Credit: Obermayer.
When the opportunity presented itself to work in the township that she grew up in, it was a no brainer for a Karen Geld Sanchez.
The former Montgomery County controller recently accepted a position in Abington Township as its newest tax collector and treasurer. She replaces Jay W. Blumenthal, who recently announced his retirement.
Sanchez now will be responsible for collecting real estate taxes for Abington Township, Montgomery County and the Abington School District, the area which she grew up in.
“I was born and raised in Abington,” Geld Sanchez said. “I went to Abington public schools. When the opportunity came up upon Jay Blumentual’s retirement, I applied for the appointment. I was really excited to move back to a job that’s in Abington.”
Geld Sanchez is the wife of former Abington Township commissioner Ben Sanchez and was first elected controller in 2015, re-elected in 2019 and again in 2023. In June, she was elected as president of the Pennsylvania State Association of County Controllers.
For Geld Sanchez, the return to her roots is something that she is relishing with her family and friends still living in the local area. She currently resides in Abington Township in the Jenkintown section.
“My parents still live in Abington, my in-laws live in Abington,” she said. “I just think Abington Township is the best. We have a daughter in the high school, one in the middle school, and my son is in the elementary school where I went to school. It was something that I wanted to get back to Abington and serve. The county is great, but it’s huge, so it’s nice to be back.”
Sanchez resigned from her position with the county in December 2024. The county controller is responsible for overseeing the county’s finances and conducting internal audits. She practices at the law firm of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP, with a focus on financing, lender liability & workouts, mergers/acquisitions, real estate development, banking, tax, zoning and land use and corporate matters.
“I love being the controller of the county,” Geld Sanchez said. “It’s a great position. It was in my wheelhouse as far as being a finance attorney. It was really great. I feel like I really built that department while I was there. We hired a lot of great people for the county in that department.”
Geld Sanchez said that the county is still reviewing applicants for the new controller, and expects that decision to be made final in the next month or so.
“That has not been decided yet. It is an appointment by Governor Shapiro. My understanding is that it is in process. I would expect that to happen in the next couple of weeks. There were recommendations made to the governor.”
