Luzerne County strategic plan up for council approval Tuesday

Luzerne County Council is set to vote Tuesday on adoption of a proposed strategic plan prepared by the Pennsylvania Economy League.

Restoration of a $5 vehicle registration fee and planning for a countywide reassessment are among the financial recommendations in the plan, which is part of the 209-page voting agenda packet posted at luzernecounty.org.

Council is not required to implement plan recommendations. Plan adoption makes the county eligible for annual state funding over the next five years to help enact any recommendations it chooses to pursue.

The registration fee and reassessment were in a section about the need to diversify and modernize revenue sources.

Regarding the $5 fee, council Chairman Jimmy Sabatino said he wants to first explore all available resources to fund county road and bridge projects.

“Every option is on the table, but that’s a last resort, especially in these hard times with gas prices being so high,” Sabatino said.

As previously reported, Tuesday’s agenda also includes a council vote on confirming county Manager Romilda Crocamo’s nomination of Stanley Fiedorczyk as the county’s new correctional services division head.

Tuesday’s council meeting is at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for the remote attendance option will be posted in council’s online meeting section at luzernecounty.org.

Petition circulation

Former county controller Walter Griffith said Friday that the county has supplied the petitions required to obtain voter signatures in support of a ballot referendum to repeal the new anti-discrimination ordinance passed by a council majority.

Griffith and county residents Alyssa Fusaro and Joe Granteed presented Council Clerk Sharon Lawrence with an application last week containing the signatures of 135 people seeking the ballot referendum. He said Lawrence verified and accepted 120 of those signatures.

The next requirement is submission of at least 1,162 signatures — a figure based on 1% of the county votes cast in the last governor’s election in 2022 — to the council clerk by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Griffith said.

“We have everybody in gear ready to go,” Griffith said Friday in reference to the collection of signatures by the petitioner’s committee.

At least 11,615 voter signatures eventually will be required to get a repeal vote on the ballot.

Blight

The county’s Blighted Property Review Committee is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Monday in the county courthouse.

This committee is working to set up a process for municipalities to submit blighted properties for review. Properties certified as blighted by the committee will be referred to the county Redevelopment Authority, which could consider taking action to remediate problems, including acquisition, demolition, and rehabilitation, officials said.

Monday’s agenda includes a review of the municipal blighted property referral application and a discussion of next steps.

Instructions for the remote attendance option are posted in council’s online meeting section at luzernecounty.org.

Board interviews

In a rescheduled session, Council’s Authorities, Boards and Commissions Committee is set to publicly interview citizen applicants at 6 p.m. Thursday in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Instructions to remotely attend will be posted on council’s online meeting section at luzernecounty.org.

Applications to serve on county boards are available in council’s authorities, boards, and commissions section at luzernecounty.org.