The upcoming search for Luzerne County’s fourth top manager may start regionally.
County Council recently appointed Danielle Ader, David Fusco and Charles Sciandra to the citizen search committee, which must seek, screen and recommend manager applicants to county council for its consideration.
Sciandra, of Duryea, said he looks forward to feedback from fellow committee members but personally believes it would be best to conduct a regional search, with the option to expand later if necessary.
“I think Luzerne County — like any other locality — has a culture and a feel. We haven’t done a real good job bringing in somebody from outside of the area. With the county being as large as it is, I would hope we could potentially start looking from a regional option rather than national,” Sciandra said.
Randy Robertson, who was not from this area, most recently held the manager position for five months. Citing family health issues, he submitted his resignation effective Dec. 14, and council unanimously decided his last day would be Nov. 18.
For background, Robert Lawton, the first manager under the county’s home rule government, came here from California in January 2012 and remained manager through the end of 2015.
Local resident C. David Pedri, of Butler Township, was hired as the second manager in May 2016 and left for other employment in July 2021.
Ader, of Kingston, said she agrees a regional approach is initially best. Based on the applicant pool, the committee could then decide as a group if there is a need to “cast a wider net,” she said.
A senior executive recruiter for a private consulting business, Ader has a sense the best candidate should come from somewhere that “closely mirrors this county” in population size and structure.
“There should be a lot of similarities in that point,” she said.
Council can’t direct the committee on how to go about its duties, but there appears to be a sentiment this time around that a regional search would be preferred.
Councilman Tim McGinley said his preference would be an applicant with a tie to the county, past or current, although he stressed the decision on recommendations will depend on the quality of the applicants and determination of the committee.
“Unfortunately I think when we had people from a national search, sometimes they don’t have the background and understanding of the culture and flavor of Luzerne County and the challenges,” McGinley said.
Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo concurred and said he believes most council members share the view that a national approach may not be necessary.
“Most council members are very wary of bringing in someone not from or familiar with Luzerne County and its history, demographics, government and culture,” Lombardo said.
McGinley and Lombardo also want a shorter window for the search committee to furnish a list of manager finalists to council. Approximately five months passed from the time the prior committee first met and formally presented its three most qualified applicants.
In McGinley’s opinion, the position doesn’t need to be advertised for more than two weeks. He believing a month or more is unnecessary when interested applicants familiar with the county likely already are aware an advertisement is coming. Factoring in time for the committee to prepare advertising and vet and interview applicants, McGinley said it could come up with applicant recommendations by late March or early April.
Lombardo envisions no more than a 90-day window from the time the committee starts meeting if it wants to advertise the position for a month.
“I think a lot of council members would like to have this done sooner rather than later,” Lombardo said. “I think getting a permanent manager in here as soon as possible would be best for the county.”
Sciandra, who operates a consulting company that helps family-run companies with succession planning and strategic development, said he is determined to thoroughly vet the applicants, with a focus on how they would apply their experience to both identify solutions and execute them in this county. A lengthy list of experience on a resume may not be enough to succeed in this position, he said.
Ader said she is looking forward to the process and challenge and understands the committee’s work will rightfully be “under a microscope.”
She is working on further researching past county manager search processes and said she has extensive on-the-job experience that can be shared as the committee carries out its mission.
“I thank county council for trusting me to be involved in this important role,” Ader said.
Fusco, of Pittston, has been the president and owner of Mechanical Service Co. since 2005. He told council he has experience in interviewing and selecting employees at the business and wants to assist the county.
Council members have discussed inviting committee members to an upcoming work session to answer questions. Committee members were awaiting further instructions about any procedural steps that must be completed before they can schedule their first public meeting.