Luzerne County administration requesting creation of four jobs

Citing increased workloads, Luzerne County’s administration is asking county council to create three new positions in the election bureau and one in the coroner’s office.

The request to fund the positions through transfers from the county’s reserve fund is up for discussion at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Adding two administrative assistants and an elections help desk technician in the election bureau would cost a total $127,227, including wages, health insurance, retirement and other expenses, an agenda submission said.

County Manager C. David Pedri said he reevaluated bureau staffing needs this year and determined more workers are needed to fulfill public and council demands for increased customer service, poll worker training and recruitment, documentation of procedures and processes and online information, including the posting of all campaign finance reports.

The bureau also faces additional work processing and helping the county election board adjudicate no-excuse paper ballots authorized by state legislators, Pedri said.

Under state changes that took effect last year, the county must offer mail voting, a period of on-demand voting at the bureau and traditional voting at polling places, Pedri said.

“We are now running three elections within each election, and there are now increased demands on reporting and auditing,” he said. “The county is happy to provide these services, but additional help is needed to provide the customer service both the council and public are looking for in the election bureau.”

The help desk employee would assist with an increased need for specialized technology assistance, he said, noting veteran election worker Andrea Hill, who is serving as interim director, fully supports the increased staffing request.

Without the additions, the bureau has six full-time staffers, according to the position budget: a director, deputy director and four administrative assistants.

Coroner’s office

An additional field investigator position is requested in the coroner’s office and would cost $39,268 with all expenses included.

The agenda submission cites a 25% increase in death incidents over the past year, not including COVID-19 cases, and said the current staff is working 50 to 60 hours per week and struggling to meet responsibilities mandated by the state Coroner’s Act.

The coroner’s office must investigate deaths that occur outside medical facilities or when the deceased have been in a hospital setting for less than 24 hours.

County Coroner Francis Hacken said the office investigated 1,665 deaths in 2020, compared to 1,272 in in 2019. That 2020 figure does not count approximately 477 coronavirus death cases, which he segregated out of fairness with the expectation the pandemic will end.

The growth trend is continuing this year, Hacken said. He is compiling 2021 statistics before Tuesday’s council meeting.

While caseloads have increased, Hacken said the growth also stems from enhanced accountability, tracking and reporting required by state law.

Breaking down the overall statistics, there were 1,280 deaths from natural causes last year, compared to 1,001 in 2019.

Accidental deaths also rose from 45 to 66 over the two-year period, and drug overdose deaths jumped from 128 to 179, according to a report he posted on the coroner’s page at luzernecounty.org.

In 2020, a total 440 bodies were investigated in the county morgue, versus 319 in 2019.

More processing also is required because cremation requests are rising along with cases requiring toxicology tests and autopsies, he said. The law requires the coroner’s office to review death certificates before a cremation is authorized in case something suspicious or questionable must be examined.

The coroner’s office currently has four full-time positions: the coroner, a chief deputy, a field investigator/lab assistant and an executive administrative assistant, the position budget says.

If approved, the new field investigator/lab assistant would receive a $32,000 salary and be on call 24-7 to respond at death scenes and hospitals, collect samples from the deceased, attend autopsies, work with investigative agencies and transport bodies to the morgue, the agenda said.

What’s next

The proposed ordinances seeking increased staffing will be automatically introduced because they relate to the budget, which means they won’t require introduction votes from at least four of the 11 council members.

For passage, the requests would require public hearings and approval of a council majority at a subsequent meeting.