County Decides to Hire Firm Instead of Individual as County Engineer

At their weekly meeting, Wednesday, the County Commissioners announced that the engineering firm Herbert, Rowland, & Grubic, Inc. (HRG) has been hired effective July 23, 2008 to serve as the County Engineer.

Headquartered in Harrisburg, HRG has a lancaster branch office in operation since 1989 in the Greenfield Corporate Center with approximately 30 employees.

HRG was selected out of 4 other applicants for the position, the others being C.S. Davidson of York, Rettew of Lancaster, and McCormick Taylor of Philadelphia.

Commissioner Chairman Dennis Stuckey said that HRG was not the lowest bidder, but that he and his fellow Commissioners felt that they were the "best qualified" for the job.

Commissioner Scott Martin explained that the Board is attempting to save money and "eliminate the middle man" by hiring a firm instead of an individual, since often the County engineer would often "outsource" responsibility anyway.

Stuckey said that David McCudden, the former County Engineer who retired at the end of last year, had received about $175,000 a year in salary and benefits, and that the County wants to keep a tighter lid on expenditures in this area.

Martin said the County wants to "untangle the engineering services from facilities management."
The County Engineer is responsible for the management, operation and maintenance of County-owned buildings and facilities.