Luzerne County salaries

The Luzerne County Council is kicking around the idea of giving raises to some non union employees that haven't had one in 5 years. The proposal is to give them $1000 across the board although some council members want to base the raises on merit. The problem with that idea is that the county doesn't have an employee appraisal system (surprise) and it may take 2 years to fully implement one. Raising salaries in this fiscal climate will go over like lead balloon but people have to live. Most county employees do a good job and deserve a cost of living increase.


The salary of the Controller is also on the table. It has been $35K for as long as I can remember and is well below what the compensation should be for such an important position.  Present Controller Walter Griffith says he is OK with the salary.

I'm reminded what Wil Toole said in the 2009 election: I'm going to tell everybody here a dirty little secret if you really want to know the inside of politics in Luzerne County. The salary of elected officials have been kept low to keep good people out of government. 

That's not a knock on Walter as he has done a good job with limited resources and most of the row offices have been eliminated by the charter. The new Division heads are to be paid between $75,000 and $90,000 per year.