Luzerne County Courthouse
                                 File photo

Luzerne County Courthouse

File photo

Some cite need to wait for new manager

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A Luzerne County Council majority voted against two American Rescue Plan allocations Tuesday, with some saying such decisions should wait until Randy Robertson starts work as the new county manager.

Robertson has said he expects to be in the county the week of June 13.

The allocations that failed to pass were $168,100 for PFM Group Consulting LLC to complete a new 10-year financial plan for the county and $254,706 for Columbia, Maryland-based Booth Management Consulting to provide guidance and assistance administering the county’s American Rescue Plan awards.

The six council members voting against both allocations: Carl Bienias III, Kevin Lescavage, LeeAnn McDermott, Brian Thornton, Stephen J. Urban and Gregory Wolovich Jr.

Councilman John Lombardo voted against the PFM allocation but supported the Booth Management one.

Council members Tim McGinley and Chris Perry voted for both.

Council Chairwoman Kendra Radle was absent Tuesday, and the remaining council seat was declared vacant during the meeting because prior member Robert Schnee was sworn in as state representative in Harrisburg earlier in the day.

Thornton said he believes the completion of another long-term financial plan is a “great idea,” but he wants Robertson to weigh in. He noted Robertson has a master’s degree in strategic planning and should be consulted before the expenditure is authorized.

Another American Rescue allocation — $500,000 for the blight-reducing Hazleton Land Bank — was approved by a council majority Tuesday.

Council had previously tabled a decision due to concerns that were raised about initial actions taken by the land bank in its infancy.

Thornton said he subsequently received documents he had requested from the land bank from county Interim Chief Solicitor Harry W. Skene. Thornton said he wanted to ensure the county does not have a problem when its allocations are audited by the state and federal government, and Skene said he is confident the land bank complied with all regulations in place. Thornton likened initial land bank issues to “growing pains.”

Lombardo agreed with Thornton’s assessment and said he and some other council members ran on a promise of blight reduction.

McDermott and Perry said they concurred.

Urban, Wolovich and Lescavage voted against the allocation. Urban said he still has issues with protocols not followed when the land bank was formed.

Before the new $500,000 allocation, council had approved $15.4 million in American Rescue allocations, leaving $97.5 million. Those prior allocations included $500,000 for the North East Pennsylvania Land Bank Authority, which focuses on blight reduction in multiple Pittston area municipalities.

The county does not have to commit to an American Rescue allocation plan until the end of 2024 and has until the end of 2026 to spend the money.

Vacant council seat

While council declared Schnee’s seat vacant, council members were unsure when the opening will be publicly advertised because it did not vote on whether it will be filled with a Republican or Democrat through 2023.

Schnee was elected as a Democrat in 2019 but subsequently changed his registration to Republican. The county’s home rule charter says the person appointed “shall be a member of the same political party as the person he/she is to succeed and shall have been a member of that party continuously from the time the person whose office is to be filled was most recently elected or appointed to the office.”

Skene concluded Schnee’s replacement must be a Republican dating back to November 2019, when Schnee was elected, based on the charter wording.

Speaking during public comment, county Democratic Committee Chairwoman Kathy Bozinski urged council to select a Democrat, saying party resources had been invested in his election as a Democrat.

“I humbly ask all the members of council to look at this as supporting the will of the people. This is not a time of partisanship,” Bozinski said.

Litigation settlement

Council unanimously voted against a $55,000 payment to settle a 2020 defamation suit past county election director Shelby Watchilla had filed against the county and county Controller Walter Griffith over statements he made when he was a county councilman.

With the settlement rejected, adjudication of the litigation will proceed, council members said.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.