Luzerne County Council faces top manager hiring decision Tuesday

Depending on how the votes line up, Luzerne County Council will hire a manager Tuesday or decide it must go back to the drawing board with a new search.

Three finalists are under consideration: Romilda Crocamo, David W. Johnston and Randy Robertson. Crocamo has been serving as acting county manager since prior manager C. David Pedri’s resignation took effect July 6.

Based on multiple conversations, council members at this stage are supporting either Crocamo or Robertson. One must secure seven of 11 council votes — a supermajority — to be hired under the county’s home rule charter.

If council is locked in a 6-5 vote, council would have to reactivate an outside citizen search committee to seek and screen additional applicants. The volunteer committee has been meeting since August.

Tuesday’s meeting is at 5 p.m. at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for a remote attendance option will be posted under council’s online meeting section at luzernecounty.org.

No other matters are on the agenda.

Feedback

Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo said many people have been reaching out to provide information on all three finalists — most out of genuine concern but some with a forceful and malicious tone, he said.

“This whole selection situation has become extremely polarizing,” Lombardo said.

Lombardo said some left the impression the outside feedback focused only on Crocamo, but he said he also has received copies of newspaper clippings from other parts of the country highlighting questions about the past performance of Robertson and Johnston.

Lombardo said he considered the finalists’ interviews and resumes with an open mind and made a decision

“We all obviously want to make the right decision and should do it without all this outside influence. It should not be a political decision,” Lombardo said.

He noted he has not been pushing council colleagues to vote a certain way.

“I am not trying to strong-arm or convince them in a heavy-handed way because that for me is not appropriate,” Lombardo said.

Keep it clean

Council Chairwoman Kendra Radle paused during last week’s council meeting to inform those attending the meeting remotely that their comments in the online Zoom platform’s chat section are not read aloud as part of the public comment.

Remote attendees were instructed to unmute and speak if they want to share a public comment.

She then admonished some of the online posters, saying their comments “cannot be as inappropriate as they are.”

“Keep the chat clean on Zoom. It’s not something I thought I’d have to say, but please be respectful,” Radle said.

American Rescue

The county administration will soon be inviting outside entities to apply for a portion of the county’s remaining $99.6 million in federal American Rescue funding not yet earmarked for projects, Crocamo told council last week.

There are no guarantees awards will be granted, the administration said.

The effort will ensure council members receive a complete list of all requests before they decide which projects are eligible and deemed worthy of an allocation.