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<p>Most Luzerne County Council candidates said they would consider switching new county employees to a 401(k) when they were asked about the possibility at a voter forum last week.</p><p>It&#8217;s an idea that has been suggested for at least a decade, but there&#8217;s a financial reason it never got past the discussion stage.</p><p>County Manager C. David Pedri explained this when the subject came up at last week&#8217;s council meeting, saying contributions from current and future employees are needed to help fund the pensions of those &#8220;who came before them.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;If I cut it off, there won&#8217;t be anyone paying for those currently receiving pensions,&#8221; Pedri said.</p><p>In the past, officials have said converting new workers to a 401(k) could significantly increase the gap between pension fund assets and future obligations, leading to even higher taxpayer subsidies to cover pensions guaranteed by law. The estimated net pension liability was $119.6 million at the end of 2018, the county audit said.</p><p>Part of Pedri&#8217;s proposed 5 percent tax hike next year stems from a $1.5 million pension fund subsidy increase, which brings the total payment to $14.5 million in 2020.</p><p>Annual taxpayer subsidy is necessary to close a shortfall that emerged years ago because investment earnings and employee contributions did not keep pace. Two other drivers that have been cited by the actuary: People are living longer, and the revenue projected from investments had been unrealistically high.</p><p><strong>Election board</strong></p><p>To comply with state law, the county election board published a newspaper legal notice Friday publicly advertising its two remaining meetings for the year on Nov. 13 and Dec. 4.</p><p>County Council candidate Walter Griffith announced last week he had discovered that this year&#8217;s board meetings were not advertised as required.</p><p>County Assistant Solicitor Michael Butera, who is assigned to election matters, said the board can rectify the violation at the Nov. 13 meeting by ratifying all decisions made at the other meetings already held this year. This remedy is available because the lack of advertising was a clerical error and not an &#8220;intentional or malicious&#8221; attempt to keep the public in the dark, Butera said.</p><p>Both upcoming election board meetings start at 4:30 p.m. at the county&#8217;s Penn Place building, 20 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>In another election matter, Pedri said Friday he has assigned human resources business partner Shelby Watchilla to assist election bureau deputy director Mary Beth Steininger and administrative services division head David Parsnik in election duties while the office is without a director.</p><p>Prior county election director Marisa Crispell resigned Sept. 6, and Pedri said he plans to re-advertise the position after the Nov. 5 general election.</p><p><strong>Purchasing card</strong></p><p>The county is seeking proposals from banks interested in providing purchasing card services, with proposals due Dec. 6.</p><p>Pedri has said the cards would generate revenue by providing a percentage of cash back on some purchases.</p><p>Consultant Public Financial Management recommended the cards in the county&#8217;s five-year financial recovery plan in 2015, noting authorization procedures could be implemented to provide controls.</p><p>The county sought proposals from banks earlier this year but is re-advertising to see if higher interest earnings will be offered.</p><p><strong>Controller audit</strong></p><p>The county controller&#8217;s office recently completed an audit of toxicology invoices that determined credit was owed to the county from Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, one of two entities that performs toxicology reports for the county to determine if drugs are present in the deceased.</p><p>The coroner&#8217;s office administrative assistant requested the audit after the hospital asserted it was still owed money, the audit said.</p><p>After analyzing invoices and county payments made after October 2018, the controller&#8217;s office determined four invoices were paid twice, for a total overpayment of $1,023. A few weeks after the finding, the hospital agreed there was a mistake and provided a credit in the full amount, the audit said.</p><p>Controller&#8217;s office audits are posted at <a href="https://www.luzernecounty.org/867/Audits" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.luzernecounty.org</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/2019/10/web1_courthouse.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>

Rising Luzerne County pension fund subsidy a concern