Luzerne County is heading toward an
entire new form of government. As such, the current
management system will be completely revamped and
responsibilities will shift from elected officials to newly
created management positions.
The biggest change will be the County Manager replacing the
three County Commissioner's. This is a more drastic change
than the average voter realizes. For example, the new County
Manager will have complete authority with regard to hiring
and firing and will do so without public oversight; no
approval of the County Council will be necessary and no
public vote will be held. That means that the County Council
will be mandated to have strong hiring policies in place.
The County Manager will be required to operate within the
standards and regulations created by the County Council.
In addition to hiring, the County Manager will have the
authority to spend up to $25,000 without the need of public
bids. The Manager will be required to seek quotes but sealed
public bids will only be required for purchases in excess of
$25,000 or for multiple purchases which have a calendar year
cumulative total in excess of $25,000.
The District Attorney and County Controller will remain
elected positions but will be limited to two terms in
office. The duties of the remaining Row Officers will be
handled by department managers who will be supervised by and
will answer to the County Manager.
These major changes will require this first elected County
Council to create and implement the rules, regulations and
policies that will guide and govern the County Manager and
department managers. Therefore, the attention to detail will
be a massive chore and voters will need to look beyond the
normal qualifications of elected officials and seek the most
qualified County Council candidates who possess the
experience and proven management skills to form and shape
our new form of county government. The voters will have to
look past the clever sound bites and clever advertising to
seek out the truly best candidates for County Council. The
old cliches such as "watchdog", "voice of the people",
"people's candidate", etc are the terms used by candidates
when there is a lack of ability and real hands on experience
and this is something voters must be leery of. Now more than
ever, real management experience is the foremost quality any
candidate should bring to the County Council and it is up to
the voters to seek out this important quality in Council
candidates. |
