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Shelby Watchilla will be Luzerne County’s new election director, while Kristin Montgomery will oversee the assessor’s office, county Manager C. David Pedri announced Thursday.
A county employee since 2014, Watchilla most recently held the position of human resources business partner.
Pedri announced in October he had assigned Watchilla to assist election bureau deputy director Mary Beth Steininger and administrative services division head David Parsnik in election duties while the office is without a director
Marisa Crispell resigned as election director Sept. 6, and 20 applied for the position.
Crispell had been paid $54,096, and the position was advertised at $55,000 to $65,000 annually. Watchilla will receive $64,500, Pedri said.
According to his release:
In her human resources position, Watchilla has worked to ensure compliance with the county ethics code and personnel policies.
She has “performed admirably” in her election office coordinating role since Crispell’s departure.
The new election director will be instrumental in preparing for the high-turnout April 28 presidential primary, when the county will be using a new paper-trail voting system for the first time and implementing state election reforms that include a new option to vote by mail up to 50 days before an election and an extended voter registration deadline.
Council voted this week to purchase the voting system Dominion Voting Systems Inc. Public education and poll worker training will be necessary, officials have said. With the change, voters will make selections on computerized ballot-marking devices similar to the way they do now. But instead of touching a screen box to cast the ballot, voters would receive a paper printout to verify their selections before it is fed into a tabulator to be read and saved in compliance with a state mandate.
The county election office has an $827,200 budget this year and six employees, including the director.
County Election Board Vice Chairman Peter Ouellette said Thursday he knew it would be “tough to replace” Crispell because she had years of specialized county election administrative experience.
While Watchilla has never managed an election office, Ouellette said she has demonstrated solid organizational skills in the recent temporary assistance role by posting information online and responding to information requests.
“I think if we support her, she can do a decent job,” Ouellette said.
Assessor’s office
Anthony Alu is retiring as assessment director the end of this year, creating that vacancy. He started overseeing the office in 2001.
Veteran office residential property appraisal manager Rocco Amentler also retired effective Dec. 2. Pedri said he has hired Michael Lavelle for that position.
A certified Pennsylvania evaluator, Montgomery has more than 20 years of experience as the chief assessor in Sullivan County, where she oversaw all assessment and staff supervision responsibilities, Pedri said.
She is the former president of the North Central Chapter of the Assessors Association of Pennsylvania and a winner of the association’s Michael M. Chuddy Award.
Alu currently receives $62,180, and the position was advertised at $55,000 to $65,000. Montgomery will receive $60,000 annually.
Lavelle has worked as a real estate owner and appraiser with Lavelle Real Estate, where he developed values for numerous properties. He also served as a staff appraiser for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
His salary will be $50,000 annually.
The county had received five applications each for the two assessor’s positions.
With a $760,450 budget and staff of 18, the office must keep track of changes to 168,000 real estate parcels countywide and calculate tax values for new construction.
Montgomery will face rebuilding the office’s assessment database, which was disabled by a Memorial Day weekend cyber attack. County officials have said they don’t expect the site to be fully restored until the end of January.
Pedri said he is optimistic about the direction of both offices under the new leadership.
“I am confident that these individuals possess the knowledge and experience needed to be ideal candidates for these positions,” he wrote. “We are thrilled they are joining our team.”