Luzerne County Council postponed its appointment of manager search committee members Thursday and came up with a solution that erases eligibility barriers for five applicants.
Council will advertise for volunteers to serve on the committee a second time, but it is no longer banning citizens employed or compensated by any individual or business serving as a contractor to the county or its boards/authorities/commissions.
The 10 citizens interviewed earlier this week will remain under consideration and do not have to reapply, council stressed.
The now-eliminated ban is not required by the county’s home rule charter for search committee members, county solicitors said. Following past practice, council had voted to include the restriction in the current search committee advertisement without discussion on the potential impact or whether it was mandatory and warranted.
Through a review of applicant interviews and resumes, Councilman Walter Griffith said five applicants would be ineligible due to the restriction:
• Chris Hackett is president of OneSource Staffing Solutions, which provided a temporary worker to the county election office in this year’s primary election and additional workers in 2020 elections.
• Attorney Jeffrey Rockman works for the Slusser Law Firm, which is solicitor for the county Flood Protection Authority that oversees the Wyoming Valley Levee.
• Angelo P. Grasso Jr. and Alec Ryncavage served as poll workers in the May 18 primary. Sherri Homanko also would be barred because her resume indicated she was a judge of elections poll worker in that primary, Griffith said.
The other applicants interviewed without eligibility issues: Michael Reich, Ray Wendolowski, Rick Morelli, Patrick Patte and Brian D. O’Donnell.
Once the number of those excluded became clear Thursday, council unanimously voted to table a decision on the number of committee members to be appointed and run a new advertisement without restrictions.
A new advertisement was the only option to be fair to all, Griffith said. Making exceptions and bending the already-advertised parameters would be an “end run” to obtain desired results, he said.
Griffith said he was contacted by two people who did not apply for the committee due to the stated restriction.
New applicants will have until 4:30 p.m. July 14 to submit their letter of interest and resume. Council members will publicly interview any additional applicants July 20 and hold a special meeting July 22 to pick up where they left off in deciding the number of committee members and voting on nominations.
Applicants must “possess relevant qualifications, knowledge, and/or experience in the search for, recruitment of, and identification of qualified candidates for county manager or related positions,” the charter says.
Restrictions questioned
Several council members singled out Hackett for his experience, saying he should not be disqualified.
“I am sick about it because I think he is our best candidate,” Griffith said before council agreed to re-advertise without the restriction.
A Kingston Township resident, Hackett said during his interview he spent more than 30 years in the business of assessing and recruiting talent and served on search committees for the Wyoming Seminary president, Leadership Wilkes-Barre executive director, and Wilkes-Barre Chamber president.
He has a bachelor’s degree and owns several businesses, including i2M in Mountain Top.
Council Chairman Tim McGinley also said he does not believe citizens who step up and respond to the county’s plea for poll workers at nominal monetary pay should be barred from serving on the search committee.
“I have trouble with that,” McGinley said.
While the restrictions are not charter-mandated for the search committee, Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck noted they were imposed in the last 2015 committee activation to ensure manager applicants are screened by a “clean set of eyes” not affiliated with the county.
Number of applicants
The charter requires at least three search committee members
Council appointed five in 2015 when a committee was last activated.
Council’s latest advertisement said there would be three to five appointed, but some are now proposing seven.
Because the matter is still undecided, council agreed Thursday that no number will be stated in the upcoming re-advertisement.
Councilman Matthew Vough proposed a committee of seven.
Vough said he believes at least seven of the applicants were qualified and would represent the county well demographically.
McClosky Houck pitched a committee of three, saying she believes that is a sufficient number to recruit and screen applicants and forward qualified ones to council to then interview and make a final selection. She went on to argue three would be less “cumbersome” in synchronizing schedules for meetings.
“I don’t want to make it a mini council,” she added.
Echoing McClosky Houck’s position, Councilman Stephen J. Urban said seven members is “way too many” and would make things “convoluted.”
Councilman Harry Haas also complained about the idea of expanding to seven when the initial advertisement said three to five and a majority’s initial hesitation to re-advertise.
McGinley said he supports a larger committee to provide “wider representation.”
But McClosky Houck asserted demographics should not be a concern for a manager screening committee because it’s up to the elected council to make sure the interests of all regions are covered.
Only four council members supported a committee of three: Griffith, Haas, McClosky Houck and Urban.
A vote to have a committee of five also did not receive majority support.
Council never proceeded to a vote on Vough’s proposal of seven because it was tabled.
With all the back and forth, the meeting stretched to two hours.
Council Vice Chairman Chris Perry thanked colleagues for their insight and discussion, saying they often disagree but worked through this convoluted issue to reach a unanimous resolution.