Luzerne County Council approves prison nurse shift change and advances possible top manager residency requirement change

Luzerne County Council unanimously voted Tuesday to approve a unionized prison nurse shift change and advance an ordinance that would alter a residency requirement for top administrators.

The work shifts of prison nurses will increase from eight to 12 hours.

County Correctional Services Division Head James Wilbur has said he believes the shift change will be a recruiting tool because many nurses are accustomed to 12-hour days on a rotating schedule that frequently allows three consecutive days off.

Seven of the 13 staff nursing positions in the county prison system are currently filled, and recruiting staff to fill vacancies is a challenge at the prison and for nursing positions in general throughout the country, Wilbur had said.

The nurses are represented by LIUNA Public Service Employees’ Union, Local 1310.

Residency

A prior council had approved the residency requirement in a 6-5 vote in 2016.

The county manager, eight division heads, prison deputy warden, sheriff and heads of emergency management and 911 are subject to the policy, which requires those hired to establish residency within six months of their employment.

The ordinance on Tuesday’s council voting agenda would waive the residency requirement for existing employees promoted to these positions if they already have at least five years of continued county employment.

Councilman Harry Haas, who had opposed the residency requirement in 2016, said Tuesday he will propose an amendment at the next council meeting to take the matter to another level and eliminate the restriction entirely to widen the applicant pool for these positions.

Haas said there was a “spirited debate” about the restriction when it was implemented, and he was among the minority of five council members who wanted the best people for county jobs — even if the best person lived over the county line.

“I think you might see a lot more public support than you would realize for this,” Haas said of complete elimination of the requirement.

Because the ordinance was introduced Tuesday, it will advance to a public hearing and vote at a future meeting.

Keystone Job Corps

During Tuesday’s work session, county Chief Solicitor Harry W. Skene briefed council on a U.S. Department of Labor request to extend the Keystone Job Corps lease for one more year.

Skene said the administration was surprised the federal agency wanted to renew the lease because it had announced in late May it would pause operations at all 99 of its contractor-operated Job Corps Centers by June 30, including the Keystone Job Corps housed on 123 acres of leased county-owned property in Butler Township.

These residential centers provide educational and vocational programs for low-income youth and young adults ages 16 to 24.

A federal judge in New York recently granted a preliminary injunction to stop the labor department from shutting down the Job Corps programs until a lawsuit against the move is resolved, the Associated Press reported.

The county owns approximately 530 acres in the township, including the Keystone Job Corps site, because the county had operated the Kis-Lyn work camp for juvenile delinquents from 1912 to 1965.

Skene said the continued renewal is beneficial to the county because it costs approximately $1 million annually to maintain the property.

County officials have said it appears the buildings on the county-owned land will revert back to the county when the lease is terminated.

There are 44 buildings at the complex, including dormitories, classroom and vocational education structures, a dining facility and buildings linked to storage and utilities, according to a list supplied to council.

The county receives $1,000 per month from the lease. The lease acknowledges the county is charging less than a fair market value rental fee due to the federal government’s investment in infrastructure and salaries at the Job Corps site in addition to benefitting the community through the purchase of goods and services.

Skene said he informed the federal government the rent would have to be increased if it wanted to use the property for a purpose other than a job corps.

Federal officials informed Skene there is no interest in another purpose for the site and that the lease extension stemmed from injunction preventing them from closing at this time.