Luzerne County acting manager presents yearly review

Luzerne County Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo opened her annual forum Thursday with an update on finances, including a projection that the county will end 2021 bringing in $500,000 more than it spent.

This continues a “positive trend” of annual audit surpluses since 2016, said Crocamo, who started as interim manager when C. David Pedri resigned in July.

The county’s outstanding debt, with interest, has now dipped below $250 million, compared to $468 million owed in 2012.

Still in effect is the county’s A- credit rating that Standard & Poor’s imposed in October 2019, which officials had described as the highest rating the county had ever earned, she said Thursday, speaking at the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre.

“We have to hold on to that credit rating and be vigilant,” Crocamo said at the annual briefing required by the county’s home rule charter, with two reporters and Councilman-elect Gregory Wolovich Jr. in attendance.

Moving to the county’s administrative services division, Crocamo said the community development office pumped more than $5 million into municipal infrastructure projects and county-owned road and bridges in 2021. Funds the office provided to economic development entities helped to create more than 400 jobs this year, she said.

The election bureau is among the other departments in this division. She highlighted the creation of more comprehensive poll worker training, a new more efficient procedure to process mail ballots and a communication system first deployed in the November general election to simultaneously send information to all poll workers.

“I really think we’re on the right track. This general election was the most transparent and error-free election in years,” Crocamo said.

Michael Susek started work Monday as the county’s new election director and has “hit the ground running,” she said.

There is “still a lot of work to do” addressing election improvement recommendations from county council, the election board and administration, she said.

Also in administrative services, the tourism bureau was awarded a $40,000 state grant to promote craft breweries in the county. Headed by the “very enthusiastic” Alan K. Stout, the bureau also has created several promotional videos involving local radio and television personalities for use on social media, Crocamo said.

She rattled off summaries of work in other departments in the administrative division, including the sale of licenses — 17,657 dog, 15,248 hunting and 46 bingo.

County Human Resources Director Angela Gavlick was appointed interim administrative services director in late September, after David Parsnik abruptly resigned from the division head position. Someone else must be appointed around the end of this month because interim division head posts are only permitted for 90 days under the charter.

Crocamo said earlier this week and reaffirmed Thursday that she will not recommend anyone for the administrative services division head opening because she believes that decision should be up to the permanent manager.

The county’s manager search committee plans to start advertising the top manager position Dec. 27 and provide a list of qualified applicants to council for its consideration in April. Council must then conduct its own interviews before making a selection.

In addition to administrative services and budget/finance, Thursday’s report also covered the correctional services, law, human services, judicial services and records, operational and public defender’s divisions. The 46-page yearly review is posted under the manager’s section at luzernecounty.org.

Coronavirus

Crocamo touched on the coronavirus pandemic during her report.

She implemented a mask mandate inside county buildings on Aug. 3, based on the substantial level of COVID-19 community transmission in the county.

“It’s working,” she said of the mandate, adding there have been no reported outbreaks among employees.

She emphasized again she is not issuing a coronavirus vaccine mandate for workers. Past measures of reduced capacity inside offices and remote work where possible may be reactivated in the future if the positivity rate, new cases and hospitalizations warrant additional precautions, Crocamo said.