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By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
Jennifer Learn-Andes on Facebook   |   @TLJenLearnAndes on Twitter

Luzerne County officials met with all department heads Thursday morning to reiterate that time should be tracked according to the personnel policy.

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Row officers may opt to ignore the request and not follow the set number of days off, but Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla said she doesn’t think that’s best practice. Managers in row offices won’t be paid for unused time when they leave if those offices don’t follow the policy, county officials said.

“I think everybody needs to realize that it’s 2009, and the days of no-show jobs are over,” Petrilla said. “We’re all accountable to the people.”

Petrilla said row officers were “very receptive” to the request to track time.

She said she suggested that row officers meet among themselves to discuss the matter.

The time-tracking issue recently came to the forefront after questions arose regarding vacation time taken by Chief Deputy Sheriff Charles Guarnieri. Sheriff Michael Savokinas said he did not report approximately two weeks Guarnieri took off as vacation because Savokinas did not believe he was required to do so.

A subsequent review of payroll records showed that acting Controller A.J. Martinelli and District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll were the only row officers to report vacation and other personal time taken by management employees.

Under county policy, managers and other non-union workers are paid $50 per unused sick day up to a maximum of 60 days and are paid their full hourly rate for unused vacation days, which are capped at 20 days, plus whatever days the manager is due in the year they retire.

County commissioners implemented the time policy for 500 or so non-union/management employees in 2005.

There formerly were no rules regarding sick and vacation days for workers not under union contracts. Without a policy, each boss decided how much time off was allowed in his or her office, and workers automatically received a $3,000 severance when they left county employment to cover unused sick and vacation time – real or not.