Luzerne County has new IT director

Luzerne County Information Technology employee Andrew Mesaris will oversee the department, filling a management position that has been vacant since the end of 2022, county Manager Romilda Crocamo announced Wednesday.

Mesaris will receive $87,500 as the new IT department head, she said.

“Andrew is eager to oversee the department with which he has built a very strong and positive working relationship, while improving processes and services delivered throughout the county,” Crocamo said in an announcement. “He sees this transition as an opportunity to contribute not only to his own department, but to all divisions and employees within the organization.”

Mesaris started working for the county in 2020 as an information technician, personnel records show. He advanced to the IT network systems administrator position in March 2022 and the IT operations manager position last November.

Crocamo said these most recent roles “have set him up with the vital insight and perspective necessary to take on his latest position.”

A West Wyoming native, Mesaris graduated from the Wyoming Area Secondary Center.

Prior to his county employment, Mesaris worked several years in managed service supporting pharmaceutical and life science companies.

“Along the way, the skills and experiences he gathered in a number of enterprise environments equipped him to quickly fit into his current team at Luzerne County and make valuable contributions in a number of roles,” Crocamo said. “During that time, he has consistently and eagerly taken on additional responsibilities and challenges during numerous personnel changes and departmental vacancies which have equipped him with in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the organization’s technological infrastructure.”

By servicing county government employees and systems, the IT department, by extension, aims to improve services to the public, she said.

Mesaris said Wednesday he accepted the position largely because he has confidence in the employees he is overseeing and administration leadership. He observes a “refreshing” commitment among workers to solve problems and improve county government operations.

“From my perspective, I feel we’re definitely turning a page and seeing more stability and longevity. I want to play my role in furthering that,” he said. “I see a lot of people working together with common goals.”

The IT director position had been vacant since Ray Kase resigned the end of 2022, and the position had been posted since then at a compensation range of $85,000 to $90,000.

As the search for his replacement continued, the county retained Kase to work as a consultant through an agreement with his company, K12 Tech Solutions, through Dec. 31. Crocamo, who started work as manager on May 25, had informed county council the assistance was necessary to stabilize the department.

K12 Tech Solutions will remain available on an as-needed basis, Crocamo said Wednesday.