MIDDLETOWN - His voice breaking, Township Manager John Burke said his goodbyes last night in front of about 250 employees and residents who had packed the Township Building, and walked away from the job he had held for 20 years.

Several township employees and residents said Burke's ouster was political and vowed to stand behind him.

"It has been a long and worthwhile journey," Burke read from a two-page statement, "one that I do not regret for a minute... . So, I am grateful to the residents of Middletown... for giving me this wonderful opportunity to create and guide an organization that we can all be proud of."

But residents said at last night's supervisors' meeting that they had little to be proud of as they accused most of the board members of political shenanigans.

Many spoke in praise of Burke, then directed harsh words at the board.

"This whole thing stinks," resident Helene Ratner said. "We're going to go downhill from here."

Burke and personnel officer Paula Kearns accepted severance packages that were approved at the meeting. They said that under their severance contracts they could not discuss the circumstances surrounding their departure.

But Supervisor Robert McMonagle, one of only two Democrats on the five-member board, said Burke was being pushed aside because he refused to fire Kearns. He said the majority Republican members who started serving on the board in January wanted their own person in the position.

"The atmosphere around here has changed. Morale is so low," McMonagle said last night. "I don't know if we'll ever recover from this."

But the Republican supervisors on the board - President John Kelly, Jasper Caro and Lisa Pflaumer - said that the move was not political, and that moreover, Burke had said he was ready to go.

"This is what he wanted," Pflaumer said.

When several residents and two supervisors - McMonagle and Raymond Mongillo - asked Burke to reconsider, he asked for a public vote by the board first. The vote was in favor of giving him the severance package.

The package for Burke, who has been widely praised as one of the best managers in the state, is worth about $120,000. It consists of half of his $112,000 salary, plus benefits.

The amount of Kearns' severance package was not known, but she makes about $50,000 annually. Reached at her office yesterday, Kearns, a 10-year employee, said she had not been given any official notification that her job was in jeopardy.

Upheaval in the Township Building began soon after a new Republican-majority board of supervisors took office. Employees would not speak on the record, but McMonagle said many were scared of losing their jobs after the new board said job cuts could be possible if other cost-cutting efforts did not prove sufficient.

Last night, the board appointed Assistant Manager Frank Farry as interim manager and said it would start looking for a successor for Burke.