Rick Morelli said Thursday he has warned fellow members of Luzerne County’s Manager Search Committee that its private email exchanges may be violating the state Sunshine Act.
Morelli said the committee has been using private email to communicate instead of county-furnished email addresses and that he believes some matters, such as whether to bring any applicants to the area for in-person interviews, should be voted on in public without identifying the individuals.
Committee Chairman Chris Hackett said he has scheduled a public meeting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 26 at the courthouse and issued this statement:
”First and foremost there was no intention to violate the provisions of the Sunshine Act. As a matter of fact I’m not sure there is. But out of an abundance of caution and transparency, at the committee’s next public meeting we will disclose the content of any email exchanges between committee members that relate to our process and discussions.”
He continued: “Our committee is committed to compliance, but we are also trying to balance this with a recruiting process that won’t disclose candidates names as that would having a chilling effect on currently employed individuals from applying.”
Committee Solicitor Christopher Slusser said he has not reviewed the emails but that the issue would be whether any content strays outside matters that are permitted in closed-door executive session.
“That can be cured by having a public discussion if anything said was questionable,” Slusser said.
This rule would apply to all email communication, whether it was through private or government emails, he said.
Slusser added he does not believe any committee members were intentionally attempting to avoid public discussion. This issue has come up increasingly during the coronavirus pandemic due to less face-to-face communication, he said.
“My suggestion is always to err on the side of caution. So much communication is taking place by text or email, and it’s easy for entities to fall into that trap and potentially cross the line when they’re not thinking about it,” Slusser said.
Slusser said he will work with the committee to ensure matters warranting public discussion or votes, if any, proceed accordingly.
“I think Rick’s concerns have been heard and are well-taken, and my advice to the committee is to keep an eye on its communications,” Slusser said.
Committee members must screen applicants and recommend the manager candidates they believes are the most qualified to council for its consideration. Home rule charter drafters chose this approach to make the selection more impartial and less vulnerable to political intervention.
Under its timeline, the council-appointed committee wants to present at least three qualified applicants to council around April 8.
The committee launched launched its advertising campaign Dec. 27 and plans to seek resumes through Jan. 24, with information on the position and region posted at luzernecountymanager.com.
The manager position is open because C. David Pedri had resigned to take a non-county position.
County Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo said Thursday she won’t divulge whether she is applying for the permanent manager position.
“The county Manager Search Committee has decided to keep the process confidential at this stage and, therefore, I will not be commenting on it until the committee decides otherwise,” Crocamo said.
Crocamo temporarily stepped away from her position as chief county solicitor when a council majority appointed her interim manager in July.