Luzerne County Council votes on American Rescue cut, rejects election worker protection proposal

Luzerne County Council agreed to wait until Nov. 26 to determine if it will cancel a $2 million federal American Rescue Plan Act allocation for a parkade at the former Hotel Sterling site in Wilkes-Barre.

In another prominent American Rescue project, council accepted a revised proposal that will reduce the allocation for recreational enhancements in the area of Nesbitt and Kirby parks from $2 million to $1.1 million.

Much of Tuesday’s meeting was consumed by public comment about an “election worker protection ordinance” that was ultimately rejected by a council majority.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo also introduced a proposed no-tax-hike 2025 budget.

American Rescue

Council questioned the status of both projects due to a lack of activity and concern they won’t meet deadlines. Council must have sufficient time to reprogram funds if necessary so the county won’t be forced to return funding to the federal government.

The Wilkes-Barre Industrial Development Authority is overseeing the public parking garage as part of a public/private partnership with the developer of a proposed Gateway Hyatt Place Hotel and Conference Center on the corner of North River and West Market streets.

Authority representative Larry Newman said an entity that may provide $1 million in funding toward the $4.5 million project will be meeting in mid-November, and he asked council to wait until then so he can provide a definitive answer on whether the project can proceed.

Newman emphasized there is a high demand for parking in that section of the city independent of the planned hotel/conference center.

Regarding the recreational project, the Jewish Community Alliance of Northeastern Pennsylvania had agreed to serve as a pass-through entity for the multi-municipal project to be completed, with representatives stressing no funding will go to the alliance.

Jim Brozena, of Brozena Consulting Services LLC, was retained as a consultant on the project and said the scaled-back scope will fund a thorough master plan and initial work concentrated on the Kirby Park pond, including a trail, water quality improvements and new lighting.

The master plan will comply with requirements necessary to make future work eligible for 50% state funding, Brozena said. This master plan will focus on Nesbitt and Kirby parks in Wilkes-Barre and a proposed new Riverbend Park in Kingston stretching from the Veterans Memorial (Pierce Street) Bridge to south of the Cross Valley Expressway.

Election protection

Councilwoman Joanna Bryn Smith proposed the election worker protection ordinance, saying it would provide an additional option for law enforcement to charge those accused of a range of alleged crimes against poll workers.

Twenty residents weighed in on the proposal during public hearing, fairly evenly split between support and opposition. Some commented twice during both a public hearing and during the voting meeting.

Council Vice Chairman Brian Thornton said he condemns violence but spoke with county District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce and was informed the ordinance could be “inviting lawsuits” against the county because laws already exist at the state level.

Thornton also read portions of an email from county Election Director Emily Cook, concluding the proposed ordinance is “ultimately a waste of time” because “there are no legitimate actionable offenses that were not already addressed as protections for these workers under the law.”

Bryn Smith argued her ordinance is needed, particularly at a time when the county has placed boulders around the county’s Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre for security purposes.

Bryn Smith, Jimmy Sabatino and Patty Krushnowski were the only council members to support the ordinance. Councilwoman Brittany Stephenson, the remaining Democratic council member, was absent Tuesday.

Thornton suggested the council draft a resolution or proclamation condemning violence against election workers.

Budget

Crocamo said the proposed budget is “lean” and implemented efficiencies while preserving services.

She thanked administrators involved in the budget planning.

“The proposed balanced budget with no tax increase represents hard work from the budget team as well as staff from all divisions working closely together to develop a sustainable budget.”

Some highlights from Crocamo:

The proposed budget includes revenue of $167.3 million — an increase of $1.77 million, or 1.07%.

Property tax revenue decreased by $2.5 million due to tax base reductions driven in part by the lower assessment for the Wyoming Valley Mall property in Wilkes-Barre Township, Crocamo said.

The proposed budget relies on one-time revenue streams to offset the revenue loss: $3 million in American Rescue Plan interest and $1 million carried over from the reserve.

Expenditures include $26.3 million to pay off past debt and a $3 million increase for health insurance due to the uncertainty of renewal rates and actual claims. The county is self-insured.

Salary increases were offset by other reductions in operating expenses. The budget includes a 2.5% compensation increase for non-union workers totaling $377,855.

Council will be free to make changes before the Dec. 15 budget adoption deadline. Budget adoption is scheduled for the Dec. 10 meeting.