Whiten resigns as Charleroi’s code enforcement officer
By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
Finally ready to take some well-deserved time off, Charleroi Code Enforcement Officer Robert Whiten Jr. will resign from his position.
During an agenda meeting Wednesday, Whiten submitted his letter of resignation effective May 28.
Whiten was appointed to the position in April 2019, two weeks before retiring from his long-time position with Washington County 911 services.
At the time he was hired, Whiten was the first full-time code enforcement officer the borough had in two years.
Before that, an outside company covered the service part-time since 2017, and responded to calls and complaints on an as-needed basis.
As the borough’s fire chief, Whiten was ready for the job full-time, as he already knew the area and had the dedication and time to make sure his hometown was cleaned up.
“I have worked for 43 years of my life, and with my health still being good, I would like to enjoy my retirement years with my wife,” Whiten said. “It has been a great honor to have worked in my hometown and have tried to make a difference and make our borough a nice place to live and visit.
“It has not been easy trying to clean up the borough, but I feel I have done the best I could considering where I first started.”
Whiten said he tried to make more friends than enemies while on the job.
“I tried to focus on the town looking a lot better,” Whiten said. “By getting rid of the garbage, making sure people cut grass and kept their trees trimmed, but the biggest problem has been a lot of blight in the borough and people not wanting to take care of their properties.”
Council acknowledged his dedication to the job.
Council President Mark Alterici said Whiten has gone above and beyond.
“He has definitely been as asset to our borough,” Alterici said. “It is an unforgiving job and he has been more than we could have asked for.
“It is not about citing and collecting money, it is been about getting people to improve their property. Citing and fines is a last resort. His job has been improving the borough has been about making it a better place to be.”
Councilwoman Jody Cheplic said because of his personality and respect he had for residents, it will be hard to fill Whiten’s shoes.
“He would work with people,” she said. “Rather than throwing the book at them and taking them to the magistrate he tried to work with residents. Honestly, if people do not have the money to clean up, they probably do not have the money for court costs. As a borough, we just want to see them address the issue and he has been very consistent with that.”
Councilwoman Nancy Ellis said that was Whiten’s biggest asset.
“He talked to people,” Ellis said. “He worked with people. They respected him as the fire chief and the code enforcement officer. He knew the area, he knew our people and he put his heart and soul into it. He loved his hometown and it showed.”
Ellis agreed will be hard to fill the position.
“His position has paid for itself,” she said. “It will be very hard to find someone of his caliber.”
Council will reluctantly accept the resignation during a business meeting next week, citing the job Whiten has done for his community for the borough over the past two years while serving as code enforcement officer.
While Whiten is excited to spend retirement with his family, he won’t be a stranger in the Magic City.
“I did the best I could do,” Whiten said. “I made enemies, that is for sure, but I know I made a lot more friends. I might not have cracked the whip as much as I could have or should have, but at least we got things done. There is still a lot more to go.”
Whiten will still be a prominent figure in the borough as he will continue to lead the fire department.
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