County cuts 10 positions to save estimated $380K in 2010

SUNBURY - On a split vote Tuesday afternoon, members of the Northumberland County Salary Board eliminated 10 positions that will save the county approximately $380,000 in 2010.

Although the positions, four of which are in row offices, will be eliminated, some of the individuals currently in those posts may be moved to other capacities in their respective offices. The elimination of the 10 positions will go into effect Dec. 31.

It had been rumored for a couple of weeks that the second deputy positions in each of the county row offices were going to be eliminated, but some row offices didn't experience any cuts Tuesday.

The following is a list of eliminated positions, the personnel holding those posts and their respective salaries:

Field auditor in the controller's office, John Burns, $27,779; second deputy in the prothonotary's office, Geraldine Yagle, $32,451; data clerk in the protonotary's office, Janell Barwick, $10.41 per hour; first deputy in the sheriff's office, Joe Jones, $27,233; financial officer II in the tax claims bureau, Kathleen Emery, $19,321; courthouse maintenance custodial worker, Ken Yoder, $9.91 per hour; central purchasing storekeeper II, Steve Derck, $13.93 per hour; central purchasing account clerk II, Sandra Paczkoskie, $11.17 per hour; planning commission program coordinator, Jane Gaugler, $16,677, and Area Agency on Aging food service worker, Barbara Chaundy, $10.27 per hour.

The field auditor, second deputy prothonotary, first deputy sheriff, financial officer II and planning commission program coordinator are non-union positions, while the other five are union positions.

Votes

Voting to eliminate the two positions in the prothonotary's office were county Commissioners Frank Sawicki, Vinny Clausi and Kurt Masser. Casting negative votes were Charles "Chuck" Erdman, county controller, and Kathleen Wolfe Strausser, prothonotary and clerk of courts.

Approving the elimination of the field auditor post were the three commissioners and Erdman.

Voting to eliminate the first deputy sheriff post were the three commissioners, while Erdman and Chief Deputy Sheriff Randy Coe opposed the action. Coe voted in place of Sheriff Chad Reiner, who was unable to attend the meeting due to a family commitment.

The three commissioners and Erdman all voted in favor of eliminating the other six positions.

A motion to eliminate the second deputy position in the treasurer's office, which is held by Sandy Bradley at a salary of $31,660, failed on a 2-3 vote. Treasurer Ronald Chamberlain, Erdman and Masser opposed the motion, while Clausi and Sawicki voted in favor of it.

'I need people'

The board didn't take any action to eliminate the second deputy position in the office of Mary Zimmerman, register and recorder, or eliminate two administrative court secretaries, a court supervisor and two juvenile probation officers.

Clausi said the commissioners decided not to make cuts in those departments because they are currently within their budgets for 2009.

Chamberlain, in defending his office, said, "I can't lose another person. I need people to run my office."

Wolfe Strausser and her office's solicitor, Roger Wiest II, also urged the salary board not to make any more cuts in the prothonotary's office. Wolfe Strausser said she would like to promote the current second deputy to first deputy to fill a vacancy created by the July firing of Annette Gurba, who is being investigated by state police for alleged wrongdoing.

Gurba, who was cleared in a criminal investigation by state police earlier this year, was fired July 14 in connection with a new probe.

No details of the current investigation, including reports of missing money, have been confirmed.

'About dollars and cents'

Wiest argued that cutting staff in the prothonotary and clerk of courts office would have a great adverse effect on the entire court system. He said cutting personnel wouldn't be practical or feasible. Wolfe Strausser and Wiest both noted the heavy workload in the prothonotary and clerk of courts office.

Coe noted the sheriff's office is already shorthanded in terms of deputies and removing another position would adversely affect operations.

All three commissioners agreed to allow department heads to operate their offices as they see fit, as long as they stay within their respective budgets.

"This is about dollars and cents and being able to balance the budget," Masser said. "These are tough decisions because we are dealing with real people, real needs and real lives. But I think it's important to create transparency for this board and future boards by eliminating these positions at a public meeting. If these positions are ever reinstated, they must be done at a public meeting."

Clausi, who warned that more cuts are going to be made in the future, said the commissioners had no choice but to eliminate certain positions in an attempt to alleviate its 2009 budget deficit, estimated at more than $1 million.

Sawicki said he believed all county row offices should be treated similar when it comes to cuts.

According to budget director Jeff McClintock, the elimination of the 10 positions will save the county $379,430 in salaries plus benefits in 2010.

During the commissioners meeting that followed the salary board session, the board unanimously passed a motion requiring every department to submit a detailed 2010 budget outlining all reductions by Dec. 28. If a reduced budget is not submitted, the commissioners will make all necessary recommendations to the salary board Jan. 5, 2010.

Sign up for Text Alerts

Sign up for e-mail newsletters