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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Arnie Matos Appointed Acting Director of Corrections

NorCo Exec John Stoffa has appointed Arnie Matos as Acting Director of Corrections, effective Friday, July 6, 2012. He will take over for Robert Meyers, who is retiring.

Presently, Arnie Matos serves as Volunteer Services Coordinator, Pay Grade CS-23, Step 20 - $58,920 annual & $28.3269/ hour. Since he will be placed in an “Acting Director of Corrections” status and doing 100% of the duties, he would be placed on the Career Exempt pay scale at Pay Grade CE-VI, step 2-B (which is the first step) $79,047 annual and $38.0033/hour.

Stoffa states his appointment is "in keeping with the long established practice of this administration to promote eligible candidates from within."

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's nice that you know, before anyone in the Department of Corrections did.

Anonymous said...

Nice to see a man who has the motto "Fake it till you make it" finally "make" it.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"It's nice that you know, before anyone in the Department of Corrections did."

I found out when word was sent to Council and the press.

Anonymous said...

Stoffa states his appointment is "in keeping with the long established practice of this administration to promote eligible candidates from within."

Government will never get better until the incestuousness ends. Would it have hurt to looks outside? And politicians wonder why they're more hated than hemmorhoids.

Anonymous said...

HaHa!! This appointment is pure Stoffa.

Anonymous said...

He's such a disconnected career insider for whom everything has been provided, this is standard operating procedure. John - I never knew world economics could affect NorCo - Stoffa - has taken taxpayers for everything he could grab in a career that would have ended in two days in the private sector due to utter incompetence. Career insiders are essentially thieves. Enjoy your pensions, John.

Mark Baker said...

so what does a volunteer corrdinator have to do with running a prison?

sounds like bunga bunga to me and obviously everyone else on this laugh a minute blog

Anonymous said...

The long standing Stoffa tradition to appoint career bureaucrats even more incompetent than he is.

Bernie O'Hare said...

The real objection to Matos' appointment is that it is made by Stoffa. had he gone outside and hired someone, he'd be getting slammed for not hiring from within.

Anonymous said...

You sure can collect them Bernie...more Gracedale marauders with foul mouths , evil thoughts and sarcasm. Great choice for taking over by the way. Will continue the cultural change in the jail that Stoffa and the administration at the jail have accomplised.

Anonymous said...

There is no inherent problem with making someone who is knowledgeable about county operations the person in charge.

They will know the lay of the land and what is going on. The trick is to find the right kind of person who isn't just the average bureaucrat who wants yo keep doing what they did yesterday because it feels comfortable.

An outsider may get snowed for years or worse yet think they can change the world over night.

Bernie O'Hare said...

They are a nasty bunch. Always afraid to identify themselves, i doubt they know a thing about Matos.

c said...

Strong companies are generally built from within, as discussed by award winning author Steven Covey.

Anonymous said...

All these comments from people that don't know how the hiring at the county works, do not understand, if anyone from the inside is qualified, must take from inside. They are on probation for 6 months & that will tell whether they can do the job.
Learn your facts people!!

Anonymous said...

If the other Director is leaving, why the need to make it "acting?"

Are they trying to keep his career service position open for him to slip back into?

I am fairly certain that "acting" positions can only be "acting" positions for 6 months. Then it either needs to become permanent or someone new.

Dave said...

Arnie is more than qualified to hold the new Dir. job. I have known him for nearly three years as vol. coord. and he has risen thru the ranks as he was a CO before that. They chose wisely. He will be and is a credit to the county and does his job well. A true professional and he is humble. What more do you people want? As a prison volunteer and Pa. Prison Society offical visitor and reg. attendee at Advisory Board meetings..I give him my complete endorsement.

Bernie O'Hare said...

12:21, Stoffa explained that in the ET account. Matos will be Acting Director to see how he fills the role. If he does well, Stoffa will submit his name to Council for approval.

Anonymous said...

He will get a letter from Stoffa saying he can go back to his protecteed position if he wants to. That way if a new guy looks like he doesn't want him, he will slip back into protetced status.

The county has been doing that for decades.

Anonymous said...

Matos is a good man. No one can, nor should they argue that point with any credibility. That being said, What do you need with a Director of Corrections? Every other County has a Warden that runs the County. Fancy Title to justify a position. Bernie, you know the position was created during a previous administration to accomodate a member of council who was a thorn in the County Executives backside. The Council person was appointed to the DOC Position and did a herendous job. The position isn't needed just like an assistant to the Director of Administration isn't needed. What we need is an Executive with oversized Cahoonas that will put a stop to all this overstaffing. Stoffa is a nice man. He is a good man. Problem is...."NO Cahoonas".

Anonymous said...

To 4:20pm the job was not created by the previous administration it was created by the voters of Northampton county when it was put on the ballot. The question on the ballot was should the county disband the prison board and form a department of corrections which will consist of a director,warden and associate warden.I believe you need to check your facts before posting comments, and yes Matos will do a good job.

Anonymous said...

"The question on the ballot was should the county disband the prison board and form a department of corrections which will consist of a director,warden and associate warden.I believe you need to check your facts before posting comments, and yes Matos will do a good job."

I remember it happening that way also. So the question then becomes why is there still a prison board if the vote was to get rid of it?

John said...

Bernie - I've known Arnie for his entire career at NCP, and I feel that he is an excellent choice for the position. That being said, my issue is with the 34.5% salary increase that goes along with his appointment. The county's policy, as I understand it, is that you would receive a pay increase to the step in the scale of the new pay grade equal to no less than a 4.5% increase over your current level of pay.
Even granting Mr. Stoffa some license to reward a very good employee, the increase that is proposed seems quite excessive, given that some rank-and-file employees (both union and non-union) are receiving little or no increases this year and next. And, there's that contentious swaption buyout to deal with, as well.

John said...

Bernie - John here again. You can say many things about me, but you can't say that I don't admit when I'm wrong. I went back and re-read the entire lead-in you gave in regard to Arnie. Since he's going in at the first step - although even you have to admit calling the first step 2B is somewhat confusing - then the pay is fully in line with policy. I leave my keyboard sufficiently humbled.

Bernie O'Hare said...

John,Both of your comments are refreshingly honest and avoid the personal attacks that are so common in the anonymous trolls.

John said...

In regard to the "Prison Board" - prior to the aforementioned referendum, the Prison Board actually ran the policy; i.e. establishing policy, etc. The HRC, when adopted, merely kept the staus quo intact. The referendum, however, put the operation of the prison directly under the direction of the County Executive and the administrative branch of county government. The Prison Board was not eliminated so much as it was relegated to something more of an advisory status. It also serves as a forum in which inmates and their families may address certain grievances that they might have.

John said...

Sorry - attempted to multi-task. Meant to say "..actually ran the prison;"

Bernie O'Hare said...

John, Thanks for the explanation re the Prison Advisory Board.