West Pittston/Pittston traffic study funding authorized

Luzerne County Council unanimously voted last week to adopt a budget amendment ordinance funding the $106,508 design of temporary traffic improvements intended to reduce congestion in West Pittston and Pittston caused by closure of the Luzerne County-owned Firefighters’ Memorial Bridge over the Susquehanna River, commonly known as the Water Street crossing.

Traffic on the nearby state-owned Spc. Dale J. Kridlo Bridge (Fort Jenkins) has increased dramatically since the Water Street span closed in 2021. The state agreed to assume responsibility for the design and construction to replace both bridges, but completion will take years, officials said.

Time clock/payroll

Also in a unanimous vote, council approved the administration’s proposal to use a portion of interest earned on federal American Rescue Plan funds for an upgrade of its New World Management System, which has been primarily used for financial records.

The county currently uses Kronos Inc., New World and ADP to process payroll.

With the proposed training and software upgrade, those tasks will all be handled through New World, saving the county $150,000 annually starting in 2024, county Interim Budget/Finance Division Head Mary Roselle has said.

The upgrade will cost up to $250,000.

Roselle said the administration wants to use a portion of the annual savings to hire a payroll supervisor. The county currently has only one worker handling all payroll, which is “not a great safeguard,” she had said.

The plan also calls for a new time clock program using a badge, eliminating the Kronos biometric readers that prior commissioners had purchased in 2010.

County Controller Walter Griffith spoke in favor of the initiative, saying a team is in place to implement the changeover and pointing to the significant savings.

Repository properties

In another unanimous vote last week, council authorized the sale of 77 properties in the repository, a pool of tax-delinquent parcels that did not sell at prior back-tax auctions.

Repository parcels are available for purchase at any time. Sales are encouraged because the county has amassed approximately 1,000 repository properties that are now in limbo, with no active owners to maintain and pay taxes on them.

A list of other available repository properties and information on all tax auctions is posted at luzernecountytaxclaim.com.

Prospective repository buyers can perform more research on where these properties are located by using the Property Identification Number, or PIN, on the online repository report.

The county’s GIS/Mapping Department offers a free online map containing all parcels within the county, and the public can search using the PIN number. A link to this map and more explanation is posted on the department’s page at luzernecounty.org.

Most repository properties have a minimum bid of $500 for vacant lots and $1,000 for parcels with a structure, although those posted in the period immediately after a tax auction usually sell for more.

Tax collection

A resolution allowing the county Treasurer’s Office to continue collecting Newport Township county and municipal real estate taxes also was approved by council.

The township first obtained county approval to collect its taxes in 2015 following a vacancy in the elected collector post and has asked the county to renew the agreement annually since then. The county receives $2.50 per bill, the resolution said.

Benefit consultant

Council unanimously agreed to retain ETA Insurance Services to provide consultation/brokerage services for all county medical insurance and benefits policies.

The county sought proposals for consultation/brokerage services last month, and all screening committee members ranked ETA as their first choice, with the recommendation based on the firm’s price and overall ability to provide services, the agenda said.

ETA will receive $6.25 per employee each month to manage day-to-day health care programs, compile bi-monthly reports, work with union groups and evaluate consortiums to “drive down costs,” it said.

In addition, ETA will receive a retainer to develop cost-saving initiatives.

Approximately 1,100 employees and 37 retirees are receiving county insurance coverage, according to the county’s request for a consultant/broker. This figure includes an unspecified number of prior employees paying for coverage through COBRA.

Budget work session

Council will hold a work session this evening (Oct. 30) to review proposed 2024 budgets for several divisions.

The session starts at 5 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for remote attendance posted under council’s online meetings section at luzernecounty.org.

The divisions covered in this session are administrative services, operational services and human services.