Luzerne County Judicial Services and Records Division Head Joan Hoggarth said she is reviewing five applications for the vacant coroner position.
The county human resources department forwarded the redacted applications after performing initial screening. Hoggarth must rank and score the redacted applications and then send them back to human resources to schedule interviews based on her evaluation.
Chief deputy coroner Joseph Jacobs has been serving as acting coroner since Francis Hacken’s resignation recently took effect.
The coroner position was advertised at an annual salary range of $62,000 to $64,000, and applications were due last Wednesday.
Board appointments
County council appointed/reappointed 14 citizens to vacant seats on outside boards and commissions last week:
• Arts Advisory Board — Judith Mulder, Brian Pipech and Lisa Reynolds
• County Cares Commission — Brian Vick
• Children and Youth Advisory Board — Alec Frank, Robin Watson and Joshua Wilder
• Farmland Preservation Board — Martin Smith and Richard Yost
• Forty Fort Airport Board — Alice Frantz, Nandakumar Palissery, Theodore Ritsick and Scott Serafin
• Planning Commission — Peter Mikitish
Applications and information about board vacancies are posted under council’s authorities, boards and commissions section at luzernecounty.org.
Election grant
Council unanimously introduced an ordinance last week that would include a $1.04 million state Election Integrity Grant in the county’s budget.
The ordinance would require a public hearing and final vote at a future meeting to take effect.
Council members also agreed the ordinance will be amended to cite specific budget accounts that will be increased as a result of the grant receipt.
A stickler for exact figures, Councilman Gregory Wolovich Jr. also noted the administration’s proposed budget deposits did not account for 9 cents of the grant receipt and must be adjusted.
The election integrity grant is designed to ensure counties across the state have their mail ballots counted by midnight on election night.
A council majority had agreed to use a portion of the funds to purchase a mail ballot sorting machine designed to speed up processing. The election bureau also plans to use the funds to cover temporary workers and other expenses.
Public comment
A Lackawanna County man sent a communication after Tuesday’s council meeting questioning a denial to hear his public comment because he is not a resident or property owner in Luzerne County.
The decision was based on the county law division’s guidance that a political subdivision can restrict comment to residents and property owners of that subdivision under the state Sunshine Act, officials said.
Zoning decision
Council discussed an ordinance request to rezone a 41.17-acre parcel on Old Newport Street in Newport Township from a mining district to a two-family residence zone to allow residential development.
The county Planning Commission is recommending council approve the change, which would require ordinance introduction and then a public hearing and council vote at a subsequent meeting for adoption, said county Planning and Zoning Executive Director Matthew Jones.
Steven Egenski and others own the property and made the request. No opposition has been expressed from neighboring property owners, Jones said.