VALLEY TWP. -- Reorganization resulted in 3.5 percent raises in pay and increased vacation time for Valley Township employees Monday night.

Supervisors chairman Gary Derr, who also works as a township equipment operator, will be paid $16.11 per hour this year. Derr abstained from voting on any raises and vacation day changes at the meeting.

Road foreman Frank Lehman's new hourly rate will be $17.34. Laborer Rich Roberts will be paid $12.53 per hour.

The supervisors will not receive raises since their salaries are set by the second class township code, township vice chairman Mike Kull said. The maximum pay per year for a Valley Township supervisor is $1,875.

The salary of supervisor Judy Achy, who serves as township secretary, is currently $309 a month. The township auditors will set her salary at their meeting today.

Township treasurer Bruce Lamotte will receive a 3.5 percent increase. Achy said his pay is slightly more than hers.

Township zoning officer George Plafcan will receive the same raise. He said he didn't know his current annual salary. He also serves as building codes officer with the supervisors setting his annual salary for that at $2,000.

Kull said the township usually follows the Social Security raise, but this year's raise of more than 5 percent "is kind of high."

The supervisors also changed the vacation requirements to two weeks after one year of service and to three weeks after two years of service. It had been five days after a year of work and two weeks after two years of service.

Township employees also get seven holidays and five personal days.

The supervisors added double time pay for employees plowing snow on Thanksgiving and Easter. Christmas and New Year's Day were already part of that agreement.

The supervisors re-elected Derr as chairman, Kull as vice chairman and Achy as secretary. Lehman was reappointed road foreman.

Dan McGann was appointed to the planning commission, Ken Piestrak to the zoning hearing board, Joe Koons temporarily for one month to the municipal authority, Bill Toth as sewage enforcement officer, Bill Yarnell as alternate sewage officer and Kull as fire chief. Richard Snyder was reappointed to the vacancy board and Tom Leipold was renamed solicitor.

The supervisors will meet the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 7 p.m. in the township building except in November when they will meet only once on Nov. 11.

They also directed the solicitor to send a letter to Jack Diehl of 225 McCracken Road asking him to redo his driveway to stop runoff that is freezing on the road.