W-b Twp. Officials Clash Over Budget Cuts

Anthony Gorka 
Dec. 5, 1992 
Anthony Gorka, 69, Of Harveys Lake, Died Saturday Morning In Nesbitt Memorial 
Hospital, Kingston.

Monday, December 07, 1992 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





Dec. 5, 1992, County commissioners raises &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 1A &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; County &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 (Continued from Page 1A) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 COUNTY, Page 10A &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 C &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 OUNTY Pay hikes get boost from top &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Two commissioners support what would be first raise in a decade for county
workers &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By JIM VAN NOSTRAND &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Times Leader Staff Writer &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 WILKES-BARRE -- With two of the three Luzerne County commissioners backing
a proposed 28 percent pay raise for themselves and the row officers, the
ordinance could be ratified later this month. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The proposal is the first attempt to raise salaries since 1982, when a
five-year, 42 percent raise ignited a political fire storm that unseated
Democratic commissioner Ed Brominski and changed the balance of power on the
board. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For the first time since they assumed the majority in January, Democratic
commissioners Rose Tucker and Frank Crossin are split on a major issue. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tucker and Republican Jim Phillips say they support the raises and will
vote for them. Crossin, who voted for raises with Brominski in 1982, said he's
leaning against it this time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 County officials advertised the proposed ordinance regarding the raises in
the legal sections of today's Times Leader and Citizens' Voice. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A meeting to hear public comments and vote on the ordinance has been
scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 17 in the commissioners meeting room at the Luzerne
County Courthouse. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The raises would affect each elected county office for the years 1994,
1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998, but under state law no official can collect a raise
in their current term. For example, the commissioners would have to wait until
after they stand for reelection in 1995. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The initial raise for each office will be 28 percent, followed by 5 percent
hikes in each year after that. The 1994 raise will include only those officers
running for election next year -- controller, register of wills, prothonotary
and the two jury commissioners. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The sheriff, treasurer, recorder of deeds, clerk of criminal court, clerk
of orphan's court and coroner also would get raises under the plan. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Phillips and Tucker make $27,000 per year, while board chairman Crossin
gets $28,000. With the raises, the salaries would be $34,560 and $35,840
respectively in the first year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The row officers make $23,500 each with the exception of Register of Wills
Helen O'Connor, who gets another $2,000 for her work as clerk of orphan's
court. Jury commissioners Martha Reese and Daniel Blaine make $6,500 each. The
standard row officer's pay would be $30,080 in the first year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Those are the lowest salaries for elected officials in any of
Pennsylvania's third-class counties, a fact that rankles many row officers.
They'd still be the lowest even with the raises. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Prothonotary Eugene Duffy, who must run for reelection in 1993, praised the
idea. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Other county employees get regular raises, and Duffy said the row officers
should get them too. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The row officers deserve to have their salaries equal to those in the rest
of the state," Duffy said. "I feel the people in this county are very
fortunate to have the row officers they have ... they do their job, and they
do it well." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All three commissioners said the raises are necessary to attract good
people. But Crossin said he may want to run for office again and vividly
remembers the controversy when he voted for raises a decade ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Crossin, who had been appointed upon the death of his father, and Brominski
ratified a five-year, 42 percent pay raise for elected county officials at a
raucous public session in December 1982. Former commissioner Frank
Trinisewski, then a Republican, dissented. That raised commissioners salaries
about $11,000, from $27,000 to $38,221. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Trinisewski and Jim Phillips used the issue to oust Brominski in the 1983
election, the first Republican landslide in two decades. Crossin was relegated
to minority status. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Republican commissioners' attempts to repeal the hikes during their
terms failed. The raises expired at the end of 1987 and the salaries reverted
to their former levels. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "In this economic climate, I'm leaning against it," Crossin said of the
Dec. 17 vote. "Last time I did that, voters and constituents sent a clear
message that they were unhappy." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In an ironic twist, now the roles are reversed. Crossin is against it,
Phillips for it. Phillips wouldn't comment on whether the political climate
has changed, but said he thinks the raises are in order and that county
officials are entitled to them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Phillips said 58 county prison guards, as well as most senior managers and
department heads, make more money than the commissioners. And since he said he
might not run for office again in 1995, he might not personally benefit at
all. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Who knows? I might be dead by then," Phillips joked. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tucker said she's happy with her salary, but wants to correct what she
called an inequitable pay scale across the board to get quality people to run
for office. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The row officers approached the commissioners with the proposal about three
weeks ago, Tucker said. She plans to vote for the raises on Dec. 17 and said
the public should recognize that they are long overdue. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I have no qualms about it," Tucker said.

Dec. 5, 1992, County Commissioners Raises 1a County (continued From Page 1a) County, Page 10a C Ounty