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Crepes on the menu at downtown Wilkes-Barre coffee shop

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Firefighters respond to smoke in downtown building

<p>Luzerne County&#8217;s employee pension fund has bounced back after dismal 2018 returns, Eugene Kelleher told his council colleagues last week.</p><p>The fund&#8217;s first-quarter investment return was 8.02 percent.</p><p>&#8220;That was very positive after what we had in December,&#8221; said Kelleher, who serves on the county retirement board overseeing the fund.</p><p>An 8.02 percent return equates to $18 million, boosting the fund&#8217;s value to $237.4 million, said pension fund investment advisor Richard J. Hazzouri, of Morgan Stanley. That value is after the fund paid more than $2 million to approximately 1,300 retirees during the first quarter, he said.</p><p>In comparison, the fund had a negative return of minus 6.26 percent in 2018, with Hazzouri describing December as the worst final month of the year in about eight years. Many other investment portfolios experienced similar losses largely due to fears of inflation and rising interest rates, officials said.</p><p>Hazzouri said he ran updated numbers last week showing the county fund&#8217;s value is now up to around $245 million due to a year-to-date investment return over 9 percent.</p><p>&#8220;For as bad as last year was with a very disappointing market environment, we made everything back plus,&#8221; Hazzouri said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve had a lot of good momentum and are feeling good about the way the portfolio is positioned.&#8221;</p><p>The public has an interest in the fund because annual taxpayer funding is required.</p><p>Last year&#8217;s county contribution was $12.9 million, with $8.5 million from the general fund operating budget and the rest from the state and other revenue streams. The 2019 budget increased the general fund contribution by approximately $570,000, officials have said.</p><p><strong>Hazard plan</strong></p><p>Philadelphia-based Michael Baker International Inc. has been hired for $56,250 to update the county&#8217;s hazard mitigation plan as required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to a contract signed by county Manager C. David Pedri.</p><p>Under the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act, county governments must prepare and adopt plans outlining potential risks and update these plans every five years to be eligible for state and federal disaster assistance.</p><p><strong>Drug update</strong></p><p>As part of county Councilman Matthew Vough&#8217;s focus on opioid addiction recovery success stories, representatives of the Children&#8217;s Service Center in Wilkes-Barre last week discussed their programs providing drug and alcohol prevention education to children throughout the region.</p><p>The center also works in two area school districts providing support to children who have family members with substance use disorder in an attempt to prevent them from following the same path, said the representatives, emphasizing the need for investment in prevention education.</p><p>Dupont Crime Watch member Bob Price also invited the public to an opioid awareness forum at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, at the VFW Post 4909, 401 Main St. Dupont. Speakers include county District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis and county Judge Michael Vough.</p><p><strong>Lobbyist request</strong></p><p>With a council majority&#8217;s approval to hire Harrisburg-based Maverick Strategies to lobby for county funding, Swoyersville resident Greg Griffin and others involved in the county Citizens Opioid Committee have asked county officials to add a request to the firm&#8217;s to-do list: a drone for law enforcement.</p><p>The committee said it had received a request for assistance obtaining a drone from the county Drug Task Force, estimating the cost at $20,000.</p><p>Most drug task forces in other counties already have drones, which provide safety support when officers are conducting raids or performing surveillance of possible drug sale locations, the committee said.</p><p><strong>Repository</strong></p><p>Council Chairman Tim McGinley said he wants to step up efforts to unload repository properties.</p><p>Tax-delinquent properties land in the repository pool if they don&#8217;t sell at auction, and officials have said the county is semi-liable for the properties because it serves as a legal trustee after the owners of record have abandoned them.</p><p>Over the last two decades or more, the county has amassed a repository pool of around 1,000. The county sells batches as buyers surface &#8212; 69 sales are currently pending &#8212; but reductions are canceled out by the addition of new ones after each free-and-clear auction, records show.</p><p>McGinley asked the administration to explore the possibility of summer interns or other staffers to start photographing the properties in an attempt to market them.</p><p>Repository properties are available for sale at any time, typically for $500. The list of available properties is posted and regularly updated at <a href="http://www.luzernecountytaxclaim.com/repository-list-updated-as-of-4-24-2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.luzernecountytaxclaim.com</a>.</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/2019/04/web1_luzerne-county-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 pension fund recoups 2018 losses