Lackawanna County hires new correctional officers

Four days after instituting a hiring freeze, Lackawanna County announced the hiring of 19 new correctional officers, 12 full time and 7 part time, at an annual taxpayer cost of nearly 300 thousand dollars.  The announcement was made Friday afternoon by county communications director Patrick McKenna. Citing "staff shortages that drive up overtime, hurt morale, and make it more difficult to maintain safety,"Commissioners Bill Gaughan and Matt McGloin approved the hiring as an exception to the freeze, saying it is designed to save $500,000.00 in overtime expenses.