Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo’s compensation is increasing to $181,501 in 2026 — not $185,001 as stated in a position list that had been posted on the county website, officials said Thursday.
The subject came up because prior county controller Walter Griffith sent County Council an email asserting the posting indicates “someone is trying to pay the county manager more than council has allowed in the budget.”
In response, Crocamo said Griffith should research facts before making “reckless public statements.”
“He is saying that I’m actually getting paid more money than what was agreed to, and that is untrue,” Crocamo replied.
Crocamo said she has been receiving $175,000 annually and switched to $181,501 on Jan. 1 in compliance with the employment agreement approved by a County Council majority in August. This salary is $1 more than the compensation that had been paid to prior county manager Randy Robertson.
The position list posted online was the one originally prepared by the administration to reflect all positions and compensation initially included in the proposed 2026 budget, Crocamo said.
Before the final budget adoption, the administration sought council approval for a corrective budget amendment reducing the allocation by $3,500, which lowered it to the correct amount, Crocamo said. Meeting minutes show council approved that amendment on Nov. 25.
The administration removed the original list from the website on Thursday and posted an updated one with the amended manager compensation, she said.
This list is posted in the budget and finance section at luzernecounty.org.
County officials have debated the significance and purpose of the position list since the 2012 implementation of home rule.
Past administrations have argued that it is essentially an annual snapshot reference worksheet, showing council how the administration tallied the personnel allocations requested in the budget.
Some council members have advocated treating the list as a formal and rigid document.
District Attorney
Due to information released after the budget adoption, the salary for the elected District Attorney will also differ from the one stated in the position list.
State law dictates the DA’s compensation — $1,000 below the salary paid to a county Court of Common Pleas judge.
In the position list, the annual DA salary was $226,411 in 2025 and $245,000 in 2026.
On Dec. 12, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts published the judicial salaries that would take effect Jan. 1, which contained a 3.3% cost-of-living adjustment, according to the County Commissioners Association of PA.
The new annual salary of a county Court of Common Pleas judge is $234,916 in 2026.
As a result, the DA compensation is $233,916, or $11,084 less than anticipated in the budget.
The revised judicial salaries won’t impact the county court budget because the state covers the cost of county Court of Common Pleas judges and magisterial district judges, officials said.
The 2026 magisterial district judge compensation is $117,466, according to the state.