web1_PA-Lottery-logo.jpg

Lottery Numbers for Monday, Jan. 4

web1_gilbert_toned.jpg

Wilkes-Barre city council members sworn in Monday at F.M. Kirby Center

<p>Several key Luzerne County government leadership decisions were made Monday.</p><p>&#8226; Linda McClosky Houck will remain the county council chair, and Councilman Tim McGinley will be vice chairman.</p><p>The council members made the selection during Monday&#8217;s reorganization meeting, which was the first for three new council members who were sworn in before the meeting: Jane Walsh Waitkus, Eugene Kelleher and Robert Schnee.</p><p>&#8226; A council majority picked county Chief Solicitor C. David Pedri as acting manager until a permanent manager is hired, which should take several months.</p><p>The acting manager has all the powers and duties of the permanent manager, including approval of many contracts, overseeing day-to-day operations and hiring and firing workers in most departments.</p><p>&#8226; The volunteer citizen committee that will help select the county&#8217;s next manager met for nearly four hours Monday afternoon to firm up plans for advertising the top position.</p><p><strong>Council chair</strong></p><p>After the first round of voting, it appeared the council would have no chair because the vote was tied 5-5 for McClosky Houck and McGinley, with remaining council member Stephen A. Urban absent.</p><p>McClosky Houck and McGinley each voted for themselves.</p><p>McClosky Houck also received support from Edward Brominski, Harry Haas, Eileen Sorokas and Rick Williams.</p><p>The three new members voted for McGinley. Dobash said she didn&#8217;t want either but supported McGinley because she wanted to cause a tie and believed McClosky Houck &#8220;has her own agenda.&#8221;</p><p>Pedri said the council can keep voting until someone receives six votes.</p><p>On the second round, Kelleher changed his vote and supported McClosky Houck &#8220;to resolve this issue.&#8221; McClosky Houck received six votes, and Dobash, who attended by phone, abstained in the second round.</p><p>The chair has the same voting power as the others but plays a key role setting the tone of council meetings. The chair also prepares meeting agendas and often serves as county spokesperson.</p><p>The vice chairman vote also was tied 5-5 between McGinley and Haas.</p><p>&#8220;Welcome to council everybody,&#8221; Haas said.</p><p>&#8220;And this isn&#8217;t the most difficult decision on the agenda,&#8221; McClosky Houck added.</p><p>The vote result was tied again a second time. Haas then declined the nomination. He had voted for McGinley in the first two rounds and said he believed McGinley was &#8220;better suited&#8221; for vice chairman.</p><p>McGinley then received eight votes for vice chair, replacing Brominski, who did not seek reappointment.</p><p><strong>Acting manager</strong></p><p>Prior county manager Robert Lawton had selected county Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik as acting manager, but the council was free to select someone else.</p><p>County Correctional Division Head J. Allen Nesbitt and county Engineer Greg Parrs also had expressed interest in the temporary post.</p><p>Pedri will not be paid extra to take on the additional duties. He has not named a temporary chief solicitor, but Dobash said she was informed that assistant solicitor Vito DeLuca will be acting head solicitor &#8212; a job he held previously.</p><p>&#8220;I am humbled by this vote of confidence by county council,&#8221; Pedri said after the meeting. &#8220;It is a privilege to be in public service. I will take this job very seriously and work hard at it until the new county manager search is completed.&#8221;</p><p>Pedri said he looks forward to meeting with employees to discuss their ideas and concerns.</p><p>Six council members supported Pedri&#8217;s nomination: Schnee, Sorokas, Walsh Waitkus, Williams, McGinley and Kelleher.</p><p>Dobash criticized the selection, saying she is &#8220;disgusted&#8221; with the way the appointment was handled and believes Pedri has provided &#8220;bad advice&#8221; to the council.</p><p>Haas also opposed Pedri&#8217;s appointment; he believed the selection of another employee would have left a smaller &#8220;gap&#8221; covering services. However, he later stressed he will support Pedri &#8220;100 percent.&#8221;</p><p>Nesbitt thanked the council for considering him and said he will support Pedri and &#8220;do everything possible to make this transition smooth.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Manager search</strong></p><p>The citizen manager search committee &#8212; Carmen Ambrosino, Gene A. Camoni, Robert E. Fisher, Gerard O&#8217;Donnell and Michael Giamber &#8212; agreed Monday to:</p><p>&#8226; Advertise the manager position at a compensation of $140,000 to $160,000.</p><p>&#8226; Accept applications for four weeks.</p><p>&#8226; Require &#8212; not recommend &#8212; that applicants provide concrete examples or evidence of how they have met specific skills required for the position, including experience with procurement, collective bargaining agreements, changing organizations and optimizing personnel.</p><p>&#8226; Honor the home rule charter&#8217;s minimum qualifications for the manager &#8212; at least a bachelor&#8217;s degree from an accredited college or university and at least five years of relevant work experience &#8212; but add &#8220;administrative/managerial&#8221; after the word relevant.</p><p>&#8226; Include a credit check to screening that must be completed for prospective finalists.</p><p>&#8226; Require all five committee members to use a numbering system and categorized rating matrix to rank any applicants who meet minimum requirements to help determine which should be interviewed.</p><p>&#8226; Meet again at 9 a.m. Friday to finalize job advertisement plans.</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/2016/01/web1_TTL011216county-council1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County Judge Thomas Burke administers the oath of office to Luzerne County Council members Eugene Kelleher, Edward Brominski, Tim McGinley and Jane Walsh Waitkus during a ceremony in the courthouse rotunda Monday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216county-council1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Luzerne County Judge Thomas Burke administers the oath of office to Luzerne County Council members Eugene Kelleher, Edward Brominski, Tim McGinley and Jane Walsh Waitkus during a ceremony in the courthouse rotunda Monday night. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216county-council4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Debbie Kelleher tries to take a photo of newly sworn-in Luzerne County Councilman Eugene Kelleher as he hold his grandson, Jacob Polishan, 1, while Kelleher&#8217;s son-in-law, Tim Polishan, and grandson, Timmy, look on. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216county-council4.jpg</photo1><caption1>Debbie Kelleher tries to take a photo of newly sworn-in Luzerne County Councilman Eugene Kelleher as he hold his grandson, Jacob Polishan, 1, while Kelleher&#8217;s son-in-law, Tim Polishan, and grandson, Timmy, look on. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216county-council3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County Council Chairwoman Linda McClosky Houck addresses the audience at a swearing-in ceremony for newly elected county council members Monday in the courthouse rotunda. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216county-council3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Luzerne County Council Chairwoman Linda McClosky Houck addresses the audience at a swearing-in ceremony for newly elected county council members Monday in the courthouse rotunda. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216county-council2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County Magisterial District Judge Joseph Zola swears in new Luzerne County Councilman Robert Schnee in the courthouse rotunda Monday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011216county-council2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Luzerne County Magisterial District Judge Joseph Zola swears in new Luzerne County Councilman Robert Schnee in the courthouse rotunda Monday night. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County Council members select chair and acting manager