Wolf suggests he’d be better gas industry handler

Historic no-hitter for Zimmerman

First Posted: 10/29/2014 A weaker real estate market is putting a kink in Luzerne County&#8217;s search for revenue to avoid or reduce a 4-percent tax hike next year.
The Judicial Services and Records Division, which includes the deeds and civil/criminal court records offices, is expected to bring in $4.22 million next year, a reduction of $138,780, according to the proposed 2015 budget.
Council must come up with $4.5 million in cuts or new revenue before the Dec. 15 budget adoption deadline to avoid a tax hike.
Councilman Tim McGinley questioned the judicial services revenue decline during Tuesday&#8217;s budget session, saying the division is one of the few that can generate revenue outside of real estate taxes.
&#8220;We have the potential, but we don&#8217;t control it,&#8221; replied Division Head Joan Hoggarth.
Stagnant real estate activity has reduced revenue from deed filings, she said. Receipts also hinge on the number of civil court filings and defendants&#8217; payment of criminal court restitution, she said.
For example, a total 24,852 deeds, mortgages and mortgage satisfactions were recorded in the county from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, 2013, compared to 19,047 during the same time period this year &#8212; a reduction of 5,805, she said.
Hoggarth said other counties across the state have experienced similar declines. While lost revenue is a concern, Hoggarth isn&#8217;t complaining because budget-related staffing reductions have led to a three-week lag in processing mail.
&#8220;We&#8217;re slow, but we&#8217;re still backed up. I don&#8217;t know how we&#8217;d keep up if the housing market was good. That&#8217;s the scary part,&#8221; she said.
The criminal court records office is &#8220;extremely far behind&#8221; covering some duties, she said. Office clerks are required to appear at criminal court proceedings to swear in jurors and record verdicts and other information about hearing outcomes. The office has four clerks to cover 10 full-time judges, she said.
The division also covers the coroner, sheriff and wills offices.
Hoggarth said she may generate $60,000 in revenue that wasn&#8217;t factored into the proposed budget if the president judge grants approval to increase fees for filings and other services in the civil court records office. Fees can be raised every three years, and the last increase was in 2011, she said.
PFA weapons
Officials also are exploring the possibility of selling unclaimed weapons seized in protection-from-abuse cases. The sheriff had expressed concerns about liability, but county Chief Solicitor C. David Pedri said the county may be protected if it sells the inventory to a dealer, who would then handle actual sales. The potential revenue hasn&#8217;t been estimated because the final inventory won&#8217;t be determined until a court hearing next week.
Restoration of a passport service in the civil court records office is another option to generate an estimated $28,000 in revenue after deducting expenses for staff, postage and film, Hoggarth said.
Spending in the division increased $94,700 from $5.2 million to $5.3 million in the proposed budget.
Hoggarth attributed the increase on plans to purchase a computerized case management system in the sheriff&#8217;s office for an estimated $180,000.
Council Chairman Rick Morelli has asked council members to start proposing specific suggestions at Monday&#8217;s budget work session, which follows the first public hearing on the budget.
Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck reminded her colleagues that any proposals to increase budget allocations should state what they want to cut &#8212; or how much more taxes must be raised &#8212; to make up the difference.
For example, Morelli said he wants to restore a $673,000 court budget cut so a secretary is not eliminated in each of the 16 district court offices.
Clarifies statement
Councilwoman Kathy Dobash issued an email Wednesday saying she won&#8217;t submit any proposals at Monday&#8217;s meeting because she doesn&#8217;t support the tax hike and will be voting against the proposed budget. She clarified her plans Wednesday afternoon, saying she will suggest cuts at a later date.
Council Vice Chairman Edward Brominski emailed his proposal to &#8220;use the 2014 budget and have no increases.&#8221;
&#8220;Each division head should, if they are worth their salaries, be able to bring down their division costs to a manageable level,&#8221; he wrote, suggesting a staffing reconfiguration in the law office.

Hunt on for cash to avoid county tax hike