Luzerne County Council considering more say in staff compensation matters

Luzerne County Council may seek more say in staff compensation and the creation of new positions — a proposal that had been rejected in the past, according to Tuesday’s voting agenda.

In 2014, two years into the new home rule structure, council had considered requiring the manager to obtain prior council approval for raises and new positions.

However, that suggested mandate did not proceed because several council members and the county law office argued it would violate a home rule charter prohibition on council interference in management decisions.

Instead, council made the manager notify council in writing at least five days before changing the number, classification or compensation of positions in case council wants to provide input before the manager makes a final decision.

A new ordinance up for possible council introduction Tuesday would revisit this issue and require the manager to obtain advance council approval for any:

• Non-union compensation adjustment that is 5% above the amount authorized by the adopted position budget

• Net increase in the total number of authorized county positions

• Creation of new management, supervisory, or department-level positions not expressly contemplated in the adopted budget

At least four of 11 council votes are required to introduce ordinances. A subsequent public hearing and final council majority approval are necessary for ordinances to take effect.

Councilwoman Denise Williams proposed the procedure change during last month’s council code review committee.

Williams said the five-day written notice is “behind the scenes,” and she believes it would be “more appropriate and better policy” to require a public council vote.

Council Chairman Jimmy Sabatino, who chairs the code review committee, told Williams he agreed council needs to “take a hard look” at that provision, but he also does not want to “hamstring daily operations too much” by requiring a council vote “on everything.”

Sabatino suggested a “middle ground” percentage that gives the active and future managers “some leeway” without locking in costly raises that would force council to continue or stop funding them in the following year’s budget.

Williams proposed a range of 3% to 5% for council approval.

Councilwoman Dawn Simmons, another committee member, agreed with setting a cap so the manager doesn’t have to “come to County Council for everything.”

Councilman John Lombardo, the committee’s vice chair, said he wants to know more about the past rationale for requiring the manager to inform council of such decisions instead of obtaining council approval.

When the matter came up in January 2014, the county law office said the charter prohibits council from getting involved in daily operations by approving individual compensation decisions for workers not under its supervision. The compromise written notice was deemed allowable because the manager retained authority over the final decision, understanding that the manager must keep spending within the council-approved budget.

The new proposed ordinance said council is “vested with authority over the adoption of the county budget, the establishment of county positions, and compensation policy.” The proposed amendment would “strengthen notice, reporting, and fiscal accountability requirements while preserving efficient administration,” it said.

Manager controls had been discussed by the county’s elected Government Study Commission, which drafted a revised charter that failed to pass last year. Its proposed charter took a different approach and would have required council approval if the manager wanted to transfer budgeted funds within departments to create a new position or increase the salary for any position above the annual amount budgeted for that year.

In response to council’s request for more transparency about staffing changes last year, County Manager Romilda Crocamo started posting staff compensation and position changes in the monthly division report that is publicly presented to council and posted on the website.

The latest division report with Tuesday’s agenda cites two position change notices:

• The salary of a paralegal position in the law office is increasing from $45,000 to $52,000, to be covered by offsetting savings from the paralegal’s renegotiation of a legal research contract, saving the department $24,000 annually.

• An information technology network systems administration position paying $53,300 is being eliminated to create an IT support specialist II at $53,000.

Tuesday’s voting meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for the remote attendance option will be posted in council’s online public meeting section at luzernecounty.org.