Pocono News Section

Luzerne County Budget Deal Official

Luzerne County Budget Deal Official - Friday, February 6, 2009 at 5:30PM EST

Reported by: Andy Mehalshick
Friday, Feb 6, 2009 @ 05:30pm EST
WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY- The budget controversy in Luzerne County is over. That's good news for a courthouse now in the middle of a federal corruption probe.

This budget controversy was started by former President Judge Mark Ciavarella, who insisted that the county commissioners had no authority over the court system. Ciavarella is now off the bench, charged in that federal investigation, and the budget is back on track.

There is laughter and a sense of relief as new President Judge Chester Muroski and County Commissioner Chairperson Mary Ann Petrilla sign an agreement ending the lawsuit field by former President Judge Mark Ciavarella. It means both sides will now work together on a budget that is very tight.

“One of the things that has transpired with the troubling information that was revealed over the last week, there's a sense of relief in the courthouse with staff. They realize how we are all on same team, we have one goal for the taxpayer and that’s to be accountable to the people," said Petrilla.

More layoffs were going to be made anyway, but until this agreement they would have been in non court-related offices. Those layoffs will now hit the court system.

Judge Muroski said, "We are going to start an immediate review of all departments under the jurisdiction of the court. We are going to determine the needs of staff, overlapping levels of supervision, and review the numbers that we agreed upon. It’s simple as that."

And the target number for the court system is $1.9 million in cuts. The exact number of layoffs has yet to be determined.

And of course the federal investigation is ongoing. You can get the latest on the probe from this link to the .