SUNBURY - Northumberland County Public Safety Director Paul Froutz will officially resign from the position next week to pursue a "better opportunity" in public safety.
Froutz denied that his resignation is related in any way to ongoing problems at the county 911 center.
Froutz's resignation, which is effective April 15, was submitted Friday afternoon to the commissioners, who met in executive session with chief clerk Gary Steffen and human resources director Joseph Picarelli on Monday morning before announcing the resignation later in the day.
The commissioners stated in a press release that they have taken the "necessary steps to ensure that the safety of the citizens of Northumberland County will not be compromised."
The 24-year-old Froutz, who was appointed to the position Sept. 29, 2008, earns a yearly salary of $42,766.
His pending resignation comes three weeks after allegations were made that mismanaged 911 services were putting area residents' lives at risk.
In a telephone interview Monday afternoon, the Mount Carmel resident stated, "I am resigning because I have received two outstanding job offers in the public safety field. One of those is in-state while the other offer is out-of-state. My resignation is not related to the recent complaints about the 911 center. I just have the opportunity to further advance my career in public safety and I can't afford to pass up this opportunity."
Froutz, who thanked the commissioners for the opportunity to serve as public safety director, said he plans to assist in training someone to replace him so the public safety department can move forward.
Commissioner Merle Phillips said he was a bit surprised about Froutz's resignation, but agreed with him that it had nothing to do with the controversy surrounding the 911 center.
Phillips said the commissioners will most likely appoint an interim public safety director from within the county before making a full-time appointment.
Commissioner Frank Sawicki said, "He wrote a nice resignation letter. He wanted to move on and I wish Paul well in his future endeavors."
Commissioner Vinny Clausi, who recently assumed responsibility for overseeing the 911 center as a commissioner, reserved comment about Froutz's resignation.
At the March 15 commissioners' meeting, area fire officials, ambulance and other rescue personnel complained about late dispatch times, personnel being sent to the wrong addresses, mapping issues, inaccurate record keeping, lack of tones being activated for emergency calls and other problems dealing with the county's communications center.
Another common complaint is about inexperienced dispatchers being hired, including some personnel who have been characterized as "political hires." Others have complained about the commissioners' unwillingness to pay higher salaries to dispatchers, noting similar personnel in other counties receive $3 or $4 more per hour.
Although Froutz received the blunt of the complaints as public safety director, fire and emergency medical services officials are more angry at the commissioners for not responding to previous complaints made about the same issues.