Old Shoe Trophy goes to Lake-Lehman

LIBRARY NEWS

First Posted: 2/27/2013 WILKES-BARRE &#8212; After some debate, a Luzerne County Council majority voted Tuesday to pay $10,000 for a $1 million bond covering county Manager Robert Lawton.
Factoryville-based DGK Insurance and Financial Services, the county&#8217;s insurance adviser, sent a letter to county officials recommending the bond remain at $1 million. DGK&#8217;s letter, which was publicly released last week, said the state commissioners&#8217; association also advised $1 million coverage for counties the size of Luzerne.
Councilman Stephen A. Urban said the coverage amount should be lowered. Under the prior government system, the three commissioners were bonded for $90,000 at a cost around $400 for four years, he said. Elected row officers had bonds ranging from $10,000 to $13,000 with premiums of several hundred dollars, he said.
&#8220;Why are we wasting money that we don&#8217;t need to waste?&#8221; Urban said, noting the manager is &#8220;supposed to be honest and trustworthy.&#8221;
Councilman Rick Williams also expressed interest in reduced coverage, suggesting $250,000. Williams said theft is a key reason for obtaining bonds. Interim Treasurer Dominick DePolo also must sign off on all checks, and Williams said a theft is &#8220;highly unlikely.&#8221;
&#8220;The bond is to cover the county in the event that Robert Lawton writes himself a check for some large number and leaves town,&#8221; said Williams. &#8220;That&#8217;s what the bond is for.&#8221;
&#8220;And gets Dom DePolo to sign it with me,&#8221; Lawton added.
A representative of county insurance broker Brown & Brown said the bond also has &#8220;faithful performance of duty&#8221; coverage, which is similar to an errors and omissions liability insurance policy.
Several council members pointed out there&#8217;s not enough time to process a coverage amount change because the new bond must be in place by Friday.
Councilman Edward Brominski complained that council didn&#8217;t discuss the bond amount sooner. The county&#8217;s administrative code says council must annually determine the appropriate amount of bond coverage before the close of the calendar year.
Several council members said they will rely on DGK&#8217;s advice and do not want to risk last-minute adjustments that could leave the county without manager bond coverage.
Councilman Jim Bobeck said he agrees council should discuss reducing the coverage amount &#8220;for future years.&#8221;
The bond will be purchased from Lexon Surety. Boston Indemnity also submitted a quote providing the same coverage for $15,000.
Brominski, Urban and Councilman Stephen J. Urban voted against the bond.

Million-dollar bond coverage approved for Luzerne County manager