New Middletown Manager Focuses On ‘Listening & Observing’

Middletown Township Manager Christopher Hoffman said he is focusing on listening and observing as he takes the helm of Bucks County’s third most populated municipality.

Hoffman was sworn in Monday evening by the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors.

The local government executive fills the vacancy created by the termination of former township manager Eden Ratliff earlier this year.

Stephanie Teoli Kuhls, the longtime former township manager, had been serving in the role in the interim. She plans to return to her job consulting with local governments.

Local officials, emergency responders, and colleagues from Hoffman’s former workplace gathered to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

The supervisors had voted unanimously in July to hire Hoffman at an annual salary of $215,000.

Hoffman said he was “honored” by his hiring in Middletown Township and praised what he has encountered in the community so far, adding that the welcome he received “made the decision easy.”

“My approach is one of initial observation, conversation, and relationship building,” Hoffman said. “It’s clear the township’s departments have a handful of things going on. I am sure there will be things to focus my initial attention on, but I am looking forward to getting to know the people, getting to know the area, and I am sure a plan will be developed from there.”

In his new capacity, Hoffman, a Montgomery County resident, takes over the management of a 19.4-square-mile township with a population of just over 46,000 residents and an annual budget of $58.2 million. His role includes managing the municipal workforce and overseeing 2027 contract talks with the police union, public works union, and the Teamsters.

The job opened after the dismissal of Ratliff in springtime. An investigation by LevittownNow.com into the firing revealed internal friction and complaints regarding Ratliff’s leadership.

The search to fill the township manager job began with 18 applicants before being narrowed to five for initial interviews and ultimately three finalists. The final evaluation stage featured tours of municipal facilities, discussions with department heads, sessions with the township’s management team, and a thorough interview with the supervisors.

Supervisor Chairperson Bernadette Hannah said last month that there was positive feedback from both Middletown department heads and Hoffman’s previous staff as a primary factor in the hiring decision.

“I’m so excited, you have no idea,” Hannah said Monday evening.

Teoli Kuhls noted that Hoffman’s professional references were “spectacular” and “really off the charts.”

Hoffman served in Lower Moreland Township in Montgomery County starting in 2010, holding the township manager position there for 13 years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Saint Joseph’s University, along with a Master of Public Administration and a city manager’s certificate from Villanova University.

In addition, Hoffman has active memberships in the Association of Pennsylvania Municipal Managers and the International City/County Management Association, and is on the executive committee of the Delaware Valley Workers’ Compensation Trust.