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<p>With a week remaining before the 2017 budget adoption, Luzerne County Council members started voting on cuts late Tuesday evening.</p><p>Council members must find $9.95 million in cuts or new revenue if they want to avoid a 4 percent property tax hike, a new $5 vehicle registration fee, and the permanent elimination of the homestead break for primary residences next year.</p><p>After hours of debating a menu of amendments proposed by various council members, a council majority rejected across-the-board cuts of 6 percent and 4 percent as suggested by Councilwoman Kathy Dobash.</p><p>Also defeated were proposals by Edward Brominski and Eileen Sorokas to eliminate 23 part-time assistant solicitors who are eligible for health benefits in exchange for fewer full-time positions.</p><p>Sorokas also failed to obtain majority support for a motion to declare a &#8220;no confidence&#8221; vote in county Manager C. David Pedri&#8217;s proposed budget.</p><p>A council majority did not approve Councilman Stephen A. Urban&#8217;s proposal to decrease funding for 15 of 18 proposed new positions, which would have left two grant-funded positions in the district attorney&#8217;s office and a tourism position that is covered by hotel tax revenue instead of the general fund.</p><p>However, a council majority approved a proposal by Harry Haas to cut the district attorney&#8217;s budget by $58,525, the amount of funding District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis requested to create a new deputy district attorney position to focus on drug cases.</p><p>Haas said he understands the need, but the county is &#8220;on a shoestring.&#8221; Salavantis can reduce spending elsewhere in her budget if creating the position is a priority, Urban said.</p><p>Councilman Bob Schnee said the proposal was &#8220;unconscionable&#8221; in light of &#8220;what&#8217;s going on in the streets&#8221; with opioid abuse. Salavantis repeatedly has kept her spending below budget in recent years and did not submit the request as a &#8220;wish list,&#8221; he said.</p><p>In the end, the reduction was supported by Rick Williams, Brominski, Dobash, Haas, Sorokas and Urban.</p><p>The council postponed voting on some suggestions until the Dec. 13 budget adoption to allow more time for comparison and review. For example, Williams proposed reducing controller&#8217;s office expenses by $7,670, while Dobash pushed for a $13,010 cut in the office.</p><p>The discussion got heated at times.</p><p>As county Budget/Finance Division Head Brian Swetz was discussing retirement expenses, Urban told him the administration should have adjusted spending to conform with available revenue instead of &#8220;asking for more.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Mr. Urban, we&#8217;ll do our job. You do yours,&#8221; Pedri said. &#8220;I&#8217;m not going to let you sit here and beat up on a county employee.&#8221;</p><p>Urban said that Pedri spoke &#8220;out of hand&#8221; and was &#8220;out of line.&#8221;</p><p>The meeting opened with the second public budget hearing, and five citizens urged the council to avoid a tax hike and vehicle fee.</p><p>Instead of a vehicle fee, which would generate $1 million in revenue next year, Kingston resident Brian Shiner suggested the council explore creating a road and bridge authority to implement a fee on property owners near the county-owned roads and bridges, similar to the county Flood Protection Authority&#8217;s Wyoming Valley Levee fee on properties in the levee-protected Susquehanna River flood zone.</p><p>Joe McCabe, of Exeter, said many senior citizens are losing their houses due to property taxes.</p><p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s the end? There&#8217;s got to be an end,&#8221; McCabe said.</p><p>Pedri told the council $4.4 million of the $6 million overall increase in the $136 million proposed budget stems from unavoidable expenses, including a $700,000 employee pension fund subsidy spike and a $2.8 million Children and Youth match that had been covered by refinancing savings this year that are no longer available.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County Courthouse</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Courthouse.jpg</photo0><caption0>Luzerne County Courthouse</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></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 chips away at 2017 budget expenses