Pocono News Section

68 Apply for Vacant Commissioner's Seat

68 Apply for Vacant Commissioner's Seat - Monday, December 21, 2009 at 5:45PM EST

Reported by: Andy Mehalshick
Monday, Dec 21, 2009 @ 05:45pm EST
WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY -- The deadline to apply for the Luzerne County Commissioner seat left open by Greg Skrepenak has passed. Skrepenak resigned last week and is facing federal charges. Now, his potential replacements are lining up by the dozen.

A total of 68 people applied for the position. That person would take the seat vacated by Srepenak who resigned last Thursday. And quite frankly, many people are wondering, why would anyone want to take the job in the middle of a budget crisis and a corruption scandal?

The person will fill the seat next to commissioners Steve Urban and Maryanne Petrilla. That person will face an immediate crisis - a massive budget deficit and an atmosphere of mistrust.

Gary Reese, former Mayor of Kingston, was one of the first to apply. “I did that when I was mayor of Kingston. Pension funds were a couple of million in debt, plus the town was $3.4 million in debt. My wife said, see if you can do something to straighten this out."

Reese says he has no agenda and understands taxpayers fear of a big tax hike. "Once you get in there and you see the operation then you can turn around and make decisions," added Reese.

Nick Volpetti of Kingston also threw his hat into the ring. He is a retired state welfare manager. "I feel I still have the mental capacity, I still have the physical strength, that I want to do something to help this county."

Volpetti insists he also fears a tax hike, but must do what has to be done. "Hopefully some sort of compromise can be reached, whether that means a hiring freeze or cuts. We didn't get into this mess overnight and we can’t get out of it overnight."

The county judges will interview the applicants on Wednesday and hope to appoint someone by the end of that day.

A finalized county budget is the urgent issue. It has to be passed by December 31st.