Luzerne County study commission narrowing focus
Luzerne County's Government Study Commission will formally vote Thursday night on whether it wants to stick with a home rule charter or revert back to the prior commissioner/row officer system, the agenda said.
All seven commission members have already stated they were not advocating a return to the past state County Code system in effect for more than 150 years, but Commission Chairman Tim McGinley said a public vote is necessary.
"We have to put it on record, and then we can move forward," McGinley said.
The home rule charter that took effect in 2012 put 11 part-time elected council members and a council-appointed manager in charge of decisions previously made by three elected commissioners and several elected row officers.
The commission has until early 2025 to determine if government structure alterations are warranted and, if so, another nine months to draft proposed changes. An extra two months is permitted if the commission recommends electing a council by district instead of at large.
Voters would have to approve the changes for them to take effect.
Thursday's agenda also includes key areas of the county's current charter that commission members want to address.
McGinley said each item on the list was cited as a priority by multiple commission members.
The list will provide a guide for the commission solicitor and consultant to prepare background needed to make decisions, he said.
"We have to lay out a roadmap of what we need to get done so they can start pumping out research," he said.
Under the heading of county council, for example, the list includes the number of council members and whether they should keep term limits, have their own solicitor instead of relying on the central law office and be elected by district.
The election board also is on the list for consideration of its membership and responsibilities.
Currently, the five-citizen board consists of four council-appointed citizens (two Democrats, two Republicans) and a fifth member/chair of any affiliation or no affiliation selected by those four.
Commission Chairwoman Denise Williams, a Democrat, recently suggested adding the county manager and two council members (one Democrat, one Republican) to the election board as non-voting members and requiring the four council-appointed citizen members to fill the fifth voting member seat with an Independent/no affiliation voter.
Williams said this structure would eliminate the possibility of a Democratic or Republican majority of voting board members and provide input from both council and the administration.
Among the other issues on the list:
• Membership and eligibility requirements to serve on county boards, authorities and commissions.
• An elected county manager versus an appointed one.
• Formulated compensation increases for the elected controller and council members.
• Addition of a prison oversight board.
• Restructuring of the county retirement board that oversees the employee pension fund. The charter placed two council members, the county manager, the county budget/finance division head and an employee/retiree representative on the board.
• Placement of three council members — instead of two council members and the county manager — on the Bi-County Airport Board that oversees the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
• Determination of district attorney restrictions that may conflict with state law.
Regarding this last point, the commission's legal counsel — Curtin & Heefner LLP — has performed initial research on district attorney's office charter provisions. For transparency, the commission posted the document on its page at luzernecounty.org .
The commission's meeting is at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. 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
