Ross commissioners have turned down a proposal to advertise for a new manager.

The 5-4 vote not to interview other candidates for the top municipal job was the first of several issues to divide board members Monday.

Commissioners also failed to agree on which candidate to hire for a mechanic's job and voted down a proposal to meet twice rather than four times each month.

While all the measures failed 5-4, commissioners aligned in different coalitions on each issue.

A divided board voted Aug. 25 to discharge long-time Manager Tom Lavorini. A majority of members agreed that night to hire the township's former finance director, Wayne Jones, as interim manager. His work will be reviewed at the end of six months.

Commissioner Daniel Kinross, who missed the meeting at which the vote was taken to fire Mr. Lavorini, proposed advertising for the position.

"I know Wayne, and he does good work as a financial administrator," Mr. Kinross said. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't take the opportunity to see if there isn't a more talented, more experienced individual who wants to work in Ross."

His position drew support from Commissioner Peter Ferraro. "We interview candidates for a mechanic's position, but we are not interviewing for the manager's job," he noted.

Mr. Kinross and Mr. Ferraro were joined by David Mikec and Grant Montgomery in voting for a manager search.

"We've had a 20-month interview with Mr. Jones," Commissioner Gerald O'Brien said, referring to Mr. Jones' tenure as finance director. "It will take anyone else a year and a half to get their feet on the ground and become familiar with township issues."

Mr. O'Brien, Daniel DeMarco, Chris Eyster, Lana Mazur and Grace Stanko voted against the measure.

"We're happy with Wayne, and the township employees are happy with him," Mr. Eyster said. "It would be a waste of time to do a search, and nobody else will have two years' experience with us."

"There is a right way and a wrong way to dismiss someone," Mr. Kinross said of the decision to fire Mr. Lavorini. "It was certainly not the right way ... to dismiss an employee with 18 years' service while he is on vacation."

Mr. Jones' performance will be evaluated by the board in six months, Mr. DeMarco said. Commissioners can reopen the issue of interviewing other candidates then, he said.

Mr. Kinross said the township should advertise now and have candidates in place.

In another matter, Mr. Montgomery proposed following the board's summer schedule -- holding their workshop and public meetings on the same evening -- during the rest of the year.

"We are in the minority among municipalities in having four meetings a month," Mr. Ferraro said in support of Mr. Montgomery's resolution.

Mrs. Stanko warned that combined meetings had not worked well. Commissioners often had not been able to get to half the items on workshop agendas before it was time to hold the business meeting, she said.

Separate workshop sessions give commissioners time for full discussion and a week of reflection before voting on issues, Mr. Kinross said. "We are a big township with big issues," he said.

Mr. Eyster and Mr. DeMarco voted with Mr. Montgomery and Mr. Ferraro in favor of twice-a-month meetings.

Mrs. Mazur, Mrs. Stanko, Mr. Mikec, Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Kinross voted to retain the schedule of workshop meetings on the first and third Mondays and business meetings on the second and fourth Mondays.