Luzerne County managers describe budget challenges

Luzerne County Manager Randy Robertson asked some top managers to share their budgetary concerns with the media Wednesday, the day after he proposed a 6.75% real estate tax increase for 2023.

Council is free to make changes before the Dec. 15 budget adoption deadline. A 6.75% increase would equate to $55 more annually for a property assessed at $132,776, which is the average assessed value in the county, Robertson said.

Robertson also is encouraging council to reinstate a $5 vehicle registration fee solely to replace or repair aging road/bridge department equipment and vehicles.

Chief Public Defender Steven Greenwald said pay increases are needed for unionized attorneys in his office and the District Attorney’s Office. Their collective bargaining agreement expires the end of this year.

Greenwald said eight of 28 attorney positions are open in his office, and five or six left in the last six months due to the starting pay, which is $51,083 for full-timers and $34,165 for part-timers. The staffing shortage prompted him to stop providing representation for non-incarcerated citizens charged with misdemeanors, he said last month.

He has not been receiving applications from qualified attorneys and said existing staffers cannot handle the caseload.

“Quite frankly, I think if this continues for another six to 12 months, my office is going to collapse. It’s as simple as that,” Greenwald said Wednesday.

Greenwald credited Robertson for “doing the right thing” in proposing a tax increase.

Chief Solicitor Harry Skene is seeking more part-time conflict counsel attorneys at $39,885 each in his budget, saying the five lawyers handling that work are juggling too many cases.

“I too agree that the increase in taxes is necessary,” Skene said.

County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said he’s wrestling with attracting and retaining qualified attorneys.

“It’s such that you can go almost anywhere and be a lawyer and make more money and have less stress, certainly not handling a caseload of 244 cases per attorney,” Sanguedolce said.

His office also has more experienced attorneys leaving for “tremendous” pay increases elsewhere, he said. Additional compensation is needed to keep experienced attorneys because those newly out of law school require extensive training to handle the increasingly complex criminal cases encountered by his office, he said.

The District Attorney’s Office is under growing pressure because more veteran police officers across the county and country are retiring or changing careers due to the “state of law enforcement,” he said. That is causing police departments and crime victims to increasingly rely on his office for guidance and assistance, he said.

Nobody wants a tax increase, but Sanguedolce said he has “every faith in the world that what we’ve proposed to the county is something that’s necessary and that whatever cuts can be made will be made”

The services provided by both the public defender and district attorney offices are legally mandated, the DA added. He does not want to tell the public there are crimes his office can’t prosecute due to a lack of funding, staffing or ability.

“That’s not an option for me. so we’re going to try to find any way possible to make this happen and continue to provide the level of service that has been provided in the area of criminal prosecution for the people of Luzerne County,” he said.

Robertson said longer lines and scaled-back services may be necessary without sufficient funding, emphasizing the budget is now in council’s hands.

Administrative Services Division Head Jennifer Pecora echoed the sentiments of the others, saying employee retention is a major challenge due to the pay. Funds also are needed to continue providing technologically advanced services in the information technology and mapping/GIS departments, she said.

County Acting Correctional Services Division Head John Robshaw said increases in prison operational expenses were based on historical data. Robertson said $335,000 for increases in the county prison system are primarily attributed to “extraordinary food costs” related to an average 1,800 meals provided to inmates daily.

“It’s imperative that we deal with this on the front end,” Robshaw said of prison costs. “It’s a big portion of the budget to fund this properly. It’s easier to deal with this now than the end of next year for sure.”

Operational Services Division Head Greg Kurtz said the seven departments under his supervision are all suffering from some level of retention problems due to the wages. The cost of materials and parts to repair roads and bridges and equipment also are increasing, he said.

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