Luzerne County Council set to vote on opioid settlement fund earmark

An opioid litigation settlement fund earmark on Tuesday’s Luzerne County Council voting agenda would provide $260,000 to the county’s drug and alcohol department.

The allocation was requested by the county’s Commission on Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement, which makes recommendations to council on project earmarks from the settlement funds.

According to the agenda submission, the funding will offset the department’s budget shortfall for outpatient substance use disorder treatment services, including medication-assisted treatment.

If this funding gap is not filled, the department will be forced to limit the access and frequency of these outpatient services for county residents, including those struggling with an opioid use disorder, the agenda said.

In total, the county is expected to receive approximately $30 million over 18 years from the state’s settlement against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors.

Council voted last August and December to earmark $2.56 million for a range of internal and outside projects that met eligible uses, including programs that provide medication-assisted treatment at the prison, warm hand-off and recovery specialist services and treatment and prevention education.

More earmarks must be made in coming months because $1.7 million the county had received toward the end of 2023 must be spent by June 30, officials have said.

Applications and information about eligible uses for the settlement funds are posted on the commission’s section at luzernecounty.org.

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

The county’s opioid commission will hold its latest public town hall meeting to provide program updates and accept feedback at 5:30 p.m. Monday night, March 24, in Hazleton City Hall, 40 N. Church St.

The commission members are John Lombardo, council chairman; Romilda Crocamo, county manager; citizen Mary Butera (appointed by council); Sam Sanguedolce, county district attorney; Ryan Hogan, county Drug and Alcohol administrator; Megan Stone, county Human Services division head; and James Wilbur, county Correctional Services division head.

Tax break

A real estate tax break request is also on Tuesday’s council voting agenda.

Kansas City, Missouri-based NorthPoint Development is seeking the break for a 15-building data center near Interstate 81 in Hazle Township.

The break for blighted property is under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program that provides up to a decade of real estate tax discounts on new construction — but not the underlying land.

Pressed to seek less by council’s Infrastructure Committee, NorthPoint revised its tax forgiveness request to 90% the first seven years, followed by 80%, 70% and then 60% the final three years.

NorthPoint is offering to provide an estimated $1.18 million in lieu of taxes to partially offset the impact of tax forgiveness based on a formula of $2,500 for each acre housing a structure.

Lease renewal

Council also is set to renew a lease with Nanticoke to continue housing Magisterial District Court 11-03-02 in the city’s municipal building property.

Court Administrator Paul Hindmarsh told council at the March 11 work session that the county has been leasing space at the location since 2005. As court caseloads have increased, the city has provided additional space to the magisterial office and is now allowing the court to use city council chambers for courtroom hearings, he said.

The two-year lease is $2,400 per month, or $28,800 annually.

DA and controller

Sanguedolce and Controller Walter Griffith are both scheduled to present their annual reports during Tuesday’s council work session, which follows the voting meeting.

These briefings on work and developments over the last year are required by the county’s home rule charter.

Study Commission

The county’s Government Study Commission will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 27, in the county courthouse.

The seven-citizen commission is assessing potential county home rule charter changes and aims to place its proposal on the November 2025 ballot, when voters will decide whether to switch to the new structure or keep the system in effect since January 2012.

A link to attend the meeting remotely will be posted under council’s online meeting section (scroll down) at luzernecounty.org.