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Ex-Coatesville manager Janssen in line in Radnor
By Bonnie L. Cook

Inquirer Staff Writer

Paul G. Janssen Jr., the former Coatesville manager who left under a cloud and then resigned amid an insurance flap from his next job as Norristown's manager, is in line to become Radnor Township's interim manager.
Monday night, Radnor's seven commissioners will vote on whether to hire Janssen for part-time work Monday through Friday at a salary of $100 an hour. The commissioners' meeting agenda was posted late this week.
Janssen, 53, works as interim manager in Yeadon Borough, tending its affairs part-time two days a week, said newly elected Radnor Commissioner John Nagle. A search firm suggested Janssen's name.
Nagle said Janssen would help Radnor because he could be in the township building for part of each workday, monitoring the township's business, while other candidates could not.
"The real point is, at this time, we're not seeing him do much more than caretaking," Nagle said. "We hope to have a full-time manager in six to eight weeks."
If the appointment is approved, Janssen would succeed interim Manager John A. Granger, whose tenure ends Monday.
The township is struggling toward normalcy after a scandal involving Granger's predecessor, David A. Bashore.
Bashore, Radnor's manager for eight years, was suspended Feb. 26 and fired March 3 after questions arose about $128,500 in bonuses he allegedly paid himself and almost $400,000 in expenses that could not be accounted for in an audit of township funds.
Bashore has sued the township, alleging his privacy was violated by the township and its auditor. The township treasurer has countersued to recover the money in question.
Nagle said the fracas has created tension within the township staff, now split between workers for and against Bashore.
"The environment in the building is so toxic right now," Nagle said. "The charge we're going to give Janssen is, try to see if we can't build some bridge to the staff. We talked to some people in Yeadon, and they thought he was a great team-builder."
Janssen, who spent seven years as Coatesville's manager, resigned on April 6, 2005, after questions arose about his handling of an eminent domain case involving farmland, and also what officials called his failure to reflect accurately the state of the city's finances to its governing council.
The latter caused the city to dip into a reserve trust fund to cover a $7 million budget deficit in August 2005.
Janssen then became manager in Norristown, where he hired a former colleague as human resources manager at a $64,000 salary, although she lacked training for the job.
The worker failed to tell one health insurance carrier that she had hired another. As a result, Norristown had to pay $170,000 for a double monthly insurance premium. Janssen resigned, and the HR manager was fired in the fall of 2006. Janssen has denied any wrongdoing. Janssen could not be reached for comment last night; his home phone in Downingtown was not in service.
William Procyson, president of Norristown's governing council when Janssen was town manager, said that Janssen came up with cost-cutting measures that yielded "good fruit" and that Janssen might do well as Radnor's interim manager.
"But I don't feel he was as forthcoming as he could have been about the debacle with the insurance, and that impacted our decision to part ways with him," Procyson said.
Incoming Radnor Commissioner Elaine Schaefer said whoever is appointed interim manager is unlikely to set policy because of the job's anticipated short tenure.
"It's important that we keep our eyes on the prize . . .," Schaefer said, "finding a competent manager as quickly and efficiently as possible."

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Contact staff writer Bonnie L. Cook at 610-313-8232 or bcook@phillynews.com.
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