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Clock Ticking on Luzerne County Budget Battle

Clock Ticking on Luzerne County Budget Battle - Tuesday, December 9, 2008 at 4:06PM EST

Reported by: Andy Mehalshick
Tuesday, Dec 9, 2008 @ 04:06pm EST
WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY- Budget cuts and layoffs are creating a tense situation in Luzerne County government. The clock is winding down for the Luzerne County Commissioners. They have to finalize the 2009 budget. The 1,800 employees say they are caught in the middle and they just want answers. But many may not like what they are going to hear.

On the surface the Luzerne county courthouse appears to be a calm place. But behind closed doors there are some heavy duty budget talks going on. In some cases even shouting matches are common.

The county has a $130 million dollar budget and no more. Commissioner Chair Mary Ann Petrilla says there is no room for error. "We have $130 million dollars plus a little more that how much money we have to operate. We're asking all the departments to cooperate with us. Some are coming in, whatever I can do I can find more revenues, fees. Others are not so cooperative. It’s well publicized, the resistance from the court," claims Petrilla.

Court offcials won’t say if they may file a lawsuit but say they have just enough people to keep the legal system going. They can’t afford to cut anyone. “All they are gong to do is cost the taxpayer more money because we have 130 million in the budget we have to live with," adds Petrilla.

Employees say the uncertainty is causing a lot of tension and anger.

Paul Schnelly of AFSCME Local 1398 says, "The people that are being affected are the people not making a whole lot of money in this county. They are the same people doing all the work in this county, doing all the work to make this county function."

The county commissioners are meeting with department heads every day. They hope to have a budget finalized by December 17.

 


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