Luzerne County restructures election bureau positions

Luzerne County is seeking a voting system specialist at $48,000 annually, according to an online posting.

The administration freed up funding to create the position by eliminating two other positions that have been vacant — an administrative assistant budgeted at $31,000 and a part-time election operator set at $25,000, said information presented to council.

This reorganization will allow the bureau to further streamline processes, better structure responsibility and maximize efficiency, the administration said.

Applications are due Wednesday, said the job posting in the human resources department career opportunities section at luzernecounty.org.

The specialist will report to the election director and perform work that includes assisting in the election tabulation process, certification of election results and warehouse logistics, it said.

Another election bureau position restructuring also occurred in March, with positions cut to add a deputy chief clerk.

Hirings

Twenty-two new county workers were added in May, according to the latest monthly personnel report.

The hirings include seven prison corrections officers at $18.44 per hour, it said: James Colondres, Randy Davies, Jared Gibbons, Danny Goncalves, Alexander Kepp, Eric Lamoreaux and Tajaelea Sealy.

The remaining new workers, their positions and hourly compensation, the report said: Ashley Betz, solicitor’s office paralegal, $20.71; Benjamin Clark, district attorney’s office child abuse detective, $33.33; Crismely Concepcion, probation services case manager, $18.68; Amanda Coolbaugh, district justice clerk, $17.47; Dion Fernandes, coroner, $34.62; Madeline Major, probation officer, $23.08; Charles McAvoy, Children, Youth and Families (CYF) fiscal technician, $18.23; Joanne Mercado, Aging Agency care manager, $20.12; George Miller, Aging Agency alternate senior center operator, $17.16; Rachel Montoya, public defender clerk/stenographer, $16.12; Beverly Perez, prison nurse, $29.81; Rhianna Polifko, probation services case manager, $18.68; Daniel Schuler, election bureau administrative assistant, $16.77; Cassidy Steligo, court PFA administrative assistant, $19.23; and Ashley Thalassinos, CYF caseworker 1, $20.91.

Three prior county employees also were rehired: Brandon Fiedorczyk, prison corrections officer, $18.44; and Geneva Tucker-Smith and Andrea Youmans, CYF caseworker 2s, $23.33.

Transfers

Eight workers changed positions through the internal merit hiring process.

These workers, their new positions and hourly compensation, according to the report: Edward Garcia Medina and Tammy Purpura, CYF caseworker 2s, $23.33; Jonathan Hart, DA administrative coordinator, $21.79; Danette Hudak, budget and policy clerk, $17.44; Kaitlin Keating-Storz, chief deputy coroner, $31.28; Amanda Latoski, election bureau deputy chief clerk, $25.64; Mikhaela Moher, CYF clerk typist, $17.43; and Julie Schwartz, CYF administrative officer, $21.28.

Departures

A dozen workers resigned in May, the report said: Kyle Franceski, part-time assistant public defender; Paige Hunter, courts administrative trial specialist; Ryan Judge, minimal offenders unit corrections officer; Keith White, probation officer; Michael Wujcik, prison corrections officer; Alyssa Ruzzano, 911 telecommunicator; Mark Makowski, part-time assistant solicitor; Samuel Ewing, deputy sheriff; Sarah Harris, tourism bureau sales and marketing director; Nadine Parnther, Aging Agency clerk typist; Matthew Maurer, road and bridge mechanic; and Roberth Andrade, building and grounds custodial worker.

Opioid earmarks

Council voted last week to earmark $1.5 million in opioid litigation settlement funds to cover medication-assisted treatment for inmates with opioid use disorder in the county prison system from 2024 through 2026.

The allocations are from a portion of settlement funding that must be spent by the end of June.

Figures indicate the county should receive approximately $30 million over 18 years from the state’s settlement against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors. The county’s Commission on Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement makes recommendations to county council on how to spend the funds.

County officials say the prison medication-assisted treatment program is an eligible use for the settlement funds. Without the settlement funds, the expense must be paid through the county’s general fund operating budget.

In addition, a request was approved to de-obligate $92,515 remaining from a 2023 earmark for the medication-assisted treatment that was not needed based on actual costs.

Sterling site

Council also voted to rescind a $3 million earmark for a hotel project at the vacant former Hotel Sterling site at the corner of North River and West Market streets in Wilkes-Barre.

Officials recently announced the project would be completed on nearby Public Square instead.

The resolution said the county community development funds allocated to the Sterling site owner, H&N Investments LLC, were “specifically tied to redevelopment of the Hotel Sterling site, which is a site of high public interest and long-standing strategic importance to downtown Wilkes-Barre.”

H&N has not yet announced what it intends to do with the Sterling site.

Study commission

The county’s government study commission will hold its first public hearing on the revised home rule charter proposal at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the county Operations Building, 1199 Wyoming Ave. in Wyoming.

The commission also will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.

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

November general election voters will decide if they want to implement the revised charter drafted by the commission.

Pantry donations

The county’s Children and Youth Advisory Board will be accepting pantry donations on the first Thursday of each month, from July through November, at the Wilkes-Barre Farmers Market on Public Square, said board Chairman Joshua Wilder.

Located at the county human services office building on Pennsylvania Avenue in the city, the agency’s pantry provides a range of items to families in need.

The agency is seeking donations of diapers in all sizes (especially size 1), hygiene products (shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes) and household cleaning supplies.

The farmers market is held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays from June 19 to Nov. 13.

Wilder said a collection station for the pantry will be set up from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on opening day and on the following farmers market dates: July 3, Aug. 7, Sept. 4, Oct. 2 and Nov. 6.