Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald nominated his top aide, chief of staff Jennifer Liptak, to become the next county manager.
Liptak has been serving as acting county manager since William McKain, who had been in the job for more than a decade, left earlier this month to become chief operating officer at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. County Council will consider the nomination at its Tuesday meeting.
A veteran of county government, Liptak entered public service in 1998 and previously has served in fiscal and budgetary roles for the district attorney’s office and County Council. She is a native of Western Pennsylvania and holds degrees and certificates from the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University. She is also on many governmental and nonprofit boards, including as the vice chair at Pittsburgh Regional Transit.
Salaries for top staffers are set by Fitzgerald. Records show the county paid about $237,000 to McKain during 2022 and about $182,000 to Liptak.
Fitzgerald will depart office at the end of this year, after completing his third and final term as county executive. Many of his top staffers — including Liptak, McKain and spokesperson Amie Downs — have served with him since he first took office in 2012.
Jon, a copy editor and reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is currently on strike and working as a co-editor of the Pittsburgh Union Progress. Reach him at jmoss@unionprogress.com.
