Luzerne County Ethics Commission releases annual statistics

Luzerne County’s Ethics Commission received four complaints in 2022, but none advanced, according to its new annual report.

Three complaints were dismissed after an investigation by an an outside attorney, and the remaining complaint was deemed legally insufficient, the report said.

The council-adopted ethics code requires the commission to appoint a panel of attorneys who are not employed by the county to handle both preliminary inquiries and full investigations if there is reason to believe the code may have been violated.

The commission ultimately must either terminate a case or advance to issuing a formal complaint requiring a written response from the accused and possibly a commission hearing and ruling.

Serving on the commission are county Controller Walter Griffith, county District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce, county Acting Manager Brian Swetz and council-appointed citizen board members Diane Dreier and Thomas Mosca.

Manager search

As reported last week, the top county manager position has been posted under the human resources department career opportunities section at luzernecounty.org.

The position is posted at a range of $116,322 to $180,000 annually, with the final compensation decision up to county council. March 10 is the last day to apply.

The county’s three-citizen manager search committee will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre to review the procedures it will use to screen applicants and recommend top candidates to council for its consideration.

A link to attend Wednesday’s meeting remotely is posted under council’s online public meeting section at luzernecounty.org.

Public hearings

Three public hearings are scheduled before council’s 6 p.m. voting meeting Tuesday at the courthouse as required for proposed ordinances.

The first, at 5:30 p.m., focuses on a rezoning request in Hughestown.

Next is a 5:40 p.m. public hearing on the county’s budget amendment ordinance accepting the receipt of $4 million in compensation from litigation against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors.

The county carried over $2.6 million in opioid settlement receipts from 2022 and has a 2023 grant of $1.4 million, the agenda submission said. County Drug and Alcohol Administrator Ryan Hogan has said his agency is heavily involved in determining how the county will use the opioid litigation settlement funding in accordance with standards.

Finally, at 5:50 p.m., council will accept public input on an ordinance budgeting $1.67 million from the state’s Election Integrity Grant program, with $638,000 carried over from 2022 and $1.04 million allocated for 2023.

This grant is designed to ensure counties across the state have their mail ballots counted by midnight on election night and meet other stipulations. Specific plans for the current available funding are still under development, officials say.

A link to attend all three hearings, the council meeting and work session is posted at luzernecounty.org.

Work session

Swetz is set to present the annual “state of the county” report during Tuesday’s work session.

This yearly public update is required under the county’s home rule charter.

Council also is scheduled to continue discussions on an allocation plan for $60 million in federal American Rescue Plan awards to outside entities.