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<p>Luzerne County Councilman Harry Haas is proposing an admittedly uncertain idea to reduce a potential tax hike &#8212; not paying a $1.5 million employee pension fund subsidy increase.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s wise to consider,&#8221; Haas said during Monday&#8217;s budget work session before submitting it in writing as an amendment for a future vote.</p><p>The annual taxpayer subsidy is rising from $9.35 million to $10.85 million based on the fund actuary&#8217;s estimate.</p><p>Shoring up is necessary to close a shortfall that emerged years ago between assets and future obligations.</p><p>The plan was 71% funded at the end of 2018, which was a drop from the prior year&#8217;s 72.8%, according to an actuarial report.</p><p>County council must come up with $5.25 million in cuts or new revenue to avoid a 5% tax increase, officials have said.</p><p>Council Chairman Tim McGinley told Haas he does not believe ignoring an actuary-recommended increase is &#8220;the right move&#8221; fiscally.</p><p>Councilwoman Sheila Saidman also expressed reservations, saying it might be &#8220;very, very problematic&#8221; to the long-term stability of the pension fund.</p><p>Haas said the pension funding percentage dropped, even though council and the administration had agreed in 2018 to use $8.6 million from one-time revenue windfalls to correct a decade-old deferral that caused subsidies to be a year behind, reducing investment earnings.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like a mystical science,&#8221; Haas said of the calculation on what the county owes and the percentage of future obligations that are funded.</p><p>Haas asserted many other governments have lower funded status percentages, and he believes the county will be in a better financial position to &#8220;play catch-up&#8221; in 2030, when current debt is scheduled to be repaid.</p><p>The estimated net pension liability was $119.6 million at the end of 2018, the county audit said.</p><p>Haas stressed he is not advocating skipping the pension contribution, only the increased portion.</p><p>Several council members, including Haas, said they want to hear from the fund actuary and advisor about the potential ramifications at a future meeting before deciding.</p><p>Councilman Stephen A. Urban also said he wants an actuary update on what can be done to reduce costs and bring more money into the fund.</p><p>In another pension related matter, county Manager C. David Pedri said he has asked the actuary and other pension fund representatives to provide an opinion on &#8220;what it would take&#8221; to switch new county employees to a 401(k).</p><p>When this idea came up in past years, officials have said the severing of new employees paying into the fund would further widen the gap between assets and future obligations, leading to even higher taxpayer subsidies.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s really feasible, but I wanted council to have the information because it&#8217;s been talked about in this room many times,&#8221; Pedri said.</p><p><strong>DA&#8217;s budget</strong></p><p>County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis presented her budget Monday night.</p><p>Spending on the office is proposed at $4.9 million, or $355,000 more. Proposed revenue is $1.13 million, or an increase of $290,000.</p><p>Salavantis said all but approximately $52,000 of the increase stems from new grant-funded gun violence and drug task force initiatives.</p><p>In addition to the elected district attorney, the office employs 21 non-union workers and 54 union employees, including assistant district attorneys represented by Teamsters Local 401.</p><p>She is seeking a new $9,800 allocation for non-union, merit-based pay increases and $5,000 to maintain vehicles, which is $2,500 more.</p><p>Salavantis also seeks to double the $7,500 budgeted for extraditions, citing an increase in people charged with major violent crimes requiring transport back to the county for adjudication. She said she has three pending cases &#8212; two homicides and one assault of a child &#8212; requiring extraditions from New York, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.</p><p>Council also voted Monday to approve a resolution opposing closure of the State Correctional Institution at Retreat, a state prison in Newport Township.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL101719Luzerne-County-Courthouse1-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County Courthouse </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL101719Luzerne-County-Courthouse1-5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Luzerne County Courthouse </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_Harry-Haas-for-Congress-PA-8th-District-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Haas </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_Harry-Haas-for-Congress-PA-8th-District-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Haas </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></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 Councilman proposes pension payment reduction