Three back-to-back Luzerne County government meetings scheduled Monday

Three Luzerne County government meetings have been scheduled Monday evening: council’s budget/finance/audit committee at 4 p.m., council’s special meeting at 5 p.m. and council’s authorities/boards/commissions committee at 6 p.m. or whenever the special meeting ends.

All meetings will be at 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 budget committee will discuss the administration’s request to condense public sessions focused on the 2023 budget.

The special council meeting was scheduled to vote on the election bureau’s request to use state grant funding to purchase a mail ballot sorting system to speed up election night results and reduce reliance on employees from other county departments to process ballots.

The authorities/boards/commissions committee is scheduled to publicly interview 16 citizens interested in appointment or reappointment.

Road transfer

Council unanimously voted last week to transfer ownership of county-owned Mountain Drive to Sugarloaf Township now that it has been repaired.

Councilman Tim McGinley thanked the township, saying the county has offered to prioritize road repairs in municipalities that are willing to assume ownership. These agreements help both municipalities and the county, he said.

Legal settlement

A $6,500 settlement was unanimously approved by council to close out litigation Michael Rivera filed against the county. According to the agenda, Rivera was temporarily incarcerated at the county prison in fall 2017 and again in early 2018 pending resolution of a criminal matter in which he was named a defendant. Rivera filed a complaint in county court in March 2018, later amended, alleging in part that his constitutional rights were violated for being treated differently than other administrative custody prisoners, the agenda said.

Division head increases

During last week’s work session, council briefly discussed McGinley’s proposal to move funds to different categories so all division heads could receive at least $94,500.

McGinley said he is proposing compensation increases for three current division heads because he does not believe they should be paid less than newly hired Administrative Services Division Head Jennifer Pecora, who will receive $94,500 annually.

The compensation increases, including related taxes: correctional services division head, $2,280; judicial services division head, $3,067; and human services division head, $96.

Councilman Kevin Lescavage said he had disagreed with increased compensation new division heads and does not support automatically increasing others in response. He reiterated he won’t be voting for a tax increase in 2023.

Councilman Brian Thornton agreed, saying compensation should be based on each individual’s performance and responsibilities.

McGinley said compensation at the same level is “only fair” based on the years of service and number of employees supervised by the three more veteran division heads.

Because this is an ordinance, it would require introduction at a future meeting and a public hearing and vote at a subsequent meeting.

American Rescue

County Budget/Finance Division Head Brian Swetz reminded entities interested in the county’s American Rescue Plan funding that there is one more informational session available at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Session registration details and the portal to apply for the funding are posted on the main page at luzernecounty.org.

A strict deadline to apply for funding has been set at 5 p.m. Sept. 15.

The county still has approximately $96.3 million in American Rescue funding not yet allocated for projects or programs.

Swetz said he expects the administration will present an overview of how many applications have been submitted in various categories to council at its Sept. 27 meeting.

Specific recommendations to council will take longer because all applications must be thoroughly screened to determine if they are eligible under federal protocols, he said.

Applications must be submitted online through the county site and will not be accepted in other formats.

All interested parties must complete a formal application, including those who already submitted pre-applications that were used by the county as a needs assessment.