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WILKES-BARRE — Patricia Unvarsky, a retired businesswoman, announced Tuesday that she is a candidate for city controller.
Unvarsky, 63, is running as a Democrat in the May 21 primary. This year, the position was budgeted at a salary of $51,083 plus benefits.
“I will build on toughness, fairness and integrity as controller, while maintaining my commitment to transparency and accountability,” Unvarsky said in her announcement.
Controller Darren Snyder, a Democrat elected in 2015, said he will soon make an announcement as to his intentions.
“The city controller’s office is responsible for overseeing how effectively the city spends money and to audit each department and ferret out waste and inefficiency,” Unvarsky said. “Just as families have learned to budget and reduce spending this past year, I want to make sure that our city is taking every step possible to make sure that every penny is spent the right way for the city.”
Unvarsky, a lifelong Wilkes-Barre resident, said she has the qualifications and experience for the job. She was the owner and operator of Personal Touch Catering from 1990 to 2005 and was “responsible for all essential functions,” including financial management, budgeting, planning, decision making and consumer management. She also has more than 10 years of experience as a medical billing and coding specialist, in accounts receivable and processing insurance claims for dental patients. “I have also worked with small business, veterans’ organizations handling financial transactions with vendors, customers, banks and government agencies,” she said.
Unvarsky is on the board of the City of Wilkes-Barre Economic Industrial Development Authority. Her husband Thomas Unvarsky Sr., a former Wilkes-Barre police officer, now works as a parking enforcement supervisor for the city.