Luzerne County Council is set to vote Tuesday on the confirmation of Manager Randy Robertson’s nominee for the chief solicitor/law division head position, according to the meeting agenda.
The name and proposed compensation of the nominee are blank on the agenda and will be released during the public meeting, officials said.
Five attorneys applied, and current acting chief solicitor Harry W. Skene has verified he was among the applicants.
Robertson is reviewing applications for the remaining two current division head vacancies overseeing administrative and operational services.
The county has eight division heads under the county’s home rule government. The last appointment was in February 2017, when Lynn Hill was hired to oversee the human services division.
Tuesday’s meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for the remote attendance option posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.
Juvenile detention
Council also will vote on a proposal to reduce the sale price for the county’s former juvenile detention center from $50,000 to $30,000 due to additional work that will be required to separate the center’s sewer line from one shared with the nearby county prison on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre.
Wilkes-Barre businessman Roy Castillo, of Castillo Real Estate LLC, plans to renovate the three-story brick structure off North River Street for offices and loft apartments.
LCCC
Council must select a citizen to serve on the Luzerne County Community College Board of Trustees in a vacant seat through 2027.
Four citizens are eligible for appointment because they completed public interviews, according to council’s list: Arthur Breese, Paul DeFabo, Amoria Ransome and Marie Roke-Thomas.
Audit
Council also plans to vote on the introduction of an ordinance to transfer $2 million of the county’s $4.8 million 2021 budget surplus into the capital projects fund, which has dwindled to $276,206.
The surplus was identified in the newly released audit.
County Budget/Finance Division Head Brian Swetz has said the surplus stems largely from a high number of budgeted staff positions that were not filled. While vacancies helped the county come out ahead, they also contribute to staff burnout and higher overtime expenses, he has said.
Representatives of Bakertilly, which completed the 70-page audit, will present their findings and answer questions during Tuesday’s work session, which follows the voting meeting.
2023 budget
Robertson is proposing a change in the upcoming budget process, according to another topic up for work session discussion.
The manager said he learned from individual meetings with council members that there was a “high level of frustration” with the previous budget process.
“Also, I understand that after the budget process was completed, the approved budget was very close to the original numbers that had been proposed,” he wrote.
Instead of the previous 10 meetings, the administration is suggesting four sessions that the administration expects to be “more productive and meaningful for everyone involved in the budget process,” it said.
Robertson must submit his proposed budget to council by Oct. 15. Council has until Dec. 15 to approve amendments and the final budget.
Prison
A discussion about the county prison also is slated for discussion during the work session.
Some county officials are interested in exploring a takeover of the former State Correctional Institution at Retreat in Newport Township to house the county prison, arguing the Water Street facility is antiquated, has too many blind spots due to the layout and is too costly to maintain.