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Court Briefs

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Dagobert Street home struck by gunfire; no injuries reported

<p>In a 40-slide PowerPoint presentation Tuesday, Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri highlighted a range of fiscal improvements, initiatives and projects as evidence county government is on a positive path.</p><p>This &#8220;state of the county&#8221; report is required by the home rule charter. Pedri said he indicated in last year&#8217;s report the county was in a state of consistent improvement.</p><p>The improvement continued in 2018 but was more &#8220;pronounced and noticeable,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s something you can actually see and feel here in Luzerne County,&#8221; he told county council members and the audience.</p><p>On the subject of finances, Pedri said the county cleared a deficit in 2018 that had lingered on the books for several years and reached a high of $16.9 million, which means the county now has a nearly $700,000 surplus.</p><p>&#8220;We have turned the corner from the red to black,&#8221; Pedri said. &#8220;That&#8217;s a huge accomplishment.&#8221;</p><p>The county owed $278.9 million in principal and interest on debt at the end of 2018, compared to $420.9 million in 2012 &#8212; a reduction of $142 million, he said.</p><p>As of Jan. 31, the county had picked up $14.5 million in taxable assessed value through software that detects missed property based on aerial photographs. This equates to $86,905 in additional county tax revenue and hundreds of thousands of dollars more for impacted municipalities and school districts.</p><p>Of the 66 initiatives proposed in the county&#8217;s five-year financial recovery plan, 46 have been completed and 10 are in progress for 2019.</p><p>His priorities for this year: a 911 emergency radio upgrade; addressing a paper-trail voting machine mandate; reviewing the county&#8217;s Forty Fort recreational complex; repairing more roads and bridges and stepping up revenue generators, including selling or adding billboards on unused county land; and implementing purchase or procurement cards known as P-Cards, which are used by many governmental entities to streamline the accounts payable process and generate interest on certain purchases.</p><p>His report provided 2018 statistics in numerous departments, including:</p><p>&#8226; Prison: A total 4,450 inmates were booked during the year &#8212; 3,486 men and 964 women. Meanwhile, 4,476 were released.</p><p>&#8226; Conflict counsel: These attorneys handled 574 criminal cases, nine homicides, 92 juvenile cases, 30 Post Conviction Relief Act cases, 23 appeals and around 440 dependency/parent counsel matters.</p><p>&#8226; Public Defender&#8217;s: The office opened 6,061 adult cases, 270 juvenile and 311 mental health.</p><p>Pedri also touted the updated county website, the movement of workers to one payroll cycle to eliminate advance pay, the awarding of $15 million in municipal infrastructure grants, the opening of a new climate-controlled record storage site in Hanover Township and standardized employee evaluations.</p><p>County workers also launched the Coalition to STOP Overdoses, held the first human services community expo, completed active shooter training and provided response and recovery for flooding, a Susquehanna River ice jam and tornado in Wilkes-Barre Township.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL091318Pedri2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Pedri </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL091318Pedri2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Pedri </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>

Pedri’s ‘state of county’ report: More ‘pronounced and noticeable’ improvements