126119588_web1_WB-budget-press--conference-Mayor-Brown

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Despite a passionate push by Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri, 10 of 11 county council members removed non-union raises from the proposed 2021 budget Tuesday.
				Council also spent hours painstakingly making other cuts and adding revenue to the proposed no-tax-hike budget, although it&rsquo;s unclear if their work will yield a tax reduction in the budget set for adoption Dec. 15. The owner of a $100,000 property would save $2 if council comes up with $500,000 in budget cuts.
				In addition to cuts, 10 of the 11 council members voted to increase the funding the county provides to public libraries at the urging of Councilman Harry Haas. The new allocation will be $945,000, or $45,000 more. Councilman Walter Griffith was the lone vote against the library funding increase.
				On the raises, Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck was the only council member to support granting the non-union raises.
				The administration had requested funding to provide 1.5% raises to approximately 250 non-union workers, with about $180,000 from the general fund operating budget and the remaining $20,000 covered by other outside revenue streams, county Budget/Finance Division Head Brian Swetz told council.
				Swetz pointed out the proposed budget does not raise real estate taxes and that the administration identified another $150,000 in savings Tuesday from a lower-than-expected interest rate for the county&rsquo;s 2021 tax revenue anticipation loan.
				Pedri presented a series of situations encountered by non-union workers, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic, without hazard pay or overtime. He asserted council members are exhibiting a lack of support for their efforts by rejecting their raises.
				Saying his job is to advocate for workers, Pedri described a Children and Youth supervisor who gets called out in the middle of the night for a child abuse claim, coroner&rsquo;s office workers handling more than 300 coronavirus deaths on top of other work with &ldquo;dignity and grace&rdquo; and emergency management employees scrambling to come up with personal protective equipment for nursing homes and assisting with coronavirus testing.
				Pedri also said most county workers are taxpayers, and argued opposition to raises presented by several residents who regularly attend meetings does not necessarily represent the views of all 320,000 county residents.
				The raises would equate to $8 more per week on average, he said.
				Griffith said Pedri is &ldquo;a great salesman&rdquo; but said many county residents also are working hard and not receiving raises, or are unemployed due to the economy this year.
				&ldquo;This is not the time to give a merit raise to anyone in this county,&rdquo; Griffith said.
				Councilwoman Kendra Radle said she is &ldquo;a little bit offended&rdquo; by Pedri&rsquo;s implication that council members don&rsquo;t appreciate workers if they defund raises.
				Radle said most residents are experiencing financial &ldquo;pain,&rdquo; including some struggling with pay reductions.
				&ldquo;Matter of factly, it just has to be done right now,&rdquo; Radle said of a year without non-union raises.
				Councilwoman Sheila Saidman said granting the raises would be unfair to struggling residents.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not the right time,&rdquo; Saidman said.
				Councilwoman LeeAnn McDermott thanked the workers, particularly those at the county prison and in other departments that do not have the ability to work from home.
				Council Chairman Tim McGinley said the non-union workers &ldquo;deserve at least a pat on the back&rdquo; and said they are a &ldquo;critical element in our county&rdquo; providing crucial services.
				Councilman Stephen J. Urban said many in the private sector are not getting raises.
				Councilman Harry Haas said he had supported non-union raises several years ago after non-union workers unacceptably went seven years without increases. However, he said he&rsquo;s heard from too many residents struggling to support non-union raises this year.
				Union workers will receive a combined $322,938 in raises next year under their collective bargaining agreements, not including detectives still in contract negotiations, the administration said.

Raises for Luzerne County non-union workers rejected by council