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<p>After eight years overseeing Luzerne County&#8217;s judicial branch, county Court Administrator Michael Shucosky is retiring.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a very tough job, and it&#8217;s kind of worn me down,&#8221; said the 66-year-old Kingston resident, who plans to stop working around the end of February.</p><p>Shucosky assumed the role in 2012 following a judicial corruption scandal that led to charges against three former county Court of Common Pleas judges and the former court administrator.</p><p>&#8220;When I started, my first goal was to try to restore integrity to the court system,&#8221; Shucosky said. &#8220;I believe we now have a very fine bench and have overcome the problems we had.&#8221;</p><p>Another priority was &#8220;changing the culture&#8221; to avoid cronyism, nepotism and favoritism in hiring practices and operations, he said. There were many past examples of court employees tied to prior judges.</p><p>Openings are now publicly advertised, and applicants are ranked by a panel without involvement by judges, he said.</p><p>&#8220;We have a merit hiring system. I&#8217;ve had people say they were shocked to get the job, that they thought they had to know somebody to get hired,&#8221; Shucosky said.</p><p>Court officials also have worked more closely with the administration to hammer out annual budgets, Shucosky said, noting the court has never exceeded its allocation under his watch.</p><p>The court branch is budgeted at $19.17 million in this year&#8217;s county general fund operating budget, with revenue set at $7.9 million. This covers administration, magisterial district courts, probation and domestic relations.</p><p>Shucosky said he has freedom to manage finances and personnel because the court administrator is selected and funded by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, or AOPC. The state entity also approves and covers the cost of four deputies to oversee fiscal matters, human resources, court case flow and operations, he said.</p><p>&#8220;As an employee of the AOPC, I am independent of the court system, which allowed me to be an independent voice in court management,&#8221; Shucosky said.</p><p>He expects the court and AOPC to move swiftly to appoint an interim court administrator and launch a statewide search for his permanent replacement at an annual compensation of around $80,000.</p><p>An attorney, Shucosky previously worked as family court services director and had held other court positions, including acting as the court&#8217;s first custody master, he said.</p><p>He does not plan to return to law full time and has no specific plans in retirement. He and his wife, Kathy, have three adult children and three grandchildren.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s very emotional for me,&#8221; he said of his upcoming departure from the court role.</p><p>County Judge Richard M. Hughes III, who recently wrapped up a five-year term in the president judge post now held by Judge Michael T. Vough, said Shucosky has worked effectively with all judges.</p><p>Shucosky&#8217;s legal expertise as an attorney was helpful in the oversight position, Hughes said. The outgoing administrator also implemented AOPC protocols, he said.</p><p>&#8220;Mike Shucosky has done an excellent job at the position of court administrator,&#8221; Hughes said. &#8220;The Court of Common Pleas wishes him well in his well-deserved retirement.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Shucosky </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_Michael-Shucosky.jpg</photo0><caption0>Shucosky </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’s top court administrator retiring