At the July 10 Bethel Park Council meeting, Kristen Denne was approved as the new municipal manager.

Her start date is Aug. 28.

“Kristen is very well qualified, with substantial local government managerial experience,” Tim Moury, council president, said. “We’re excited to have her on board and look forward to what she’ll bring to our residents.”

Denne was manager of Caln Township in Chester County, overseeing day-to-day activities including police, administration, public works, municipal authority operations and Ingleside Golf Club, the municipal course.

Prior to that, she served as manager of Springettsbury Township in York County, the city of Johnstown in Cambria County, Ambridge Borough in Beaver County, and Dormont.

A West Mifflin native, Denne looks forward to her new role in a familiar area.

“Bethel Park has always been an amazing community with a great quality of life and good services for residents,” she said. “Having the ability to come back to Pittsburgh and particularly the South Hills area, where my connections are active, was a unique opportunity.”

She serves on the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officer Education and Training Commission as a commissioner, appointed by Gov. Tom Corbett and Gov. Tom Wolf. The commission was created in 1974 to establish minimum training and certification standards for municipal police officers in the state.

“It’s been an honor to have two governors appoint me,” Denne said. I’m still serving on the commission and working on getting reappointed after I’m at Bethel Park. Along with my commissioner duties, being in this role has helped me to be keenly aware of standards in police training and trends in attracting police candidates. It’s been a large part of my career to educate the public and local officials about the unique needs of the police profession and necessary training for an effective police force.”

Denne’s work on the commission involved the implementation of regulations surrounding Act 57 and 59 of 2020, which were police reform bills passed by the state Legislature.

“MPOETC was tasked with creating the infrastructure and regulations to make the requirements of this legislation a working process for local police departments,” she said. “I took this process very seriously, as this was the most significant police reform that I’ve experienced during my career. It was crucial to work with MPOETC staff and local police agencies to make this process successful and fulfill the intent of the legislators.”

Once she gets acclimated to her new position, Denne will review Bethel Park’s strategic plans and capital projects. Because budget season will be approaching, Denne will be quickly getting involved with that process while becoming familiar with the various municipal departments and employees.

“I also want to talk to council and see what they’d like to accomplish in 2024,” she said. “And I realize some projects were halted due to the change in administration and issues with supply chains in recent years, so I’ll assess what we need to do to get projects moving in fast order.”

She’s eager to bring her wealth of knowledge to her new job.

“I’ve worked throughout Pennsylvania, so I’m looking forward to bringing ideas from those positions here. But I still have a strong understanding of the personality and traditions of the Pittsburgh area,” said Denne. “I also believe in treating government as a professional business model and looking at the best way to add cost-effective services for the residents and the local business area.”

Denne plans to be an active community member in Bethel Park, making connections and building partnerships.

“I’ll be living, working, volunteering and attending church with the community and the residents I serve. I’m hoping with the assistance of staff and department heads that we’ll continue to enhance services, produce successful events and educate the Bethel Park community on the many benefits that local government provides,” she said.

“Residents don’t often realize all of the services that they are provided at the local level, and I feel municipal government needs to do a better job of explaining the services that it offers.”

While in graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh, Denne served as an intern for the local Government Academy and Castle Shannon Borough.

“It seemed like local government was where I was gravitating, and I fell in love with neighborhood development and infrastructure. In my role now, I get to see the fruit of my labor more often than my colleagues at state and federal positions,” she said. “For instance, I can see a playground or park go from vision to construction, or a road that was in bad shape be reconstructed. It’s very fulfilling.”

Denne holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She has participated in the credentialed manager program from the International City/County Management Association, has completed the Capstone Seminar with the Association of Pennsylvania Municipal Management and completed a public entity leadership certificate from Penn State.

In addition to her professional activities, Denne serves as a Eucharistic minister and lector at her local parish and has been a guest lecturer at colleges, public sector professional organizations and nonprofits involved in local government.

Bethel Park residents will have the opportunity to meet Denne at an informal introductory event that will be held in the fall.

She succeeds Laurence Christian, who is city manager in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

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