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Nanticoke man in custody after standoff with police

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Act 47, just the beginning of Wilkes-Barre’s fiscal recovery drama

<p>The conversion of all 1,400 Luzerne County government employees to the same payroll schedule is among county Manager C. David Pedri&#8217;s new 90-day goals.</p><p>About 40 percent of workers are paid in advance for time they have not yet worked, which means errors must be corrected after the fact.</p><p class="n_ 2827 v4">The administration had planned to complete the payroll synchronization by June 30 through its contract with human resources management company ADP.</p><p class="n_ 2827 v4">However, the budget/finance division encountered some issues and opted to delay the switch to &#8220;make sure it is done right,&#8221; Pedri told council last week.</p><p class="n_ 2827 v4">Impacted workers will have to forego compensation for the number of days they are paid in advance. The administration has said it will provide ample notice to help employees prepare.</p><p class="n_ 2827 v4">&#8226; <strong>More goals</strong></p><p class="n_ 2827 v4">Pedri said he added the 90-day goals to encourage division heads to focus on at least four projects a year.</p><p>Among the latest goals set for completion Oct. 1: community development office review and approval of $15 million in infrastructure improvement projects to be covered by a business development loan fund that is no longer in high demand; election poll worker training on the use of 220 electronic poll books purchased this year from Election Systems &amp; Software for $324,802; and launching of a human service program focused on vulnerable young adults under age 22.</p><p>The law division also plans to finalize management&#8217;s switch to an electronic contract approval process aimed at cutting back on paper and time wasted delivering packets to various offices.</p><p>A prison population analysis also is planned by the public defender&#8217;s office to come up with measures to further reduce the inmate count, Pedri&#8217;s report said.</p><p><strong>&#8226; Jobs posted</strong></p><p>The county is publicly advertising a planning and zoning executive director position vacated by the recent resignation of James Ferry.</p><p>The salary range is $55,000 to $65,000, according to the posting on the job opportunities section of the county website at <a href="https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/luzernecounty/jobs/2142902/planning-and-zoning-executive-director?page=2&amp;pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs" target="_blank">www.luzernecounty.org</a>. Resumes are due July 26.</p><p>A $45,000 planning/zoning analyst and transportation planner position paying $48,000 to $53,000 annually also have been advertised.</p><p><strong>&#8226; Unused county properties</strong></p><p>Council members postponed a vote authorizing the manager to auction a batch of unused, county-owned properties because they want the administration to come up with proposed minimum bids for each.</p><p>If the auction plan is ultimately approved, the assessor&#8217;s office will inform adjacent owners of listed properties in case they are interested in bidding, Pedri said.</p><p><strong>&#8226; Budget reports</strong></p><p>Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck&#8217;s resolution mandating a format for monthly division-level budget reports was postponed at last week&#8217;s council meeting, but she is still pressing to get the format in writing.</p><p>A council majority opted to hold off on her resolution for two reasons: the administration agreed to make the change without a mandate, and council Chairman Tim McGinley said such a change should be incorporated into the administrative code instead of passing as a separate resolution.</p><p>McClosky Houck said the resolution could cement the format until a pending committee review of the entire administrative code is completed and presented to council, which may take months.</p><p>Her post-meeting email said she wants to introduce an ordinance amending the code to add the report format now instead of waiting.</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/2018/07/web1_luzernecountycourthouse.jpeg-2.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>

Synchronization of Luzerne County government payroll set for completion Oct. 1