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Five Luzerne County assistant district attorneys have been promoted to new supervisory positions as part of an office reorganization, county District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said Tuesday.
Salavantis eliminated six unionized assistant district attorney positions — five full-time and one part-time — in exchange for five new nonunion division chief positions overseeing driving under the influence, special victims, narcotics, juveniles and major crimes.
The shuffling saves the county money because the division chief salaries total $288,700, or $8,500 less than the compensation for the six assistant district attorneys, Salavantis said.
No assistant district attorneys were furloughed because one of the six eliminated positions was vacant and five were selected for advancement after they responded to an internal job posting, she said.
The new division chiefs, along with their compensation, according to the district attorney:
• Michelle Hardik, narcotics, $60,000;
• Thomas Hogans, major crimes, $60,000;
• Matthew Muckler, juveniles, $60,000;
• Rachael Pugh, DUI, $52,700;
• Nancy Violi, special victims, $56,000.
Grouping cases into specialized divisions makes sense so the attorneys and supervisor stay on top of crime trends and changes in those areas of the law, Salavantis said.
The chiefs will continue prosecuting cases while supervising attorneys in their division, she said. Their supervisory work will include managing caseloads, providing guidance and training and meeting with law enforcement, she said.
Division chiefs will report to the district attorney.
“There’s more of a chain of command in the office that makes it more efficient and provides more oversight in each case,” Salavantis said.
For example, the juvenile division chief will work closely with volunteer Youth Aid Panels that develop contracts with first-time, nonviolent juvenile offenders allowing them an opportunity for a second chance, she said.
The special victims division chief will focus largely on sexual assault, domestic violence and child and elder abuse cases.
Salavantis made DUI its own division because she estimates about one-third of the office’s cases involve drunken driving. She highlighted that concern in her annual report earlier this year, telling council, “We still have a major issue with alcoholism in Luzerne County.”
County Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik informed county council of the district attorney’s planned changes Aug. 28 as required by the council-adopted administrative code. The code says council must be notified of alterations to the number, compensation or classification of positions at least five days in advance.
The administration also publicly posted a Sept. 12 transfer shifting funding from the union to nonunion category in the district attorney’s budget to proceed with the change.
Unionized assistant district attorneys/public defenders are represented by Teamsters Local 401. Before implementing the reorganization, Salavantis said she made the union aware of the plans to switch the positions to nonunion ones due to the additional responsibilities and supervisory duties.
