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WILKES-BARRE — Mayor Tony George confirmed the daughter of a member of his transition team was hired for a parking enforcement job.
George said the job was posted and there was no favoritism shown to Heather Burke, the daughter of Donald Fiorucci, a former deputy fire chief.
“She applied for anything in March or February,” George said Thursday.
The parking enforcement position pays $22,000 a year and is a union spot with the Laborers International Union of North America Local 1310 that represents City Hall employees.
Fiorucci served on the transition team after George, a Democrat, beat Republican challenger Frank Sorick in the general election last November. Last month, the city council approved George’s appointment of Fiorucci to the Fire Civil Service Commission. He replaced a commission member whose term expired.
New hires would be made with an eye toward the city’s finances as George has expressed concerns about possible revenue shortfalls in he $51.5 million balanced budget left by his predecessor Mayor Tom Leighton. George has said he would consider adding parking enforcement and other revenue producing positions because they pay for themselves.
“We need another one,” George said of a second opening in parking enforcement. He said he wants to hire people he knows are good workers.
According to a draft of the June financial report, as of the end of last month, the city collected $131,980 for parking violations or 29 percent of the $450,000 budgeted. This year, parking enforcement and traffic control were budgeted for $304,326 in combined salaries and benefits.