Luzerne County Council set to approve two contracts Tuesday

Luzerne County Council is set to vote on two major contract selections at Tuesday’s virtual meeting — a prison inmate medical provider and tax-claim operator, the agenda says.

A new prison provider must be in place before June 23 because Wexford Health Sources Inc. exercised a contract clause allowing service termination with at least 120 days of notice if either side “determines that such termination is in its best interest.”

The provider must furnish medical and mental health services and personnel, including prescription and nonprescription drugs and emergency ambulance transport, for inmates at the prison and minimal offenders building in Wilkes-Barre.

The administration wants to bring back WellPath LLC, formerly Correct Care Solutions, which had been performing the work from March 2015 until it was replaced by Wexford.

But council tabled the WellPath selection at its last meeting March 31 because the contract was not yet ready for its review.

The proposed contract is now completed and posted with the meeting agenda on the council page at www.luzernecounty.org along with instructions on how to remotely attend the 1 p.m. session.

The proposed three-year contract with WellPath would cost around $3 million annually. The first year cost would be about $97,370 higher.

This contract also allows either side to terminate services without cause, but it requires notice 180 days in advance instead of 120.

While advocating for the longer termination notice, county Correctional Services Division Head Mark Rockovich has said such a clause makes sense so the county is not forced to keep a provider that does not perform as promised.

The administration said WellPath is the “best choice” among three prospective vendors and will be able to meet the short implementation schedule.

Tax claim

The administration has recommended keeping the tax claim operator that has been overseeing delinquent tax collections since prior officials outsourced the service a decade ago — Northeast Revenue Services LLC, which has since restructured and formed a successor entity called Elite Revenue Solutions LLC.

The proposed contract with Elite would continue the company’s handling of tax claim through 2022, with two optional one-year extensions.

As in the past, the county would pay nothing out of pocket and receive revenue from the company’s rental of a first-floor office in the courthouse previously occupied by tax claim when the service was performed in-house.

The company is paid primarily through a 5% penalty added to overdue school and municipal taxes collected by the county as allowed by law.

The operator must collect overdue real estate taxes, bring eligible properties to auction and maintain a public database documenting the payment status of each property.

Renewal of the space rental also is on the agenda for approval, with the company agreeing to pay monthly rates of $5,500 for the rest of this year, $5,750 in 2021 and $6,000 in 2022.

Northeast Revenue has handled tax claim since May 2010, when prior commissioners determined privatizing the operation would cut expenses and improve collections.

Three other companies also submitted proposals last summer to handle the work. The administration ended up holding off on making a recommendation until 2020, saying the award should not be made by a lame duck council that would be losing and adding some members in the new year. Northeast Revenue’s current contract extension runs out June 30.

After reviewing the four proposals and interviewing the top three vendors in July, a five-person committee unanimously recommended Northeast Revenue/Elite.

If council does not select Elite, the county would have to seek proposals again because the other vendor submissions “discussed adding or changing ordinances to the home rule charter,” the agenda said. The other responding vendors also “rely heavily on call centers that are out of the area and add additional fees to the indebted taxpayers,” it said.

In addition to Elite’s own legal staff, the business must continue employing at least five workers at its courthouse office and at least one at its Hazleton office.

While county officials have provided positive reviews about Northeast Revenue’s performance, some county council members had expressed concerns last year over reports the company was among vendors pressed to pay a bribe to former Scranton Mayor William Courtright, who pleaded guilty to three federal corruption charges.

A Northeast Revenue spokesman had said the company fully cooperated with investigators and had not been charged with any unlawful acts.

In the new proposed contract, Elite certifies “after reasonable inquiry and to the best of its knowledge, information, and belief” that none of its current owners, officers, employees and/or subcontractors have been or expect to be arrested, charged or indicted and have not received or expect to receive target of investigation letters from any law enforcement entity.

If any such circumstances occurred, the contract would be subject to immediate termination, it said.

Coronavirus-related extension

Councilman Walter Griffith also said he is pushing for council to approve his proposal eliminating a 10% late fee on county real estate taxes this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As it currently stands, county real estate taxes must be paid by June 17 to avoid the penalty.

Some elected tax collectors have raised concerns about the logistics of allowing all property owners to wait until the end of the year to pay without penalty. Eliminating the penalty also would cause the county to lose revenue that amounted to $600,000 last year and may create cash flow issues, the administration warned.

While acknowledging some with financial means will purposefully wait until the end of the year if the penalty is waived, Griffith has said he believes most property owners will respect the county’s need for revenue to continue operations and pay before June 17 if they are able.