Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo said she will provide updates by the end of this month on two initiatives she had announced after the Nov. 5 general election.
The first is a post-election assessment of strengths and weaknesses under development by the county law office. This review will comprehensively analyze the Nov. 5 general election cycle, evaluate county procedures and provide “actionable recommendations for improvement,” she has said.
The second is an election task force she is creating to identify and push for state election code updates to address some issues encountered in the election, including those surrounding mail ballot drop boxes, deadlines for voter registration and mail ballot applications and on-demand mail ballot voting.
Town hall
As part of ongoing countywide outreach, Crocamo will hold a town hall meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, in the Pittston Memorial Library, 47 Broad St., in the city.
Tax bills
County Budget/Finance Division Head Mary Roselle briefed county council last week on a proposal to retain The Masters Touch to print county and municipal tax bills for five years, starting in 2025.
The county issued a public request seeking proposals to print 161,800 bills sent with an envelope for return payments to the appropriate tax collector.
The Masters Touch was deemed the best choice of the three responses due to its experience and pricing, she said during council’s work session.
In addition to saving approximately 3 cents per bill, the county will receive additional services, Roselle said. The Masters Touch has an address verification program that will flag and alert the county to incorrect addresses so time and money are not wasted resending bills, she said.
Council is expected to vote on the contract at its next meeting Jan. 28.
Planning/zoning director
The county administration has reposted the vacant planning/zoning executive director position at a higher salary after months of advertising and no qualified applicants, officials said.
The position was first advertised in May 2024 at $65,000 annually and has remained on the human resources career opportunities section at luzernecounty.org since then.
It was recently updated with a new compensation of $85,000, which is the figure in the 2025 position list linked to the county budget. This higher compensation is more in line with the amounts paid to counterparts in other counties, officials said.
The planning/zoning director must act as zoning officer for municipalities that have signed up for county coverage, ensuring codes and ordinances are enforced. This manager also oversees field inspections and development reviews to verify proposed projects comply with approved plans and serves as a liaison with the county Planning Commission and Zoning Hearing Board.
The position has been open since Matthew Jones resigned in May 2024. County GIS/Mapping Director Dan Reese has been serving as acting planning/zoning director. Jones had received $68,250 annually.
Primary election
County Election Director Emily Cook has started publicly posting municipal and school board offices that will appear on the May 20 primary election ballot.
Municipalities and school districts are required to submit an official form by Feb. 18 stating all offices that will be open along with the term lengths, including partial-term vacancies that must be filled in this year’s election due to the death or resignation of an elected office holder.
Cook said she is updating the list as information is received to inform citizens interested in running and as a proofing measure for the data that has been submitted to the election bureau.
The list is available on the election page at luzernecounty.org along with deadlines and other information for those seeking office.