Republicans voters in Buffalo Township will have three choices for supervisor in the May 20 primary.
Bob Buterbaugh, John Haven and Heath Singer all are vying for a six-year term. No Democrats are on the primary ballot.
The winner likely will succeed Albert “Ouch” Roenigk, who is stepping down from the board after a 46-year run.
Buterbaugh, 44, is an enterprise sales manager for Raindrop Systems, a financial software firm based in California. He has been an alternate member of the Buffalo Township Planning Commission since 2024. He also is a mason at Armstrong Lodge No. 239 and football announcer for the Freeport Area School District.
Haven, 78, is a retired senior production supervisor for ATI. He will give up his seat on the Freeport Area School Board this year after two terms. His political experience includes 10 years as a township supervisor, 14 years as a board member for the Buffalo Township Municipal Authority and 12 years as a member of the since-disbanded Buffalo Township Recreation Committee.
Haven also founded Friends of Buffalo Township, sits on the board for the Butler County Conservation District and is part of the newly formed Southeast Butler County Municipal Coalition.
Heath Singer, 46, is the director of public works for Middlesex Township. He also owns a contracting business, BH Excavating.
Don Roenigk filed to run as a Republican, but has since withdrawn.
The township’s rapid growth and changing character is on all of the candidates’ minds.
Buterbaugh wants to “take a step back from building homes” and ensure public services can match the influx of residents. He also is interested in fostering business growth to drive revenue for the township and school district.
“We’ve got an imbalance right now of what our tax base is,” Buterbaugh said. “There’s too much of a burden being put on area residents, and we need to see more businesses move into the area that support the tax base.”
But managing growth isn’t just about finances for Buterbaugh.
“I want to make sure Buffalo Township stays a beautiful farming community,” he said.
Developers have brought in hundreds of homes since 2000, raising the township’s population from about 6,800 to 8,100. Another 627 units loom as part of a proposed subdivision where Routes 28 and 356 meet, sparking fears that police, sewage lines and classrooms won’t keep pace.
Supervisors can influence housing proposals by striking down zoning requests and working with developers to secure community benefits. Flat out denying every plan that comes their way, though, could expose the township to legal challenges.
“You can do things to slow them down, but if you’re going to buy a piece of land and develop it, I can’t tell you, ‘no, you can’t do that,’ ” Singer said. “All you’re going to do is tie yourself up in court.”
Singer said he would push for larger residential lots, rather than pause all housing, while also recruiting businesses. He would draw on his experience as a township employee in Middlesex, which has a seen a similar rural-to-suburban transformation in recent years.
Haven, too, is concerned with the ratio of homes to businesses. About 85% of the school district’s property tax revenue comes from homeowners, according to Haven.
He switched from the board of supervisors to the school board in 2017 in hopes of stemming tax increases. Though his mission wasn’t exactly a success — the school board has raised taxes several times in the past eight years — he realized the district will keep playing catch-up on its finances as long as commercial growth lags behind the housing boom.
“With business and some industry, we can turn the school taxes around,” Haven said.
Largely because of the school district, Buffalo Township property owners have the highest millage rate in the county according to data on the county’s website.
Haven also would petition PennDOT to expand its planned widening of Route 356 all the way to the intersection with Route 228.
As it stands, the project would end about 1,800 feet north of the Buffalo Plaza main entrance.
Furthermore, he expressed interest in relocating the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department from its nook off Sarver Road to somewhere along Route 356. At the moment, fire trucks have to make a series of tight turns to leave the immediate area.
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Buterbaugh has been endorsed by the Butler County Republican Committee.