Luzerne County’s Manager Search Committee will recommend three finalists for the top manager position to county council on Tuesday, according to committee Chairman Charles Sciandra.
Sciandra said he will hand over the names of the three, in ranked order, along with supporting documentation during Tuesday’s work session.
The decision on releasing the finalist names is up to council, which takes over the selection process once the committee presents finalists.
Council Chairwoman Kendra (Radle) Vough said Thursday the finalists’ names will be publicly announced Tuesday evening, which was the practice followed in the prior search. She also expects the finalists will be publicly interviewed by council as they were the last time.
Vough also said she is hopeful council can make a selection before its May 23 meeting.
Sciandra said council will receive applications, background checks and other submissions on all three finalists. He also has prepared a narrative for council explaining why the three were chosen to advance.
Finalists also completed a personality assessment known as the “DiSC Profile,” and those results will be forwarded to council, Sciandra said.
“The DiSC is a tool to understand candidates’ strengths and areas of development. It is not a tool to use solely for selection but will help to know and understand the individual personality and how he or she will interact with the team and council,” Sciandra told council in an email earlier this week, stressing council members should not publicly disclose such confidential information about individual applicants.
Separate from the delivery of finalist information to council, Sciandra said the search committee will publicly outline the process it followed to reach its recommendation during Tuesday’s work session.
“We understand the importance of transparency and accountability in the hiring process, and we believe that sharing the process with the public would be in the best interest of the county,” Sciandra said in his email to council requesting a work session presentation.
The public update will include an overview of the search process and criteria used to evaluate candidates, Sciandra said.
Under the county’s home rule structure, 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. Council members then perform their own interview and selection process, with seven of 11 council votes required to hire the manager.
Sciandra said the committee, which also includes Danielle Ader and David Fusco, followed a “great process” on a tight schedule, mindful of successes and failures of the previous two manager searches.
“This time I believe we hit the bull’s-eye,” he said.
Six of 16 applicants were interviewed before the committee settled on the top three.
The committee advertised the manager position at a base range of $116,322 to $180,000, although the final compensation determination is up to council. Council allocated $145,000 for the manager salary in the 2023 budget, but that earmark can be adjusted.
Prior manager Randy Robertson ended work in November.
Tuesday’s work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for remote attendance posted under council’s online public meeting section at luzernecounty.org.