Lucerne County Councilor outlines possible self-government changes

Lucerne district council member Carl Bienias III said he intends to propose several issues for voting on amendments to the self-government charter, including one to reduce the size of the council from 11 to seven members.

Other possible amendments, drafted with several council colleagues, would change the composition of the district election commission as well as the pension board, which oversees the employee pension fund, he said.

Bienias spoke of the plans on Tuesday as proof that he and others are serious about their promise to recommend bylaw improvements in-house instead of resorting to an external study group.

He is among the majority of council members who have publicly said they do not support a ruling put to a council vote next week that will ask primary voters on May 16 if they want to convene a seven-citizen elected committee to overhaul the structure of county government. .

If the study committee’s ruling is unexpectedly approved by the council next week, citizens interested in service will run simultaneously in the primary election, and the top seven will win votes if the ballot question is passed. These commissioners will have up to 18 months to review the current structure and decide whether they want to keep it as it is, make changes, move to a different structure, or return to the three-commissioner system, officials said.

Any change recommended by the commission must be approved by prospective voters for it to take effect, which happened before the county became self-governing in 2012.

Board vice chairman John Lombardo has been working with Bienias on possible existing bylaw amendments and said he received encouraging initial feedback from the county law office that the changes could be resolved without the need for a study committee.

Lombardo said the legal contribution is that the council has more freedom to directly make the proposed changes to voters, as the charter turned five years old in January 2017.

He assumes that amendments that structurally change the bylaws are permitted as long as they do not structurally change the form of government.

“From what I’ve been told, fewer board members are acceptable without an exploratory panel,” Lombardo said.

While a final review by the law office will be needed, Lombardo said he and others would not talk about council cuts or other proposals unless they were sure they were acceptable because it would be a waste of time.

Bienias said he and others were careful in formulating amendments that do not change the form of government.

The input of all council members is still required, Bienias said he also worked with Council members Gregory S. Volovich Jr. and Tim McGinley on possible changes, believing that this is only “the first round.”

He said his goal would be to put the council cut on the ballot for the November 7 general election, when more voters are expected to take part in the decision. Pennsylvania’s primary is closed, Bienias said, meaning voters who aren’t registered as Democrats and Republicans are less likely to turn up for the primary because they can’t nominate candidates.

The elimination of four council seats could happen if there are two fewer seats on the ballot in both 2025 and 2027, he said.

Other questions

According to the charter, the election commission consists of four citizens appointed by the council – two Republicans and two Democrats. The four then elect a fifth member, whether affiliated or not, to serve as chairman.

Bienias proposes to retain the four council-appointed citizens’ seats to ensure both major political parties are represented, but to change the chairman’s seat to a member of the county council elected by a majority in the council.

“This is just an idea for further discussion by the council,” he said, noting that this change will allow the council to better understand and contribute to election issues through one of its members.

The District Retirement Board currently consists of two District Board members, a manager, head of budget and finance, and an employee/retiree.

Bienias said the proposed change would replace the manager or budget/finance seat with a third board member, on the basis that the board is the entity responsible for ensuring that the pension plan receives the county budget contribution it needs to remain stable.

Another possible amendment, Bienias said, would allow employees of companies with contracts with counties to serve on boards and commissions at the discretion of the board, after mandatory public disclosure and deliberation.

County voters approved a similar county appointments amendment in 2016 but, to officials’ bewilderment, rejected the boards and commissions amendment.

The desire to give the council discretion in appointments was fueled by complaints that qualified citizens were denied employment.

Lombardo and Bienias said they could push the board to discuss the amendments at a working meeting on Tuesday.

The Council is required to hold public hearings and vote on the decision of the study group before the start of the working meeting.

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