Luzerne County Government

January 29, 2010

Inquiries on extra pay

Controller asks why some sheriff’s department workers got more money.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
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Luzerne County Controller Walter Griffith is questioning $190,700 in extra pay to several county sheriff’s department employees who serve legal documents for civil court and mortgage foreclosures.

Griffith said he learned that seven employees were paid additional compensation in 2009 to serve these documents, often during regular county work hours.

One employee was paid $47,461 on top of her regular salary of $34,550, he said.

The payment authorizations described the expenditure as mileage, but Griffith said it was actually a fee for serving documents. The fee starts at $15, he said.

Griffith said someone in the sheriff’s office indicated that the payment compensated the employees for using their personal vehicles to serve the documents.

He said the employees should be using county sheriff vehicles to serve the documents, even if it means they must park a short distance from the location to avoid being identified by the person they are attempting to serve.

Griffith said he does not believe the state County Code allows employees to receive additional pay for work performed during regular office hours, especially if the work is part of their duties.

He also questioned why the office isn’t scheduling some workers at different hours to serve documents on people who can’t be reached during regular hours.

County acting Sheriff Charles Guarnieri could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

Griffith said money for the extra pay came from fees paid by attorneys or other entities that needed the documents served. That revenue should go back into the county’s general fund because the county is already paying the workers’ salaries, he said.

He said he believes the sheriff’s office has enough vehicles for workers serving these documents. If there’s a shortage, it would likely be cheaper for the county to buy additional vehicles instead of paying the workers to use their own, he said.

Griffith said he learned about the additional pay in a discussion with county Solicitor Vito DeLuca, who advised him to research how one employee had received more than $40,000.

He has not received any requests for the additional pay since he took office as controller in January but said he is expecting some soon.

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