wills, a position he has held since 1996. Chief Deputy Register of Wills Suzanne Myers will serve as acting register of wills after Medaglia assumes his new role.
The commissioners hired Herbein|Mosteller HR Solutions in July to recruit candidates for the county’s top administrative positions. The step was taken well in advance of Seaman retiring so the candidates could spend time working side by side with Seaman, learning from his three decades of service to the county.
Seaman has served as the county’s chief administrative officer since 2016. His position will be renamed chief operations officer with the hiring of his replacement.
Source: Berkshire mont