Two county commissioners bid farewell at the last meeting of the year

Dec. 15—MERCER — The county board of commissioners, in their last meeting of the year Thursday, said goodbye to two of its members and Mercer County's chief clerk.

Matt McConnell and Scott Boyd did not seek out terms in the latest election.

After 12 years as a Republican who serves as the commissioners' opinionated chairman, McConnell decided not to run for a fourth term.

Boyd, a Republican, served two four-year terms as county commissioner.

The new board will consist of Democrat Tim McGonigle, who will be going into his third term as county commissioner, and Republicans Ann Coleman and Bill Finley Jr.

McGonigle thanked his fellow sitting commissioners and wished them well in their next chapters.

"You've been great to work with, Matt," McGonigle said. "You brought me up to speed when I got on board and I'm always indebted to you."

He also thanked Ann Morrison, chief clerk for the past six years, for her contributions. Morrison was informed by the two new commissioners that her last day would be Jan. 2, she said.

"I don't think the people in the county understand how much you do," McGonigle told Morrison. "The money you helped us with — ERAP and we had all those families displaced at the Sharon Towers, how you helped to facilitate that. It didn't go unnoticed. I wish you well in your endeavors and I wish you were sticking around."

Boyd had said one step he is proud of taking as commissioner is setting up broadband internet access for unserved or underserved areas in the county.

"This came about during a very difficult time of COVID," Boyd said in an interview with The Herald last year. "We had to get through that hurdle and that really interrupted a lot of the flow that would happen in the county and I think we recovered very well."

McConnell said, when he announced he would not run for another term, that the current board of commissioners have done a lot of good.

He said the pension program is well-funded and that the roof is dry. The current board of commissioners put a 40-year roof on the courthouse. During his term, he said that the board lowered the county's debt by borrowing $12 million and refinancing.

"We're replacing some of these bridges," McConnell had said. "All three of us thought it was time to be proactive."

McConnell said 12 years is the longest he's been with an employer.

"I will have respect for anybody that ever serves in office, whether we agree or disagree," McConnell. "I think we have built a stronger county. It hasn't been easy."

The next county commissioners' meeting is its reorganizational meeting at 3 p.m. Jan. 2 when they will announce the new chief clerk and set the 2024 meeting schedule.

Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com