Luzerne County’s Ethics Commission voted Tuesday to appoint citizen members Mike Attanasio, at right, as commission chair and Adiel Tyson, at left, as commission vice chair.
Jennifer Learn-Andes | Times Leader
One Luzerne County ethics complaint has been dismissed, and three new ones must be forwarded to outside attorneys for review, officials said during Tuesday’s county Ethics Commission meeting.
Under the County Council-adopted ethics code, complaint details remain confidential unless the matter results in a commission finding.
Complaints must be opened and initially reviewed by an outside enforcement attorney contracted by the commission, the code says.
The commission has two enforcement attorneys — Qiana Murphy Lehman and Rachel L. James.
Enforcement attorneys must recommend whether complaints should be dismissed or upgraded to formal complaints heard by the commission. This separation of duties was imposed after critics questioned the legality of the commission both investigating and adjudicating cases.
James told the commission Tuesday a complaint she was assigned last year has been closed.
Because the complaint met minimum requirements under the code, James said she conducted a preliminary inquiry by obtaining documents and statements. Based on records and investigation, “no reasonable basis existed to conclude that the ethics code has been violated,” she said.
As a result, letters were sent to both the complaint filer and respondent informing them the matter was closed, she said.
County Solicitor’s Office Executive Secretary Karissa Kross informed the commission three additional complaints that came in this year must be forwarded to the outside attorneys.
Using the rotating system, Murphy Lehman will receive the first and third, and the second will be reviewed by James.
The code calls for three enforcement attorneys. Commission members agreed to keep publicly advertising the enforcement attorney post until the third one is filled. The solicitation is posted in the county purchasing department section at luzernecounty.org.
The five-member commission is filled by the county controller, district attorney, county manager, and two council-appointed citizens — a Democrat and a Republican.
Council appointed Republican Mike Attanasio and Democrat Adiel Tyson to the citizen seats earlier this year.
In a Tuesday reorganization vote, commission members selected Attanasio as the chair and Tyson as vice chair.
County Controller Tim McGinley advocated the appointment of citizen members to the leadership posts, saying it would prevent any issues arising if complaints are filed against the three county government representatives.
The commission also approved a protocol that had been discussed in the past, requiring enforcement attorneys to forward information to the county law office for further review if they have reason to believe someone is attempting to weaponize the ethics complaint process by filing frivolous complaints. The protocol would also address the handling of confidential complaints when public information requests are filed.
Commission members said they cannot release the protocol wording because it had been drafted by the commission solicitor in the form of a memo protected by attorney-client privilege.
After the meeting, some commission members said they want to see if there’s a way to summarize the protocol for public disclosure.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
