Jenna Reigle wears many different hats, of all sizes, shapes and colors. But every one of them fits her perfectly.

Reigle is West Earl Township's manager, a position she's held for the last five years. She's a problem solver and a mediator and has a wealth of local information, and her skills include flexibility, ingenuity and a focus on details.

Reigle is also a public servant, the individual behind the scenes who makes everything in West Earl run smoothly. She's the person no one knows, and she's the person everyone knows.

"I'm one of those people who doesn't need to know what's going to walk through that door," said Reigle. "Kind of like, 'Oh, that's the first time I've heard of that. Let's do some research on that.' I love helping people. Things just pop up. Things are put on us."

As West Earl Township's manager, Reigle has a slate of duties that include managing personnel, authoring and then implementing the budget, creating meeting agendas and advising and serving as a liaison between the community and the township's five elected members of the board of supervisors. Reigle is also charged with running the day-to-day operations in West Earl Township.

"I'd say at least 75% of what I do is administrative," said Reigle. "I would absolutely classify myself as a public servant. I work for the township, and I work for the members of the local community. A lot of what we do is time sensitive, and we want to make sure residents feel like they're being heard. It's important for them to know they're being heard."

Reigle works more than 45 hours each week, including attending about five township meetings each month.

"There's nothing typical about it," said Reigle. "I'm on call 24/7, 365 days a year. If an emergency involving anything but the police arises, I'm available. I get calls from employees at home all the time."

West Earl is nearly 18 square miles in size and is bordered by East Earl Township, Upper Leacock Township, Manheim Township, Akron Borough and Ephrata Township. West Earl Township is home to 8,560 residents and 24 miles of roads.

To its residents, West Earl offers water service, trash service, a compost facility and recreational resources like parks, walking trails and playgrounds. The West Earl board of supervisors meets at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of every month at the township building, 157 W. Metzler Road, Ephrata.

"We try to keep the communication lines open between the residents and the township," said Reigle. "We want to make sure residents understand the whys of what we're doing. Everything we do is designed to make things in the township better. We're always trying to come up with creative ideas to communicate with the community."

Reigle's work is supported by five in-house township employees. West Earl Township also operates a 12-member police department and a four-member road crew.

"I'm a problem-solver," said Reigle, a graduate of Cocalico High School. "I feel like I bring a unique eye to a situation, and I don't take things personally. People are usually calling us when they're not having a good day. I'm constantly learning new things every day. We may not know something, but give us some time and we'll come up with an answer for you."

"My absolute favorite thing is that in local government, you can come into a meeting voice a concern and things actually happen," continued Reigle. "I love seeing the problem addressed. I don't think people realize how close they are to local government. People come in and actually find a result."

For additional information about West Earl Township, go to http://www.westearltwp.org.