“As far as I know, there hasn’t been a decision made yet,’’ said Heim, formerly Reading’s police chief. “I like it here. I work with really great people, and I think we are doing a great job. I want to continue to be part of the team.’’


As the Smithgall administration winds down after two four-year terms, Heim is in the same boat as other city department heads who will find out in the next couple of weeks whether they get to keep their jobs.


In the fall campaign he and District Attorney Don Totaro criticized Gray, who made his mark as a criminal defense attorney, for saying the city’s improved crime rate is more reflective of a national trend than a result of local efforts.


They said that Gray’s comments overlooked the hard work of many people at the local level. During the campaign, Smithgall cited that under his watch, crime fell 11 percent overall with a 65 percent decline in gun crimes.


On Friday, Gray said his transition team is in the process of restructuring city government and said he will announce personnel changes or retentions either this week or shortly after his inauguration Jan. 3.


If Heim is fired as a result of a political transition, it won’t be the first time. He was fired in Reading when a new mayor took office.


Reportedly, rank-and-file police officers want Heim out, to be replaced with either captains Don Palmer or Sam Gatchall, according to a police source.


But Heim has won favor with community leaders who say he has done a good job in cutting crime and works well with the district attorney and law enforcement at all levels.


Jack Howell, president of the Lancaster Alliance, a group highly involved with cutting crime, said Heim is “top drawer.”


“I think he has been a great leader of the police department,’’ Howell said. “Look at the trends in crime here compared to Reading, York and Harrisburg, we are in much better shape.”


Howell said Heim “shifted the culture” of the police department and now the department, instead of simply responding to crime, is preventing it.


“It is the mayor’s prerogative (to keep or replace him), but I think Bill is a good guy.”’




Other changes




According to city hall insiders, the new administration told Chuck Maneval III, the city’s economic developer since 1990, that there is no place for him under the new mayor. When he was reached to comment, Maneval said he didn’t know whether he will be asked to stay. Asked if he met with Gray’s team, he replied: “I don’t know.” He refused further comment.


Maneval, who worked in economic development and planning in Harrisburg and York, was hired by Democratic Mayor Janice Stork.


Matt Parido, the city’s housing and neighborhood development director, who came on board with Smithgall in 1998, anticipates he will not be retained under the Gray administration, an inside source said.


Parido could not be reached for comment.


Carol Roland, the city’s business administrator since 1998, quit in anticipation she would be fired. She declined to be interviewed.


When he first took office in 1998, Smithgall promoted Roland, formerly the city’s chief accountant, to business administrator.


She replaced Patrick Hopkins, who served as business administrator for Stork and whom Smithgall did not retain. Hopkins is now part of Gray’s transition team. When asked if he was going to take Roland’s place, Hopkins said announcements will be made at a later date.


Also reportedly out the door is the mayor’s secretary Darcy Eddy.


Charlotte Katzenmoyer, Lancaster’s public works director, is reportedly staying on with the Gray administration. Katzenmoyer also could not be reached for comment.