Luzerne County Council majority approves 2026 budget with 1.5% tax increase

Luzerne County real taxes will increase 1.5% next year, which equates to $9.53 more on a property assessed at $100,000, a council majority decided Tuesday.

The vote was 6-4, with Councilwoman Joanna Bryn Smith absent.

The six voting in support of the budget on Tuesday: Patty Krushnowski, Chairman John Lombardo, Chris Perry, Jimmy Sabatino, Brittany Stephenson, and Greg Wolovich.

Voting against the budget were Harry Haas, Kevin Lescavage, LeeAnn McDermott, and Vice Chairman Brian Thornton.

Lombardo commended all involved in the budget process. He repeated a comment from county Budget/Finance Division Head Mary Roselle that there “isn’t any fluff” in the budget.

Lombardo said the county has worked to save money while paying fair compensation to address an employee retention problem, adding the retention issue costs the county “way more” in the long run.

The “light is at the end of the tunnel” because the county is set to free up approximately $26 million annually after the debt is repaid in 2030. The county also will receive millions of additional real estate tax revenue in the future when tax breaks for large commercial properties expire, he said.

Thornton, who is leaving council at the end of this year, said he agrees with much of what Lombardo said but was not supporting the budget based largely on three decisions.

He cited the court leasing of a Kingston property to house Domestic Relations, a union contract with wage increases he considered excessive, and a “responsible contractor” agreement that requires prospective contractors to participate in apprenticeship training programs and meet other conditions to perform county government construction projects over $500,000.

The budget originally presented by County Manager Romilda Crocamo contained a 1.9% increase that would have amounted to $12 more per year on the median residential property.

County taxes will increase from 6.3541 mills to 6.4494 mills with the new $170.4 million general fund operating budget. A mill is $1 tax on every $1,000 in assessed value of real estate. For example, the county tax bill on a $100,000 property will rise from $635.41 to $644.94.

Haas pitched several amendments before the final budget adoption on Tuesday, but most were rejected based on arguments and additional information presented by the administration and council members.

Crocamo thanked all council members, regardless of whether they approved the budget.

“I know each one of you care about Luzerne County and its future,” Crocamo said.

Hazleton sale

A council majority rejected a proposal to reconsider a process already underway to seek purchase offers for the county-owned Broad Street Business Exchange in downtown Hazleton.

Council had voted last month to advertise the property because several prospective buyers expressed interest. The resulting solicitation, posted on the purchasing page at luzernecounty.org, set the starting bid at the $2.1 million appraised value. Proposals are due by 10:30 a.m. Dec. 19.

Sabatino said he was requesting council reconsideration because several southern county community leaders have subsequently reached out to him about “potential opportunities and plans for the Luzerne County Community College’s use of the building.”

The college is the primary tenant in the building.

Sabatino told his council colleagues Tuesday he was informed a “seven-figure investment” has been pledged to the college from the Luzerne Foundation and other sources to expand degree programs at the Hazleton campus, but that funding hinges on college ownership of the property.

Lombardo said the current bid process does not prevent the college from taking ownership. Purchase offers will provide information on the potential worth of the property that should be considered, he said, stressing the property belongs to county taxpayers.

Thornton said the decision about a final sale will be made by the reorganized council in 2026, and he agreed council owes it to the taxpayers to let the bid process play out.

Lescavage concurred, saying he does not believe it is a sound legal practice to stop a public solicitation seeking purchase offers midstream.

Three of the 10 council members present Tuesday supported the reconsideration — Krushnowski, Sabatino and Stephenson.

The four-story property at 100 W. Broad St. in Hazleton, which contains an attached wing, was constructed in the 1930s and once housed the Deisroth department store.

The county had accepted ownership of the structure in 2009 from the nonprofit Alliance to Revitalize Center City Hazleton, so it would not risk losing more than $1.8 million loaned to the entity.

Those loans are still connected to the property as liens, officials said. That means sale proceeds would not benefit the county’s general fund operating budget unless money remains after the loans are repaid to community development, officials said. Hazleton also has a $290,000 lien on the property that must be repaid, according to past reporting.

PPL request

Council unanimously removed a PPL right-of-way request from Tuesday’s voting agenda.

Stephenson made the motion to remove the matter from the voting agenda because council did not receive the requested follow-up information about the request impacting three county-owned parcels along Blue Ridge Trail in Dorrance Township.

Several residents had urged caution when the request was presented at the last work session.

Council members said they may consider the request in the future if approximately 50 other impacted property owners agree to grant the right-of-way.