Luzerne County Council facing insurance broker decision

Luzerne County’s administration is recommending council extend its insurance broker contract with USI Insurance Services for one more year instead of seeking proposals.

The county’s last solicitation in 2021 sought proposals for a two-year contract covering 2022 and 2023 and the option for a one-year renewal in 2024.

USI would receive $60,000 for the additional year, which is the same as its payments in 2022 and 2023.

The broker must shop around for the best prices and administer all county insurance policies, including liability, cyber security, auto and property coverage, according to the administration. It emphasized all screening committee members had ranked USI as their first choice in 2021 and that USI is among the largest brokers in the country.

Council is expected to vote at its Sept. 12 meeting on whether to keep USI another year or seek requests for proposals.

Act 13

Councilman Brian Thornton alerted his council colleagues last week that he will be seeking a discussion on whether an Act 13 committee should remain in place.

The council committee was set up years ago to screen proposed uses of the county’s annual natural-gas recreation funding and make recommendations to the full council for its approval. The county has received funding from natural gas drilling annually since the state authorized such earmarks under Act 13 in 2012.

Thornton said the committee has not been made aware of all purchases from the fund, which makes him question why it exists. He said he expects more insight soon because the county controller’s office is auditing the Act 13 fund.

If council wants to keep the committee, formal procedures should be set up to authorize spending of the fund, he said.

The issue came up, in part, because the county engineer’s office is seeking proposals to restore the Ellen Webster Palmer statue that once graced the county courthouse lawn. Depending on the bid amounts, the administration may request payment of the project with Act 13 funding.

Opioid committee

Council is still working on formalizing the composition of a committee that will make recommendations to council on the spending of money received from the state’s litigation settlement against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors.

The county is due to receive approximately $25 million over 18 years. Receipts through the end of this year will total approximately $4.8 million, officials have said.

County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce and other administrators had suggested an Opioid Advisory Committee consisting of a county council member, the county manager, the county drug and alcohol administrator, the human services division head, a private-sector provider/consumer representative, the court administrator and the district attorney.

Although council had discussed increasing the number of council members, it unanimously agreed last week that there will be only one.

The addition of one public representative also is under consideration by council.

Coroner’s request

Council unanimously approved county Coroner Jillian Matthews’ request to seek court approval for fees related to issues the office sometimes encounters with unclaimed bodies.

Matthews had informed council the deputy coroners are sometimes called to long-term care facilities to pronounce the death of a facility resident because the facilities don’t have a doctor, registered nurse or certified registered nurse practitioner to perform that duty.

The coroner’s office also has found some facilities are not maintaining their records to document the next of kin and funeral arrangements for residents, Matthews said.

In rare situations, funeral homes don’t retrieve the deceased in a timely fashion, she said.

Matthews is proposing the following charges: $225 for a coroner’s office deputy to respond and investigate at the scene; $350 to remove and transport the deceased; $50 for administrative services attempting to identify the next of kin; $750 for a burial, which is the amount the county must pay Maple Hill Cemetery in Hanover Township for a grave and unceremonious burial; and $20 per day for body storage.

Audio

County Manager Romilda Crocamo recently told council the administration is looking at options to improve audio quality in the council meeting room at the courthouse.

The in-room microphones were designed for the remote viewing audience, which means those physically in the room often cannot hear the officials speaking. There also was an issue with the audio not working properly for the remote platform at last week’s council meeting.

Last meeting

Brian Swetz attended his final council meeting as budget/finance division head last week. He left the position Aug. 24 to oversee finances for Wilkes-Barre city government. County Aging Agency Executive Director Mary Roselle is serving as the county’s interim budget/finance division head.

“It’s been a good run. I’ll miss everyone in this room,” Swetz said, prompting a round of applause.