Keeping track of proposed Luzerne County home rule charter changes may be daunting because the study commission adopted recommendations during multiple meetings and later revised some.
More alterations are possible, but a recap of the up-to-date version is warranted because the commission will be holding its first public hearing seeking feedback on June 17.
The seven-citizen commission will eventually adopt a final version to be placed on the November general election ballot for voters’ consideration.
Some highlights of the recommendations:
Council
Council would be reduced from 11 to seven members at the start of 2030.
Based on council’s responsibilities and workload, the commission proposed increasing the annual compensation from $8,000 to $10,000, which members said is less than the rate of inflation since the current charter took effect in 2012.
Voters would continue electing all council members countywide. A commission majority rejected an option for some or all members elected by district, largely because council members are supposed to base decisions on the county as a whole, not a zone.
A commission minority has unsuccessfully argued in support of keeping 11 council members or altering the reduction to nine to provide greater representation of residents and dilute the power and influence of individual council members.
District attorney and controller
Resign-to-run parameters were clarified for the district attorney and controller.
The current charter says the elected officials cannot file a nomination or election petition or “become a candidate” for a different elective public office unless he/she first resigns as district attorney or controller.
The revised wording says resignation is necessary in this situation if the district attorney or controller files a nomination or election petition or accepts a party’s nomination for any other elective public office.
Commission members said clarity was needed because the “become a candidate” description created issues when prior District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis ran for a county judge seat.
State law already dictates the district attorney’s compensation — $1,000 below the salary paid to a county Court of Common Pleas judge. The state compensation for a county judge is set at $227,411 in 2025, which puts the district attorney salary at $226,411.
The commission is not recommending a mandatory increase of the controller’s compensation.
Council sets the controller’s compensation and can alter it at least a year prior to a new term. There has been no change since council voted in November 2012 to increase the annual salary from $36,562 to $64,999.
Term limit
The three-term limit in the current charter would be kept, but elected or appointed terms of two years or less would not be counted toward the limit.
A commission majority also decided to provide a clean slate to incumbents by not counting terms prior to the new charter’s effective date toward the limit.
Term limits apply to council, the DA and controller.
The greatest impact of both changes would be on county District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce.
Instead of 12 years — three full, four-year terms — Sanguedolce is limited to less than seven years because the current charter counts two prior partial terms, one appointed and the other elected, toward the total. Sanguedolce was elected to his first full, four-year term in November 2023.
With the added clean slate provision, Sanguedolce’s four-year term won’t count toward the limit. He would be eligible to serve three more four-year terms.
Manager
When the top manager position becomes vacant, the charter requires council appointment of at least three citizens on a search committee that handles the recruitment and initial screening and interviews before recommending the applicants it believes are the most qualified to council for its consideration.
The proposed charter would cap the search committee at seven members and permit the appointment of two county council members from different political parties to the committee. It also mandates an application process for the citizen members — a step council already has taken in prior searches.
A new clause was added to clarify council’s role in appointing an acting manager to serve between the time the position is vacated and filled. It said a council majority may appoint an interim manager to serve up to 18 months.
The minimum annual salary for the county manager was increased from 55% of the district attorney’s compensation to 75%. This change would not impact county Manager Romilda Crocamo. The 75% would equate to $170,558, and her annual compensation is listed at $175,000 both last year and in 2025. Prior manager Randy Robertson received $181,500 annually.
The current charter allows the manager to remove all eight division heads.
The commission added a requirement for the manager to obtain council confirmation to remove the chief solicitor and chief public defender, believing a higher level of council involvement is warranted for those positions.
The manager also would be required to obtain consent from at least two council members to propose ordinances or resolutions, based on the rationale that sponsorship should be required because ordinances and resolutions are a legislative function. Council always has final say on whether ordinances and resolutions are accepted or rejected.
Election Board
The commission’s election board recommendation would give council authority to determine if the five-person county election board should remain composed of five citizen volunteers.
Supporters of the proposal reason that council must have flexibility to change from an all-volunteer board if the board’s powers must increase to comply with state election law, which could include authority to hire the election director, choose the voting system and prepare annual election budgets.
The proposed charter would keep the board at five members, require at least two Democrats and two Republicans and allow the four council-appointed members to then choose someone to serve in the fifth seat — all provisions in the charter.
However, it would permit council to eliminate prohibitions barring county employees and elected officials from serving in these board seats.
To make such a change in composition, council would have to amend its administrative code. Majority-plus-one council approval would be mandated for code changes related to the election board.
This plan was driven by a legal analysis from commission solicitor Joseph J. Khan, of Curtin & Heefner LLP, that said the Pennsylvania Election Code, or Title 25, is clear that election boards have employee appointment authority and other responsibilities currently performed by the county administration.
Concerns were raised about granting such control over elections to five unelected people, which could equate to a board majority of three citizens from one political party.
The commission also recommends allowing any election board member to serve as board chair instead of requiring that leadership post to be held by the fifth person selected by the council-appointed board members.
It also gives council authority to decide how the four-year election board terms are sequenced and reduces the period in which appointees have to be registered to the applicable political party from five to three years preceding appointment.
Ethics commission
As it stands, the recommendation requires council to decide within a set time period how the ethics commission and code should be structured.
But for at least the first two years, the commission must keep the same five members and add two more citizens.
The commission is composed of the county district attorney, manager, controller and two council-appointed citizens (one Democrat and one Republican). Two more citizens from the same two parties would be added on a trial basis to assess how it works with citizens outnumbering the elected officials and manager.
Council would still be free to alter the structure after two years.
The commission discussed but temporarily held off voting on another proposal to create an advisory committee including citizens to make recommendations on ethics code changes to council.
Other boards
Council will have the option to create a county jail oversight board and public defender advisory board.
For the three-citizen assessment appeals board, which rules on real estate assessment reductions, wording was added to ensure members complete training that was mandated by state law enacted after the current charter took effect. Council also would be permitted to appoint alternate members to fill in as needed if permanent members are absent or have a conflict hearing any appeals.
The composition of the five-member county retirement board also would be changed. This board, which oversees the employee pension fund, consists of the county manager, budget/finance division head, council chair, a council member and member of the retirement system. The new proposal would replace the budget/finance division head with a citizen and allow the manager the option to select a designee to serve in his/her place.
On the Joint Airport Board with Lackawanna County that oversees the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, three council members would serve instead of two council members and the county manager or his/her designee. This was based on an argument that this board serves more of a legislative purpose.
Budget and finance
Council will have flexibility to determine if it wants to relax a requirement for the district attorney, controller and judiciary to seek council approval for transfers needed to increase salaries or create new positions. A commission majority wanted to leave the door open in case a future court case deems the transfer approval requirement impermissible for these independent branches.
In another change, the county manager would have to seek council approval to transfer budgeted funds within departments if those funds are used to create a new position or increase the salary for any position above the annual amount budgeted for that year.
The deadline for annual county audits also was extended from six months to eight months following the close of a fiscal year due to concerns the schedule is too aggressive.
A date related to the county’s annual budget adoption also would be altered in case council wants to approve a budget sooner. The charter says the budget must be approved between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15. The commission kept the Dec. 15 deadline but eliminated the window.
The commission also is requiring the creation and/or maintenance of a county reserve fund as part of the county’s annual long-range operational, fiscal and capital plan.
Public hearing
The first public hearing is set for 6 p.m. June 17 at the County Operations Building, 1199 Wyoming Ave., Wyoming.
The commission discussed plans to hold at least two more public hearings in other regions of the county to obtain feedback before final adoption of its proposal.