Click here to subscribe today or Login.
By JENNIFER LEARN-ANDES [email protected]
Tuesday, November 29, 2005 Page: 1A
Luzerne County commissioners are expected to approve an early-retirement
incentive tomorrow, cementing the departure of 186 county employees.
In a nutshell, the county will spend up to $23 million in bond principal
and interest over 15 years to save $25.5 million over the same time period,
Commissioner Todd Vonderheid said at Monday’s work session.
The $2.5 million in savings factors in the replacement of some of the
workers.
Commissioners must keep the replacement price tag under $3 million to
realize the $2.5 million savings, county officials say.
Vonderheid said some workers will have to be replaced, considering numerous
department heads are set to leave.
He and Commissioner Greg Skrepenak have said they will look at the big
picture and re-evaluate all county departments looking for areas that should
be streamlined, merged or beefed up. They said repeatedly they want a smaller
work force with higher-paying jobs.
For instance, three workers who are paid $30,000 cost the county roughly
$135,000 with benefits, but two workers paid $40,000 would cost just $120,000
with benefits, Vonderheid said.
He was pleased by the $2.5 million savings projection.
“If we can have that type of savings, it’s certainly something we should
do,” Vonderheid said. “It’s bottom-line savings that will help us reduce the
overall cost of government, while at the same time hopefully increasing the
salaries and skill sets and productivity of new employees who come on board.”
He stressed that commissioners will publicly justify filling positions.
The incentive’s impact on the employee pension fund was a concern. However,
Philadelphia attorney Alan F. Wohlstetter Jr., who helped design the plan for
the county, said Monday the program will reduce the fund’s obligations by
$81,000 per year.
The incentive gives employees $20,000 plus $1,000 for each full year of
service as of Dec. 31, plus payment of accrued vacation and sick time.
To be eligible, employees had to be at least 50 years old with at least 10
years of service, or have 20 years of service regardless of age.
In other business, county officials discussed plans to:
* Pay CDS Creative of Forty Fort $32,000 to redesign and continually update
the county Web site.
* Hire two companies to evaluate and recommend improvements in the county’s
tourist promotion.
North Star Destinations will be paid $55,000 and up to $7,000 in
out-of-pocket expenses. The Joint Urban Studies Center, Wilkes-Barre, will
receive $24,500.
* Advertise for consultants to study what it will cost to restore the
courthouse interior now that the exterior leaks and dome skylight have been
repaired.
* Look for a permanent home in downtown Hazleton to house the county’s
southern annex. The annex has been housed temporarily in West Hazleton after
concerns about mold and other problems in the old building owned by the city
of Hazleton.
* Hire Stella Air Inc. to serve as fixed-base operator of the county-owned
Wyoming Valley Airport in Forty Fort. Commissioners bought out the old
contract and reviewed several proposals with the help of a community advisory
board before selecting Stella.
Luzerne County Controller Steve Flood has scheduled a hearing Thursday
night regarding the juvenile detention center, issuing subpoenas to county
Commissioners Greg Skrepenak and Todd Vonderheid and Pennsylvania Department
of Public Welfare Secretary Estelle Richman.
County Solicitor Jim Blaum said Monday that Flood doesn’t have legal
authority to issue such subpoenas, and he will challenge them on behalf of the
two commissioners. Vonderheid said he will continue answering all questions
about the center from the public and media.
Flood said he’s resorting to a hearing because there are many unanswered
questions about the Pittston Township center, which the county is leasing from
Pennsylvania Child Care for 20 years at a cost of $58 million.