Luzerne County Courthouse
Luzerne County Council has a lengthy voting agenda Tuesday, with votes planned on a union contract, requested tax breaks and a proposal asking the court to convene a panel to get council’s home rule charter amendment question on the November general election ballot.
The meeting is set to start at 6 p.m. at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for remote attendance posted under council’s online meeting link at luzernecounty.org.
The 148-page agenda also is posted under council’s section of the website.
Union contract
The contract scheduled for a vote is with court-appointed support staff represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), including secretaries and clerks in the probation, domestic relations and magisterial district judge offices. That contract expired the end of 2022.
Details about the union contracts are typically released during the voting meeting in an effort to preserve ongoing negotiations in case council decides not to proceed with a vote, officials have said.
Also on the agenda is a resolution approving a memorandum of agreement with Area Agency on Aging supervisory workers represented by Teamsters Local Union 401. These memorandums are equivalent to collective bargaining agreements, the county said.
Tax breaks
NorthPoint Development is seeking breaks for one new building in Hanover Township and six in Hazleton and Hazle Township.
In the second request, JVI LLC is asking for a break on four new manufacturing and distribution facilities it plans to build on a 550-acre parcel along Tomhicken Road that falls in Hazle and Sugarloaf Townships and West Hazleton, the agenda said.
Both breaks would be under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program for blighted properties. As required under this type of break, the property owner must continue to pay taxes on the land throughout the break and receives a discount on taxes for the new development.
Municipalities and school districts already have approved these breaks for both entities in their jurisdictions, officials said.
Both entities are seeking the same package: a 90% reduction in real estate taxes on new construction the first seven years, an 80% reduction in the eighth year, 70% in the ninth year and 60% in the tenth.
Charter question
Council may take the extraordinary step of asking the court to appoint a temporary panel to ensure its charter amendment ballot question is on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.
A vote on this measure was added to Tuesday’s council voting agenda because election board certification is required for ballot questions, and the county’s volunteer, five-citizen election board did not vote to certify the question at its meeting last week.
Instead of certifying the ballot question as presented or proposing new wording, the election board unanimously agreed to send it back to the county law office for revisions.
Council’s proposed amendment would revamp the charter section covering the election board itself and include changes in the way a fifth seat is structured and filled and the eligibility requirements for all board members. It also vacates the currently seated board if the amendment passes.
The resolution on Tuesday’s council agenda would petition the county Court of Common Pleas to appoint county judges or electors to serve instead of the the election board for the purpose of framing the ballot question set forth in council’s ordinance.
Another completely opposite option — cancelling the ballot question entirely — also is on Tuesday’s council agenda at the request of county Councilman Stephen J. Urban, officials said.
However, rescinding is unlikely if initial feedback from other council members is any indication.
Ordinances
Council also is set to vote on adoption of three ordinances that would transfer additional funds to the law office budget, provide funding for courtroom construction and renovation and implement a new capital plan.
Required public hearings on all three are scheduled before the meeting, beginning at 5:40 p.m.
Statue restoration
As reported last week, the county is seeking bids to restore the Ellen Webster Palmer statue that once graced the county courthouse lawn.
For those interested in the project, the county has posted an addendum to the bid package with extensive details and photographs about the current condition of the statue under the purchasing department section at luzernecounty.org.
Palmer established the Boys’ Industrial Association in Wilkes-Barre in the 1890s to educate and provide social activities for working children, spending her nights teaching breaker boys after they labored at coal mines during the day.
Moved off site around 2007, the 1,200-pound marble statue has fissures and other damage.
Depending on the bid amounts, the administration may request payment of the project with the county’s Act 13 natural-gas recreation funding.
