Luzerne County manager search committee members welcomed

The citizen committee that will seek and recommend applicants for the next Luzerne County manager had an orientation meeting Thursday evening at the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre.

While council hires the manager, the county’s home rule charter requires the outside committee to “recommend the candidates it believes are the most qualified.” Charter drafters asserted the involvement of an independent committee at the start of the process would make the selection more impartial and less vulnerable to political intervention.

Three of the seven newly appointed committee members attended Thursday’s session in person — Chris Hackett, Brian D. O’Donnell and Alec Ryncavage. Members Sherri Homanko and Rick Morelli participated remotely. The two remaining members, Patrick Patte and Ray Wendolowski, had other scheduled commitments.

Council Chairman Tim McGinley and Vice Chairman Chris Perry welcomed committee members and handed out background information on home rule manager requirements and job descriptions and advertisements used in the prior two manager searches.

“You have your work cut out for you,” McGinley told the committee at one point.

Acting County Manager Romilda Crocamo thanked committee members for volunteering for the “extremely important task” and said county email accounts will be activated Friday for committee members.

Acting Chief Solicitor Vito DeLuca said his office is available to assist if the committee needs guidance on laws or regulations, although McGinley said the committee is independent and can consult an outside attorney if it chooses.

Council clerk Sharon Lawrence said she will help with required meeting legal advertisements and online posting of meeting minutes and documents.

McGinley stressed he was providing historical information to assist, but the committee is free to make its own decisions.

Committee members informally agreed to schedule an organizational meeting as soon as possible.

Hackett asked about the status of the manager salary range, which the committee will need to proceed with advertising and recruitment.

McGinley said council has not yet decided, but he plans to schedule a discussion on the compensation at its Sept. 14 work session.

The last search committee convened in 2015 wanted to advertise the position at $140,000 to $160,000 based on a review of compensation for county managers in similar counties and council’s decision to budget $160,000 for the position in 2016.

Council ended up sticking with the compensation wording in the charter, which says the salary can’t exceed the elected district attorney’s compensation or be less than 55% of the district attorney’s salary, which was $175,572 in 2015.

As a result, the manager position was advertised at $96,565 to $175,572.

Some critics said that unusually broad salary range may have deterred applicants. Prior manager C. David Pedri, who resigned last month, was hired at $120,000 and rose to an annual compensation of $137,333 this year.

If council again reverts to the charter range in the new search, the position would be advertised from $102,116 to $185,665, which is the current DA compensation according to county officials.

McGinley said he personally believes the range last time was too broad, leaving a large gap between the minimum and maximum.

O’Donnell asked about the time frame for the last manager search.

McGinley said the process took about four months, which means the new search may stretch to the end of the year.

Several committee members inquired about the budget. Council earmarked $5,000 for the committee to perform its work. McGinley said around $2,000 was spent in the last search, but the new committee can request additional funds if warranted.

The committee must decide whether it wants to exceed the minimum manager qualifications in the charter, how long it will accept resumes, what information must be submitted by applicants and how it will screen and rank applicants.

In the last search, the committee accepted applications for four weeks and honored the charter’s minimum qualifications for the manager — at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and five years of relevant work experience — but added “administrative/managerial” after the word relevant.

It also required applicants to furnish concrete examples of expertise required for the position.

Background checks and personality assessments also were required for finalists.

The position was widely advertised locally and nationally through both newspapers and online job search platforms.

Council has not yet voted on the number of finalists it wants the committee to furnish.

The charter does not state the number that must be presented. In the last search, council requested the top three finalists.

McGinley said his preference in the new search would be three or more finalists, but he added the decision will be up to a council majority.