Expansion of jet fleet could bode well for Wilkes-Barre/ScrantionA International Airport travelers

Many Luzerne County property owners back out of state gypsy moth spraying due to cost

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Afraid he&#8217;s going to be left with millions of dollars in bills to pay when he takes office next month, Tony George has accused Mayor Tom Leighton of &#8220;running a shell game&#8221; with the city&#8217;s budget.</p><p>George Friday disputed there is a surplus and said the city administration has $1.8 million in outstanding bills, including $856,398 owed to Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania for employees&#8217; health insurance.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to be saddled with his debt and I am,&#8221; George said.</p><p>&#8220;I call on Tom Leighton today to pay all outstanding bills. Then tell us there&#8217;s a surplus. Right now Leighton is running a shell game,&#8221; George said in a press release that included a list of the bills and a Memorandum of Understanding Leighton signed on Nov. 19 with Blue Cross.</p><p>But Leighton dismissed George&#8217;s accusations and questioned the mayor-elect&#8217;s grasp of government finances.</p><p>&#8220;I really don&#8217;t understand what he doesn&#8217;t understand,&#8221; Leighton said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s as simple as filing out a campaign finance report,&#8221; Leighton added, referring to the trouble George got into concerning the discrepancies in his reports. George admitted he made mistakes in preparing the documents and was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the Luzerne County District Attorney&#8217;s office in October.</p><p>The Blue Cross payments from October, November and December of this year must be made by Jan. 8, 2016 or the city will be assessed late charges and 5 percent interest, according to a Memorandum of Understanding.</p><p>Leighton stressed no employee&#8217;s health insurance will be cancelled and the bills will be paid when fourth quarter earned income tax revenues come in this month and next year.</p><p>&#8220;If we get the money we&#8217;ll probably pay it by the end of the year,&#8221; Leighton said.</p><p>When George takes office he&#8217;ll face the same situation of paying bills when the revenues are collected, Leighton explained. He challenged George to do it differently.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to get the right people with the right ideas and we&#8217;ll do it right,&#8221; George said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Leighton.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Leighton </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Leighton.jpg</photo0><caption0>Leighton </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_George_Tony.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">George </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_George_Tony.jpg</photo1><caption1>George </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mayor elect George calls Mayor Leighton’s budget a ‘shell game,’ says nearly $2 million in bills not paid