Options presented for temporary Luzerne County operations division head

Luzerne County Grant Writer Michele Sparich has reached the county home rule charter’s 90-day limit to serve as temporary operational services division head, prompting county Manager Romilda Crocamo to provide two options to council until the position is permanently filled.

Sparich has been serving as acting division head since Jennifer Pecora resigned at the start of the year. The operational services division head oversees engineering, roads and bridges, planning and zoning, 911, emergency management, buildings and grounds, the boiler plant and solid waste management.

Ten applicants submitted resumes by the Jan. 20 deadline. Under a plan developed by Crocamo., a county administration team performed the initial interviews and will recommend three to advance to interviews before a panel of outside professionals with expertise in some of the operational division departments. Those outside panel interviews will be scheduled shortly, Crocamo said.

Regarding the temporary division head, Crocamo said she is seeking council input to be more inclusive and transparent.

She said her first option to expand Sparich’s duties to continue assisting would not require council approval because it falls under the manager’s authority in council’s administrative code.

Under this scenario, Crocamo said the operations staff currently reporting to Sparich would report directly to Crocamo. Meanwhile, Sparich would receive a pay increase to continue overseeing several projects totaling more than $10 million, including several at the county-owned Wyoming Valley Airport in Forty Fort and Wyoming and the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge replacement, Crocamo said. Sparich would also continue overseeing the planned consolidation of the GIS/Mapping and Planning and Zoning departments and grant-funded road projects.

The bi-weekly compensation for handling these additional tasks would be $1,107.70, which will keep Sparich’s pay equivalent to the annual operational services division head salary of $98,800 annually, Crocamo told council. Funding is available because a $55,000 grant and financial administration position in the division was never filled, she said.

But Crocamo said the “more practical solution” would be seeking council approval of a waiver for Sparich to continue as interim operational services division head.

Crocamo said there is nothing in the charter or code “that strictly prohibits such a grant,” and she believes it would be more transparent than the first option.

“The truth is that Michele is doing an excellent job in this role. The county is not flush in employees to step into this vital role. Therefore, making this change will only disrupt this division and injure the county due to a technicality,” Crocamo said.

The process of selecting a permanent replacement will take time, she said.

“The division head of operations is a vital position within the management team, and we need to ensure we employ the best candidate. This plan will allow us the time to choose the most qualified candidate while ensuring the division continues to move forward,” she said.

Sparich, the county’s grant writer since March 2003, had previously been assigned to serve as acting head of the human services and administrative services divisions when vacancies arose.

Council Chairman John Lombardo said he believes Sparich is “doing a fantastic job” as temporary overseer and will schedule discussion and a vote about a waiver at council’s next meeting May 13.

“There are limitations in the charter, so we have to figure out how to navigate those and whether there’s an option and council will to provide a waiver,” Lombardo said.

Although it is not applicable in the current situation, the county’s seven-citizen Government Study Commission is recommending extension of the interim division head cap from 90 days to 180 days to ensure the manager has sufficient time to choose applicants when the eight top division head positions are vacated.

The commission is drafting a revised charter for county voters to consider in November, but it will only take effect if a majority of voters approve it.