Luzerne County Council seeking court assistance to place question on ballot

A Luzerne County Council majority voted Tuesday to ask the county court to convene a panel to properly frame a home rule charter amendment question so it can appear on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.

Council also approved two real estate tax breaks and a new collective bargaining agreement.

In yet another development, county Manager Romilda Crocamo announced during the meeting that acting Deputy Election Director Emily Cook will permanently fill the second-in-command position in the election bureau.

Court action

Court intervention will be sought for the ballot question because the county’s election board did not vote to provide required certification at its meeting last week. Instead, the board unanimously agreed to send it back to the county law office for revisions, saying the number of changes warrants eight separate questions instead of one.

The proposed amendment would revamp the charter section covering the election board 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.

Time is running out to certify the question because the target deadline is around three weeks from now to finalize the general election ballot so it can be proofed and printed for mail ballot voters and programmed into electronic ballot marking devices used at polling places.

Councilman Stephen J. Urban had proposed another option to eliminate the referendum from the ballot entirely through initiation of a new ordinance rescinding the one that authorized the ballot question.

Urban’s proposal did not advance because four votes are required to introduce an ordinance, and LeeAnn McDermott was the only other council member to support it, with her vote coming after a lengthy pause.

Ten of 11 council members then approved the option to go to court, with the lone no vote from Urban. Those in support: Carl Bienias III, Kevin Lescavage, John Lombardo, McDermott, Tim McGinley, Matthew Mitchell, Chris Perry, Kendra Vough, Brian Thornton and Gregory S. Wolovich Jr., who had drafted the referendum ordinance.

Council discussed the potential litigation and legal strategies in a closed-door executive session before Tuesday’s meeting.

Specifically, the resolution council approved said it would petition the county Court of Common Pleas to appoint county judges or electors to serve instead of the election board for the purpose of framing the ballot question set forth in council’s ordinance.

County Chief Solicitor Harry W. Skene said he expects the court action will be filed today or Thursday.

Urban said later in the meeting he does not believe eight charter sections can be changed with one question and noted there has been talk of outside entities filing a legal action challenging the question.

Five advocacy groups had gathered outside the county courthouse before council’s meeting to oppose the ballot question — Action Together NEPA, In This Together NEPA, the Wilkes Barre NAACP, All Voting is Local Action, and For Our Future.

If approved, the charter amendment would:

• Empower council to appoint the fifth election board member of any affiliation instead of leaving that choice up to the four council-appointed members (two Democrats and two Republicans).

• Fill the fifth seat every two years instead of four years.

• Allow the board to select any board member as chair instead of automatically making the member in the fifth seat the chair.

• Vacate the current election board in January.

• Change the retroactive window for board eligibility prohibitions from four years to two years.

• Remove paid election workers from eligibility prohibitions.

• Reduce the continuous political party registration minimum requirement from five years to three years prior to board appointment.

• Omit a current requirement to vacate a board seat if the member files a petition for nomination or election or becomes a candidate for any elective public office.

Tax breaks

NorthPoint Development sought real estate tax 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 are 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 sought and received 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.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Thornton proposed reducing the proposed breaks by 1% annually in the first seven years, such as an 89% reduction in the first year and 88% in the second year. However, a majority rejected his proposal, expressing concerns such alterations were not negotiated with the developers and could jeopardize their plans to proceed.

In the final vote to approve the breaks, Urban was the only council member to vote no. Several council members said the projects will develop blighted tracts that currently generate little or no real estate tax revenue. Urban expressed concerns about the impact of increased development on the region, including housing and infrastructure.

Union contract

Council unanimously approved a new collective bargaining agreement 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.

Employees will receive base pay increases of $3,000 this year and 2.5% increases in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Deputy election director

Crocamo said Cook was selected for the position for her experience and enthusiasm, saying Cook “wants to do the job right.”

Cook will receive $50,000 annually, which is the amount advertised, Crocamo said. She has been serving as acting deputy since Beth Gilbert resigned in late June. Eryn Harvey oversees the election bureau as director.

Cook started working for the county as an administrative assistant in the election bureau in September 2021 and had been promoted to election operations director in March 2022. Prior to her county employment, she held customer service positions and was marketing director for the Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre.