District of Lucerne may launch regional search for next top executive

The upcoming search for the fourth top manager of the Lucerne district may start at the regional level.

The County Council recently appointed Daniel Ader, David Fusco and Charles Sciandra to the Citizens Selection Committee, which is to seek, vet and recommend governors for consideration by the county council.

Duryea’s Sciandra said he is looking forward to feedback from fellow committee members, but personally believes it would be best to conduct a regional search, with the possibility of expanding later if needed.

“I think that Lucerne County, like any other city, has its own culture and atmosphere. We didn’t do a very good job of inviting someone from another area. Given that the county is so big, I hope we could start looking at a regional option rather than a national one,” Shandra said.

Randy Robertson, who was not from the field, last served as manager for five months. Citing family health concerns, he resigned on 14 December and the council unanimously decided that his last day would be 18 November.

For reference: Robert Lawton, the county’s first government manager, came here from California in January 2012 and remained manager until the end of 2015.

Local resident C. David Pedri from Butler Township was hired as a second manager in May 2016 and left for another job in July 2021.

Ader from Kingston said she agreed that a regional approach was preferable from the outset. Based on the pool of applicants, the committee can decide as a group whether there is a need to “throw a wider net,” she said.

A senior executive recruiter in a private consulting business, Ader believes the best candidate has to be from somewhere that “accurately reflects this county” in terms of population size and structure.

“There should be a lot in common on this point,” she said.

The council cannot tell the committee how to carry out its duties, but there seems to be a consensus this time around that a regional search would be preferable.

Councilman Tim McGinley said his preference would be for a nominee associated with the district, past or present, though he stressed that a decision on recommendations would depend on the quality of the nominees and the committee’s determination.

“Unfortunately, I think that when we had people from the national search, sometimes they didn’t have the experience and understanding of the culture and taste of Lucerne County and the issues,” McGinley said.

Council Vice-Chairman John Lombardo agreed and said that he thought the majority of Council members shared the view that a national approach might not be necessary.

“Most council members are very wary of bringing in someone who is not from Lucerne County and is unfamiliar with its history, demographics, government and culture,” Lombardo said.

McGinley and Lombardo also want the selection committee to provide the council with a list of finalist managers. It has been approximately five months since the previous committee first met and formally presented the three most qualified candidates.

According to McGinley, the vacancy does not need to be advertised for more than two weeks. He believes that a month or more is not needed when interested applicants familiar with the county are likely already aware of the upcoming announcement. McGinley said that given the committee’s time to prepare advertising, screening and interviewing candidates, he could make recommendations to candidates by the end of March or early April.

Lombardo assumes that no more than 90 days will pass from the moment the committee meeting begins if he wants to advertise a vacancy within a month.

“I think a lot of board members would like to see this done as soon as possible,” Lombardo said. “I think the best thing for the county is to get a permanent manager here as soon as possible.”

Sciandra, who runs a consulting firm that helps family companies with succession planning and strategic development, said he is determined to vet candidates carefully, with particular attention to how they will apply their experience both to find solutions and to implement them in this district. . A long list of experience on a resume may not be enough to excel in this position, he says.

Ader said she is looking forward to the start of the process and the challenges and understands that the law committee’s work will be “under the microscope”.

She is working to further study past county manager search processes and said she has a lot of experience to bring to bear as the committee fulfills its mission.

“I thank the county council for entrusting me with this important role,” Ader said.

Fusco of Pitstone is president and owner of the Mechanical Service Co. since 2005. He told the board that he has experience interviewing and selecting employees at the company and wants to help the district.

Council members discussed the invitation of committee members to the upcoming working meeting to answer questions. Committee members awaited further instructions on any procedural steps to be taken before they could schedule their first public meeting.

Contact Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or tweet @TLJenLearnAndes.