Citizens invited to apply for Luzerne County manager search committee

Resident volunteers interested in playing a major role in selecting Luzerne County’s next top manager must submit their resumes by June 18, a council majority decided Tuesday.

Council must rely on an outside committee of at least three citizens to seek, screen and conduct initial interviews of county manager applicants. The committee then recommends finalists to council for its consideration.

Home rule charter drafters removed council from the initial process, believing it would make the selection more impartial and less vulnerable to political intervention. Council’s only significant role at the start is choosing the committee members.

The manager position will be vacant because C. David Pedri is resigning July 6 to accept a position overseeing the Luzerne Foundation.

Search committee members must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience needed in selecting candidates for high-level positions.

Some council members wanted to eliminate the bachelor’s degree requirement, but a majority opted to leave it in and compromise by adding “or equivalent experience.”

Council also wants committee members who are available for meetings and driven to meet deadlines. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if they work for the county or its contractors or meet other charter prohibitions.

Under past practice, council will publicly interview selection committee applicants and select up to five at a future meeting. Instructions on applying will be posted at luzernecounty.org.

Manager search

Council also approved a timeline seeking to hire a manager between the end of November and late December, although council Chairman Tim McGinley said the process is already several weeks ahead of schedule now that council is advertising for search committee members.

Council members Harry Haas and Walter Griffith proposed tightening the schedule, but a majority supported a more conservative estimate.

Griffith expressed concerns that the selection follows the November election in which five council members will be chosen by voters. He said new council members seated in January may be involved in the new manager selection if it is delayed, and he questioned if they will be up to speed to make such a decision. Griffith also is running for county controller in the general election.

Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck said it’s up to new council members to “pay attention to what’s going on.” The first council seated under home rule in 2012 had to both simultaneously reopen the budget and select a manager, she said.

“Government goes on,” she said.

In a related matter, council unanimously voted Tuesday to formally accept Pedri’s resignation.

Griffith, Haas, McClosky Houck and Councilman Stephen J. Urban were critical of a 2018 employment agreement allowing Pedri to receive a severance and compensation for unused time.

Griffith said the payout to Pedri may be approximately $27,000 and described it as a “golden parachute.”

Tax break

A council majority tabled a decision on a decade-long tax break request for a Hazleton property, largely due to a complaint about the project’s impact on neighboring residences.

Developer Hillwood Properties is seeking 90% real estate tax forgiveness for seven years and 80%, 70% and 60% the final three years on new construction but not the land. The 100-acre site near the intersection of Route 309 and the Arthur Gardner Highway is mine-scarred and has been idle for decades.

The requested break mirrors one recently granted for Missouri-based NorthPoint Development’s latest project in Hanover and Newport townships. Council also approved two other tax breaks this year.

Hazleton resident Mark Rabo urged council to hold off until it hears “both sides of the story.” Neighboring resident Lisa Racosky told council she has “no quality of life” since the developer cut down trees at the site and started work.

Hillwood representatives said they have obtained all required permits and that the property has been zoned industrial since 1995. They also said they were unaware of Racosky’s complaints but will work with her as they have with other neighboring residents.