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Scaffolding removal reveals dramatic Luzerne County Courthouse restoration

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Your view: NRA is protecting gun manufacturers

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Still dogged by questions about her residency two years after she was first hired, the city&#8217;s new director of the Office of Community Development says a campaign contribution that listed a Shavertown mailing address for her came from her husband&#8217;s checking account.</p><p>Joyce Zaykowski further explained that she lives at a Wilkes-Barre home formerly owned by her father, but does travel to the other house to be with her husband.</p><p>Zaykowski joined the administration in February 2016 as capital projects program manager. This week, Mayor Tony George named Zaykowski as director of the Office of Community Development to replace Kurt Sauer, who retired.</p><p>The question of Zaykowski&#8217;s residency and her promotion came into question at Tuesday night&#8217;s city council meeting. Resident Bob Kadluboski, a vocal critic of the mayor&#8217;s administration, blasted the mayor&#8217;s move.</p><p>&#8220;You think you heard the worst and then this happens,&#8221; Kadluboski said. &#8220;It&#8217;s absolutely a kick in the face to devoted city employees for somebody who probably doesn&#8217;t even live in the city to get that position.&#8221;</p><p>Zaykowski&#8217;s hiring in 2016 drew criticism as a plum job created for a political supporter, at a time when the city was considering firefighter layoffs in response to a possible budget shortfall. George acknowledged at the time that Zaykowski lived in the Back Mountain, despite a city charter requirement that employees be residents. He added that she had been staying with her elderly father and eventually planned to move into the city.</p><p>&#8220;I live at my dad&#8217;s house,&#8221; Zaykowski told the Times Leader on Thursday. &#8220;I pay taxes in Wilkes-Barre.&#8221;</p><p>A 2017 annual report for Friends of Tony George filed last month with the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections listed a $100 contribution from Joyce Zaykowski, at 102 Mary St., Shavertown &#8212; which is actually located in Kingston Township.</p><p>Zaykowski told the Times Leader on Thursday that she does not have a separate checking account from her husband Lawrence, and each separately contributed $50 to a November fundraiser for the mayor.</p><p>Zaykowski said her husband owns the 102 Mary St. property. &#8220;I do go to the other home,&#8221; she said, but Zaykowski maintains her primary address is 11 Anthracite St., Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>A deed filed on Feb. 8, 2016 with the county shows that Joseph Morrash sold the property to his children, including Zaykowski, for $1.</p><p>In 2016, the mayor created the position of capital projects program manager for her, paying $45,000 annually plus benefits. She would be responsible for ensuring that the city did not lose grant funding for projects such as the Coal Street extension and the Solomon Wall reconstruction, he said back then.</p><p>Sauer retired Tuesday from his $94,782-a-year job, and the mayor described Zaykowski&#8217;s promotion as a cost-saving measure. She will continue to do her old job as well serving as director of the Office of Community Development, with her compensation increasing from $46,350 with benefits to $65,000 with benefits. The overall savings to the city is about $100,000 in wages and benefits, the mayor said.</p><p>He credited her with helping to secure the $2.3 million state grant for the Solomon Creek project, which she has been coordinating.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s sharp,&#8221; the mayor said. </p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Mayor-Tony-George-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">George </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Mayor-Tony-George-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>George </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_joyce-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Zaykowski </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_joyce-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Zaykowski </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 @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

W-B appointee says she lives in city, despite Shavertown address