County Notebook: Luzerne County seeking IT director

Luzerne County is seeking applicants for the information technology director position, which has been advertised at a range of $85,000 to $90,000, according to an online posting.

Ray Kase has served as director since May. He has notified the county he plans to leave but indicated he would remain in the position through the end of the year, the human resources department said.

“It’s going to be hard to replace him,” county Manager Randy Robertson told county council last week. Robertson has praised Kase’s work performance.

The position is posted in the human resources career opportunities section at luzernecounty.org, with resumes due Nov. 16.

Council meeting

County council will hold a voting meeting and work session starting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, deviating from the usual Tuesday night schedule due to the general election.

The latter part of Wednesday’s work session will focus on 2023 budget proposals for the operational services division, which covers 911, the boiler plant, the emergency management agency and these departments: building/grounds, engineering, planning/zoning, road/bridge and solid waste.

The meeting is at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions to attend the meeting remotely are posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.

Monetization

Former county councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck submitted a written public comment for Wednesday’s meeting urging council members to reject monetization.

Acknowledging there are pros and cons, county Council Vice Chairman John Lombardo has said he wants to explore a cash advance on delinquent tax receipts. Known as “monetization,” the move could generate millions of dollars in up-front cash to help avoid a county real estate tax increase in 2023, Lombardo has said.

The topic is up for discussion at Tuesday’s work session.

McClosky Houck, a council member from home rule’s 2012 implementation through 2021, said voters adopted the home rule structure to fix many things in county government, including budgetary practices.

”One of the first priorities for the 2012 council and its successors was to adopt realistic, balanced budgets that included ‘best practices’ that would ensure the ability of future councils to continue along a strong financial path and recover from the sins of the past,” she wrote. “Monetization was one of the first practices to be eliminated.”

She equated monetization as the government equivalent of a payday loan that “individuals with poor financial management skills turn to for an immediate but short-sighted quick fix to instant problems.”

”We committed ourselves to improving the county’s financial practices and made sometimes difficult decisions to pave the way for a better financial future for this county. I urge you, as you consider the proposal to monetize, to reject it and to continue to move Luzerne County forward in a financially responsible direction,” she wrote.

Staff vacancies

The county had 213 vacant positions in a snapshot reading completed Oct. 24, according to the county manager’s monthly division head report.

There were 211 vacant positions in the Sept. 26 reading, which was the first time the administration started publicly releasing a monthly tally.

The report covers departments under the supervision of Robertson, county District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce and Controller Walter Griffith and does not track court branches.

As in September, the county human services division had the highest number of vacancies — 117 — largely due to continued efforts to fill openings in Children and Youth, which had 72 vacancies, the report said.

The operational services division had 42 openings, including 30 at 911 and eight in the road and bridge department, it said.

There are 20 openings in the District Attorney’s Office, 11 in correctional services and eight in the Public Defender’s Office, it said.

The full report is posted with Wednesday’s council work session agenda at luzernecounty.org.

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