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First Posted: 4/19/2013 12:31:30 PM <hardreturn>Luzerne County Council members will discuss the elected controller&#8217;s pay this year because the home rule charter allows them to alter the compensation at least 12 months before a new term begins. <hardreturn>The controller&#8217;s seat will be up for re-election next year, with the winner taking office in January 2014. Incumbent Walter Griffith has said he plans to run again. <hardreturn>The controller pay has been $36,562 for years. <hardreturn>Past commissioners discussed increasing the salary over the past decade but never acted. <hardreturn>Under the old government system, a single row officer salary couldn&#8217;t be increased without raising the compensation of other elected row officers and commissioners the same percentage. <hardreturn>This package deal isn&#8217;t an issue with the new home rule government because the elected treasurer, recorder of deeds, register of wills, sheriff, coroner, prothonotary, clerk of courts and three commissioner posts have been eliminated. <hardreturn>According to news archives, the last row officer salary increase was adopted in 1992 because elected officials had been earning the same pay their predecessors received in 1979. <hardreturn>Raises that had been approved in 1982 were discontinued in 1987 after public outcry, and the salaries had reverted to 1979 levels. <hardreturn>The controller in Luzerne County is paid less than counterparts in the 11 other similarly-sized third-class counties in the state, according to figures from the Pennsylvania State Association of County Controllers. <hardreturn>Northampton, with a controller salary of $39,000, is the only other third-class county that pays the controller under $40,000, the association said. <hardreturn>The remaining salaries, according to the association: Berks, $78,526; Chester, $70,240; Cumberland, $65,403; Dauphin, $82,950; Erie, $61,935; Lackawanna, $66,174; Lancaster, $79,369; Lehigh, $62,500; Westmoreland, $62,152; and York, $72,712. <hardreturn>At minimum, the compensation warrants discussion, council members agree. <hardreturn>Council Chairman Jim Bobeck said the discussion should focus on the appropriate pay and responsibilities of the position, not the current office holder. <hardreturn>&#8220;We&#8217;re not making a decision on any current person, but simply what is best for the county for the future,&#8221; Bobeck said. &#8220;We have to pay an appropriate salary to get quality people.&#8221; <hardreturn>Council Vice Chairwoman Linda McClosky Houck said she doesn&#8217;t know if the county is in a financial position to increase the salary. A pay hike won&#8217;t guarantee the seat is filled by a certified public accountant because the choice ultimately depends on who runs and who is selected by voters, she said. <hardreturn>&#8220;There also is a certain element of public service in taking these elected positions,&#8221; she said. <hardreturn>Councilwoman Elaine Maddon Curry said the home rule charter now requires the controller&#8217;s office to complete audits according to recognized governmental auditing standards, and nobody in the controller&#8217;s office has the educational qualifications needed to meet that standard at this time. <hardreturn>&#8220;Ideally the office should be held by a CPA so that all audits can be conducted in-house, but of course that would likely require an increase in salary for the controller position,&#8221; she said. <hardreturn>Councilman Tim McGinley said the salary should be discussed because the controller is &#8220;a very critical position in the county government.&#8221; <hardreturn>Councilman Rick Morelli said he&#8217;s open to discussion but initially opposes a controller increase amid recent budgetary layoffs. Most county non-union workers haven&#8217;t had a raise in years, he said. <hardreturn>Griffith said he believes the current compensation is fair and should not be increased when all departments are &#8220;doing more with less.&#8221; <hardreturn>&#8220;I think council should look at it, but I don&#8217;t think increasing the pay is a good idea at this time,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think there are many people in our county who don&#8217;t come close to making $36,500 with benefits.&#8221;

County Council to discuss controller’s pay