Wolovich says he will vote to confirm Pecora
Luzerne County Councilman Gregory S. Wolovich Jr. said Wednesday he will support county Manager Romilda Crocamo’s request to confirm Jennifer Pecora as operational services division head at $110,000 annually.
Council was tied 5-5 on Pecora’s confirmation Tuesday because Wolovich had a mandatory work meeting at that time and was unable to attend. Wolovich, who took office in January 2022, has never missed any other council meetings, minutes show.
Wolovich said he had been prepared to confirm Pecora’s nomination and has not changed his stance.
“She’s moving the county forward, and I thought that was what everybody wanted,” Wolovich said.
Five council members who took office in January voted against the confirmation: Harry Haas, Jimmy Sabatino, Joanna Bryn Smith, Brittany Stephenson and Patty Krushnowski.
Haas pointed out the operational division head’s salary had been budgeted at $98,800 for 2024 and argued it “sets a bad precedent” to deviate from the budget and change the compensation midstream.
In reply, Crocamo had said other funds are available within that division to cover the increase to $110,000 without exceeding council’s overall budget allocation.
Wolovich said Pecora has exhibited strong communication and management skills, and he is confident in Crocamo’s prediction that Pecora will identify savings that justify the compensation.
On the issue of budgeting, Wolovich said nobody can claim he fails to keep close tabs on fiscal matters because he spent many hours exhaustively scrutinizing every budget line and proposing reductions for both the 2023 and 2024 budgets.
Crocamo said Wednesday she will be reintroducing her confirmation request at council’s next meeting.
Under the county’s home rule charter, council must confirm nominees for the eight division head positions for those hirings to take effect.
Five council members had voted in support of the confirmation Tuesday: Vice Chairman Brian Thornton, Chairman John Lombardo, Chris Perry, Kevin Lescavage and LeeAnn McDermott.
If confirmed, Pecora would be the fifth operational services division head since the January 2012 implementation of home rule.
The first two operational division heads — Christopher Belleman and Tanis Manseau — were licensed engineers.
Past manager C. David Pedri removed the engineering requirement in 2016 in an attempt to widen the applicant pool, saying he did not believe an engineer license was necessary for the management post because the division head was primarily responsible for the oversight of facilities and employees.
The next two division heads — Edmund O’Neill and Greg Kurtz — were not engineers.
O’Neill had an engineering management degree and master’s degree in business administration and had worked as Kingston Township manager and held management positions at Kuharchik Construction Inc. in Exeter, according to prior published reports.
Kurtz has a degree in mechanical engineering technology and more than 30 years of experience in facility/construction management and project administration, past reports said.
Pecora has been overseeing the county’s administrative services division since August 2022. She stepped away from that position to serve as interim operational services head after Greg Kurtz resigned in December.
She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration marketing and management and worked more than six years for Butler Township, including four years as township manager, past reports said.
As Butler Township manager, Pecora’s duties included oversight of township roadways and budgets, work on capital projects, service as the township’s emergency management coordinator and involvement in permitting, land development, subdivisions and building codes, according to a prior county release.
The operational services division includes engineering, roads/bridges, planning/zoning, 911/emergency management, building/grounds, the boiler plant and solid waste management.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.