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Man wanted for indecent exposure, public urination at Wilkes-Barre Township Target

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Tickets for Pennsylvania Blues Festival set for September at Split Rock Resort go on sale Monday

<p>As my term on Luzerne County Council comes to an end, I would like to share my thoughts and the perspective that I have gained over the last six years working for, and as a councilman in, the Luzerne County home rule government.</p><p>Although six years does not seem so long ago, I feel some people forget too easily where Luzerne County was before home rule. The county was at the height of one of the biggest corruption scandals Pennsylvania has ever seen &#8211; &#8220;Kids for Cash.&#8221; Judges, commissioners, lawyers, employees and developers ended up going to prison because of dirty deals and bribes. The big question back then on everyone&#8217;s minds was sadly this: Who&#8217;s going to jail next?</p><p>It got to the point that each new indictment was less and less surprising. Unfortunately, the corruption scandal was only part of the dysfunction; our county&#8217;s debt surpassed $450 million and in 2009 and 2010 county taxes increased by 25 percent. The county was a dumping ground for political jobs. Contracts and leases with political friends that were mostly paid for by just borrowing more money were standard practice.</p><p>The county voters had enough of this and voted in the home rule government. I stand firmly in the same position as I did six years ago: This government is the right thing for the residents of Luzerne County.</p><p>Under home rule, Luzerne County scandals, from bribes or backroom deals, are a thing of the past. The new county merit hiring system immediately halted the hiring of friends and family. County contracts were closely scrutinized, and many were opened for public proposals. The size of county government was given a hard look and right-sized when close to 200 positions were removed. For the first time in recent history, the county was able to maintain a credit rating, which in turn allowed us to refinance our debt and save millions of dollars each year. County real estate holdings were reviewed and excess properties were sold. Although taxes have increased some over the years, the Luzerne County charter protects the residents from having massive tax hikes like what took place six years ago, and our mountain of debt has been reduced.</p><p>In summary, the Luzerne County Home Rule Charter provides a government with more checks and balances and protections against the blatant mishandling of your tax dollars. In short, it&#8217;s working!</p><p>Now I fully understand that this government is not perfect. Everyone has different expectations as to where we should be now. However, when looking back and remembering where we came from only four years ago, there is no question that we are in better shape today than where we were before home rule.</p><p>I am saddened to hear there is already a group from the old guard who are planning a campaign in 2017 to go back to the old ways. Can you blame them? They are the forgotten few. There are no jobs to hand out or unfair contracts to be given under home rule, and they want them back. It&#8217;s obviously easier to control two commissioners with a wink and a nod than a majority of council members out in a public meeting.</p><p>With that being said, I am in full favor of some refinements to the charter. Some of the public believes that home rule government is an &#8220;all-or-nothing&#8221; entity with either three commissioners or 11 council members. The home rule charter can be reviewed and changed where it needs to be changed. For example, I am in full support now, as I was on the study commission, in reducing the number of council members from 11 to seven. Council can be more efficient and would certainly allow the voters to elect the best of the best candidates.</p><p>My point is that the charter needs to be fine-tuned, not thrown out after only five years.</p><p>One of the problems I noticed with this new government is the public perception. Why? For one thing, any person can now either attend or watch the council&#8217;s meetings live on television or streaming to your computer. So why is that a problem? The public now can tune in to see the municipal meetings that are sometimes long, boring and filled with grandstanding.</p><p>Let me remind you that only four years ago the commissioner meetings were held during the day and were not televised. The point I am making is that Luzerne County government is now much more transparent than before &#8211; every citizen has the right to see it and be involved. If you take the time to really see what is happening with Luzerne County government, you will see that it is so much more than a couple of council members arguing. It&#8217;s real change that happened deliberately and for the betterment of our community.</p><p>Since the county and other municipalities spend your tax dollars, the public has the right to be vocal and involved. But please remember that serving the public is not an easy job and, more times than not, it is a thankless job. Elected officials are human beings with families and children. This is a job that a lot of people won&#8217;t do or can&#8217;t do. I am continually frustrated by some negative people in our community who will not take the hard steps to make a positive change; instead, they would rather be a naysayer and bash every idea without ever offering a solution to a problem. These negative people will not deter me, they will not stop progress, and I would hope that when the residents of Luzerne County look at the successes of the home rule government, these negative individuals will not stop us from doing the right thing either.</p><p>Let me close by saying that we have a great county with great people and great county employees. It has been an honor and privilege to work for the people of this county and try to make our area a better place to live. My style might be different than other elected officials. I make no apologies; I am a no-nonsense, lay-it-on-the-line and tell-it-the-way-it-is kind of guy. I might have ruffled some feathers over my term, but as an old professor once said, you might not like what I say but you will respect it. Whether you agreed or not with me on any issues, I leave my council post with a clear conscience, knowing that I tried my best and made every decision in the best interest of the people of this county.</p><p>Thank you again for allowing me to serve and try to make things better for our area.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Rick Morelli AIMEE DILGER Photos/The Times Leader 4/19/2011</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Morelli_posed.jpg</photo0><caption0>Rick Morelli AIMEE DILGER Photos/The Times Leader 4/19/2011</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Rick Morelli</p><p>Contributing Columnist</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Rick Morelli, a longtime Hazleton-area resident, was a member of the Government Study Commission that drafted Luzerne County&#8217;s home rule charter and served on the home rule transition committee. His four-year term on Luzerne County Council officially ended Monday.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Rick Morelli: Luzerne County far better off under home rule