SUNBURY — Northumberland County controller Charles “Chuck” Erdman Jr. is seeking election to a fourth term.

Erdman, a Republican, said his reputation for professionalism, integrity and independence puts him in a position to guide fundamental reform that must occur in the culture and operations of Northumberland County government.

“If Northumberland County is to be a place where families want to raise their children, where businesses want to locate and expand, and where people want to visit, then county government must minimize its tax burden while maximizing the value of its services to its citizens,” he said.

The 36-year-old was elected to a first term during the Cwalina-Lewis administration and quickly became a vocal critic of its financial mismanagement that left the county millions of dollars in debt and resulted in a tripling of taxes since 1999.

Erdman supports competitive bidding for contracts, merit-based hiring and promotions and budget cuts to reduce the size and scope of county government.

He says he’s led by example to help improve the county’s financial condition, returning his own salary increase to the county treasury in 2004 and reducing the staff of the controller’s office by one-third since 1998. While costs in many county departments have ballooned, the budget of the controller’s office in 2009 is 24 percent less than it was in 1998.

Conceding there have been disagreements with present board of commissioners, led by Democrats Frank Sawicki and Vinny Clausi, Erdman said the administrators have been willing to listen and challenge the status quo. Erdman expects the commissioners to support his goals for his next term, including streamlining purchases that could save the county more than $100,000 annually, implementing stronger internal financial controls, enhancing the skill set of departmental fiscal personnel, and measuring departments’ performance against appropriate operating benchmarks.

A graduate of Line Mountain High School and Washington and Lee University, where he majored in business administration, Erdman worked as an investment adviser to local governments before being elected controller.

He is the treasurer of Pineknotters’ Days, a member of the board of directors of the Greater Susquehanna Valley YMCA, and a government affairs committee member of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Erdman lives in Point Township with his wife, Stacy, and their three children.