Bethlehem Township Manager Doug Bruce to Retire From Post May 1

Dec. 1, 2025

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

Bethlehem Township is looking for a new manager.

Doug Bruce, manager since 2018, is retiring from the township as of May 1.

Before he was appointed manager, he served as assistant manager. Earlier, he worked for the City of Bethlehem, in media relations for Moravian University (then Moravian College) and he was a reporter at the former Bethlehem Globe-Times. Bruce, 60, is also a Navy veteran who served as a petty officer in the Iraq War.

His longest career stint has been at the township.

“It’s an honor and privilege to have this job, to work for this board and this staff,” he said today.

During Bruce’s years as manager and assistant manager, the township has seen great growth, which ruffled the feathers of some residents at times.

Of course, those same residents live on land that was once farmland or woods.

With that growth, which really took off about a half-century ago, came financial challenges that Bruce addressed head-on.

Bruce’s annual budget statements should be required reading for anybody who wants a blunt, concise look at municipal finance.

Here’s a link to his 2026 message, which reiterates what he’s been saying for years. It applies to other municipalities across the Lehigh Valley.

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Several years ago I wrote in a budget message: “This is the stark financial picture of Bethlehem Township … a mature, nearly built-out municipality where annual revenues have not quite been keeping up with annual expenses for the better part of a decade.” I think this continues to be the case. Despite the large projected fund balances of the past few years, which I believe to be a short-term anomaly, the annual balance between operating revenues and expenses remains too close for comfort.

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Every local official and resident should ponder that. Elected boards prefer not to make difficult decisions, prefer “kicking the can down the road” but there will be a financial reckoning.

While most of us can ignore that, township managers can’t.

The focus is usually on elected officials, but the managers of townships and boroughs are the ones who keep things going. They deal with legal issues, finance, new council members who don’t know what their job is, law enforcement, residents who demand the moon but don’t want to pay for anything, late night calls for emergencies and everything else.

The Bethlehem Township job comes with challenges, and a lot will be expected of the next manager after the stability and solid management of the Doug Bruce era. It’s a plum position in Lehigh Valley public administration.

Bruce, 60, may be retiring from the township, but he said he plans to continue working in some capacity.

The township Board of Commissioners will meet tonight at 7 p.m. in the municipal building to start the process of finding a new manager. Tonight’s agenda includes this item:

A motion to appoint the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government as
consultant for township manager recruitment.

The Meyner Center, based at Lafayette College, works with local governments on studies and job searches.