Luzerne County proposed 2025 budget to be presented Tuesday

Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo's proposed no-tax-hike 2025 budget will be introduced Tuesday.

The county millage rate is currently 6.3541. To figure out the tax payment, property owners must divide their assessed value by 1,000 and multiply it by the millage rate. For example, the owner of a $100,000 property pays $635.41 in county taxes.

The Council will be free to make changes before the Dec. 15 budget adoption deadline. Budget adoption is scheduled for the Dec. 10 meeting.

Budget presentations are being added to the upcoming — and regularly scheduled — council meetings, meaning that the Council will not be having additional meetings to review department proposals as in the past.

Tuesday's meeting is at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for the remote attendance option posted under council's online meetings link at luzernecounty.org .

Litigation settlements

Two settlements are on council's voting agenda.

The first would pay $30,000 to close out litigation William French and Melynda Anne Reese filed against the county in federal court alleging they were denied their constitutional right to vote due to the county's Nov. 8, 2022 general election paper shortage, the agenda said.

Both plaintiffs alleged they attempted to vote at their polling places multiple times and "were unable to do so due to the paper ballot shortage," the agenda said.

The second settlement for $15,000 would terminate litigation Melanie J. Randall filed against the county in the county Court of Common Pleas in 2015 over a physical injury sustained when she allegedly fell into an open manhole on the county courthouse property, the agenda said. The suit asserted the injury was caused by county negligence.

County bridge

The Council may vote Tuesday to rescind last month's decision to earmark $1.2 million in interest earnings on federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to replace the Sleepy Hollow Bridge in Butler Township.

Crocamo requested reconsideration of the earmark because the county is developing a bridge ranking to prioritize spans that should be addressed, an email to council said. She does not believe the Sleepy Hollow Bridge will be at the top of this list because of its low usage, it said.

The steel truss Sleepy Hollow Bridge has been added to the state's Transportation Improvement Plan for future funding, but construction must wait until 2027 if alternate funding is not identified.

Election resolution

A proposed county "election worker protection ordinance" presented by Councilwoman Joanna Bryn Smith also is up for an adoption vote Tuesday.

A required public hearing on the proposal is scheduled before the voting meeting, at 5:45 p.m.

All four Democratic council members — Bryn Smith, Patty Krushnowski, Jimmy Sabatino and Brittany Stephenson — had voted to introduce the ordinance so it could advance to discussion and debate, while the remaining seven Republican council members opposed introduction.

Election Board

The county's five-citizen Election Board will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 9) at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Agenda topics include conflicting proposals to eliminate mail ballot drop boxes or increase security related to the boxes.

A legal challenge is pending over county Manager Romilda Crocamo's authority to cancel the drop boxes for the Nov. 5 general election.

Instructions to attend the meeting remotely are posted under council's authorities/boards/commissions online meetings link at luzernecounty.org .

Study commission

The county's Government Study Commission will meet at 6 p.m. Monday (Oct. 7) in the county courthouse.

Authorized by county April 23 primary election voters, the commission has until early 2025 to determine if alterations to the existing home rule charter are warranted and, if so, another nine months to draft proposed changes. An extra two months is allowable if the commission is recommending electing council by district instead of at large.

Voters would have to approve the changes for them to take effect.

Instructions to attend remotely are posted under council's online meetings link at luzernecounty.org .

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter