Luzerne County acting manager proposes budget cuts

Luzerne County Acting Manager Brian Swetz has proposed budget alterations that would reduce the proposed 2023 real estate tax increase from 6.75% to 5.5%.

While further budget changes are expected from council, a 5.5% increase would equate to $45 more annually for the average property assessed at $132,776. That shaves $10 off the $55 increase that would come with a 6.75% tax hike.

County taxes are currently 6.1696 mills, which requires a payment of $819.17 annually on a $132,776 property.

Council members had encouraged Swetz to suggest cuts instead of relying on council-imposed ones that could have a more detrimental impact. Swetz’s proposal was submitted as part of Tuesday’s council budget work session. Only one budget meeting remains — on Dec. 6 — before council’s Dec. 13 budget adoption.

“This was an effort to show some movement regardless of what ultimately gets passed,” Swetz wrote in his submission. “I thank you in advance for your consideration and will continue working with you on the budget over the next few weeks.”

Approximately $7.1 million in cuts or new revenue would have to be identified to entirely avoid a tax increase.

With his changes, Swetz said next year’s revenue from real estate taxes could be lowered from $127.3 million to $126.25 million — a cut of $1.05 million.

He would cancel a planned human resources compensation study to save $90,000 and proposed reducing the allocation for non-union employee merit raises from $283,228 to $258,228, for a $25,000 savings. This would provide raises of 2% instead of 2.5%, his proposal said.

Swetz also proposed dropping the reserve fund from $1.05 million to $453,207, for a savings of $598,294. This is a significant reduction because the reserve fund is $1.23 million in this year’s budget.

Among the other reductions he proposed, with the net cuts in parentheses:

• Postage, $550,000 to $475,000 ($75,000)

• Conflict counsel examination/witnesses, $75,000 to $50,000 ($25,000)

• Tax assessment refunds, $450,000 to $400,000 ($50,000)

• Multiple prison cuts — overtime from $2 million to $1.8 million ($200,000); other contractual services, $359,000 to $109,000 ($250,000); and kitchen/groceries, $1 million to $850,000 ($150,000)

• Cuts in building/grounds office supplies, pest control and machinery/equipment ($16,500)

• Public Defender’s Office cuts in four categories collectively totaling $2,065 and the addition of $77,158 to cover the $60,500 salary and associated payroll costs to restore a full-time assistant public defender position that had been inadvertently omitted from the budget presented by former manager Randy Robertson

Swetz also proposed reprogramming $385,000 in general fund allocations through the county’s capital projects fund.

The county also must add $980,168 in expenses to the budget for matches at the county Transportation Authority and Hazleton Public Transit — expenses that had been covered by the county’s federal American Rescue Plan allocation this year.

Manager search

Council formally approved a process Tuesday that will allow the appointment of three citizens to the new manager search committee on Jan. 10.

An outside committee must be convened due to Robertson’s resignation after five months in the top post.

Under the county’s home rule charter, the search committee must seek, screen and interview manager applicants and “recommend the candidates it believes are the most qualified” to council for its consideration.

The only charter-stated requirements for search committee members are that these citizens “possess relevant qualifications, knowledge, and/or experience in the search for, recruitment of, and identification of qualified candidates for county manager or related positions.”

Council plans to immediately post the solicitation, and interested citizens will have until Dec. 19 to submit applications. Applicants will be publicly interviewed by council on Jan. 3.

Election request

During Tuesday’s budget presentations, county Acting Election Director Beth McBride asked council to consider allocating funds for an additional position and poll books used for voter sign-in on Election Day.

The election bureau switched from electronic poll books to paper ones in the Nov. 8 general election, saying the electronic ones were reaching their end of life and had created problems for some poll workers wrestling with technical issues.

The county purchased the poll books for $325,000 in 2018, with the promise the equipment would speed up and improve the processing of voters as they enter polling places. Voters signed in with a stylus on a tablet. The electronic books also allowed poll workers to instantly search and redirect voters who showed up at the wrong polling place.

McBride estimated $500,000 would be needed for the purchase of new electronic poll books and said they would have to be bid out next year. It’s possible the county could offset the price by trading in the current equipment, but McBride said it’s unclear if that option is available if the county decides to switch vendors.

She supports the use of electronic poll books for benefits stated in the past and said they also drastically accelerate completion of the polling place reconciliation process required for certification of results and speed up the crediting of ballots as cast for voters searching in the state’s tracking system.

Another option would be continued use of paper poll books with the addition of a secure phone app that allows poll workers to search voting locations for voters at the wrong polling place. The app would cost $30,000 to $40,000 annually and also serve as a “command post” for poll workers to report the status of polling place openings and closings, obtain checklists and report issues, McBride said.

The additional operations manager would handle voting equipment maintenance, testing and deployment at the bureau’s voter warehouse and also oversee mail ballots, McBride said. She cited a cost of $51,000 for the position, which does not factor in benefits and some other related costs.

McBride said the operations director can be funded by an annual state election integrity grant, but those funds cannot be used for electronic poll books. She is working with the state to determine if the app would be eligible for grant funding.

On the issue of the county Election Board’s pending vote to certify the Nov. 8 general election results Wednesday, county Councilman Brian Thornton announced council has no legal authority to get involved in the board’s decision. Thornton said he wanted to publicly make the point because he and his colleagues have been inundated with emails urging them to act, largely due to someone’s creation of an online petition.