Luzerne County managers may be asked to propose budget cuts

With the 2023 budget adoption less than a month away, several Luzerne County Council members support asking managers to come up with cuts in their departments.

Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo said he’d rather give managers an opportunity to identify reductions on their own because council members are not involved in daily operations under the county’s home rule charter.

“The way the charter is written makes it very difficult for council. Even though approving the budget is one of the paramount roles of council — one of the most important things we do — we only know what the administration tells us,” Lombardo said.

Councilman Tim McGinley agreed, saying he believes council should come up with a set amount for each department to cut and “see how they do.”

“It gives them a chance to look at their budget and really make decisions, versus council making decisions it might now know anything about,” he said.

McGinley said he planned to spend an extended period Monday night to review each department that has presented a budget to date to come up with his own proposed adjustments.

“We have a lot of work to do to get down to a figure that is reasonable,” McGinley said.

Only three more meetings remain before council’s Dec. 13 budget adoption.

Council would have to identify approximately $7.1 million in cuts or new revenue to avoid a proposed 6.75% increase, which equates to $55 more annually for the average property assessed at $132,776.

While it’s clear no council members support a 6.75% increase, it remains to be seen if a council majority would consider a more modest increase after the proposed budget is whittled down.

Councilman Matthew Mitchell said he and some colleagues have been discussing the idea of asking the administration to take another look at their budget submissions, possibly setting a target to cut 5%, which he said would yield approximately $6.8 million.

“We’re looking for savings in each line item,” Mitchell said. “Some increases in expenses are unavoidable due to new collective bargaining agreements and inflationary pressures.”

Asking departments to recommend reductions makes sense, said Councilman Chris Perry. He recalls budget sessions in prior years when managers vehemently objected to cuts proposed by council members, sometimes predicting dire outcomes.

Councilman Kevin Lescavage said management-driven, across-the-board cuts are necessary to avoid a situation where a council majority is unable to approve a budget. If that happens, the 2022 budget would automatically remain in effect, resulting in the need for a large number of budget transfers and uncertainty over which rising expenses would be covered.

“Something has to be done,” Lescavage said.

County Acting Manager Brian Swetz, who started overseeing county government when former manager Randy Robertson wrapped up work Friday, said the administration understood from the start that the budget would not pass as presented due to the tax hike percentage.

Swetz said Monday he wants to work with council and looks forward to clear guidance. He is intimately familiar with the budget as budget/finance division head.

“I’d like it to be a collaborative process, but there needs to be a process,” Swetz said. “It’s council’s budget. I’m available to discuss anything.”

One of the three remaining budget sessions starts after a 6 p.m. voting meeting tonight, with the focus on the district attorney’s proposed budget. That meeting is at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for remote attendance posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.

The remaining two divisions — administrative and operational services — will present their proposed budgets on Nov. 29.

Council’s Dec. 6 meeting will focus on amendments altering the proposed budget — the only tangible way for council to measure progress reducing spending and/or increasing revenue.

Ideally, council plans to start voting on budget amendments at the Nov. 29 meeting.