Local Government TV

Friday, January 19, 2018

NorCo Council Confirms McClure's Cabinet



I missed last night's Northampton County Council meeting because I was watching Allentown Central Catholic Boys Varsity Basketball lose its second game in a row to Northampton's Konkrete Kids. I was going to jump off the Northampton Coplay bridge when it was all over, but it's closed. So I went home and watched the video of the Council meeting. Though unhappy about the game, I am pleased to tell you that Lamont McClure's cabinet was confirmed last night with almost no muss or fuss.

Almost.

Charles Dertinger's nomination as Administrator was originally sent in at a salary of $93,626. McClure had intended to seek a higher salary, and corrected his error before the vote. But John Cusick, who supported Dertinger, was unwilling to support him at a higher salary. He said Dertinger should receive the same salary that was given to Cathy Allen, the former Administrator under John Brown. So he voted No.

That was the sole No vote from Council for any of these eight nominations.

But the votes were 8-0, not unanimous, because Bob Werner was under the weather and stayed home.

After the meeting, McClure issued a news release saying, “Tonight’s vote was historic for Northampton Count as, for the first time, our top two attorneys will be women. Five of our eight nominees confirmed tonight by Council are women, another first in Northampton County history. We believe, during home rule, this is the quickest formation of a Cabinet for a new administration and we’d like to thank Council for its overwhelming support of these nominees.”

McClure also provided a brief description of each cabinet official.

Department of Administration – Charles M. Dertinger. - Has a long record of community service, serving as a Northampton County Councilman at Large from 2006-2010. His committee appointments included Open Space, Intergovernmental Affairs, and Economic Development. Charles has been a liaison to 911 and a delegate to the Lehigh Valley Labor Council AFL CIO since 2000.

Fiscal Affairs – Stephen J. Barron, Jr., JC, CFE. - Has served as Controller of Northampton County since his first election to that position in 2007, providing fiscal oversight into the county’s $360 million budget. With his team of auditors, Steve estimates that he’s saved the county more than $12 million over the last ten years.

Solicitor – Melissa Pammer Rudas. - A graduate of Dickinson School of Law, Melissa has headed her own law office since 1999. She’s a member of the Pennsylvania Bar, and is admitted to practice at the Federal Court (Middle District of Pennsylvania) and the United States Supreme Court. Her public service includes serving on the Bethlehem Zoning Hearing board and the City of Bethlehem’s 275th Anniversary
Committee.

Human Resources – Elizabeth "Liz" Kelly. - An attorney, Kelly is a Senior Associate at King, Spry, Herman, Freund and Paul in Bethlehem, PA. She has served as a Director of Human Resources for the Allentown School District in the past and has experience in managing programs for healthcare, benefits, and employee education. Elizabeth has a wide background in labor, employment, unemployment, civil service, and federal laws.

Public Defender – Nuria DiLuzio. In private practice since 2001, focusing on Criminal Defense and Family Law. She’s a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the New Jersey Bar Association and is admitted to practice at the U.S. Federal Court (Middle District of Pennsylvania). She has served as both a full-time and part-time public defender.

Public Works – Michael Emili. - A civil engineer with Bethlehem City, Michael Emili has managed multiple public works projects, including bridge replacements. Michael has experience with watersheds, sewage pumping stations, and has certifications from OSHA, EIT and the American Concrete Institute.

Human Services – Sue Wandalowski, M.S. Ed. - Has worked at Kidspeace since 2000, and currently serves as their Permanency Program Manager. She has years of experience in foster care and adoption, overseeing caseworkers and managing offices devoted to social work.

Community and Economic Development – Tina Smith. - Founder and current president of the Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen as well as a board member of the Nazareth Center for the Arts and the Nazareth Economic Development Commission. Tina is the current president of the Nazareth Bath Regional Chamber of Commerce and has years of experience in organizing events and festivals, both large and small.

16 comments:

  1. Word on the street is your buddy Lyn Erickson was at the meeting and handed out a new plan to council she was seen running up to the Dias after the meeting to corner council people.

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  2. Sounds like an exciting lineup. Good luck!

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  3. Mr Werner stayed home because he knows Melissa Rudas has a conflict of interest and is actively suing the county. I wonder why that didn’t come out during all of this? Because Bernie has a hard on for both her and McClure and “conveniently” only reports what he wants. I bet he will delete this comment as he does not like to report facts just his “truths” and surely this has to be a conflict of interest for Ms Rudas and Mr McClure but no one seems to care about a current Solicitor suing the county she is appointed to represent. Good job Council for doing your homework!

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  4. OH Boy BPD Chief Wife running the Show in the Public Defenders Office...

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  5. Emili is completely unqualified for the position. EIT stands for "Engineer in Training". He is unlicensed and is only a couple years out of college. If Brown had appointed him, Bernie would be all over him.

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  6. Hey Bernie! Today is National Popcorn Day.

    Happy Feast Day Ms. Trapp!!!

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  7. As a taxpayer - I wish the Cabinet and Administration well and success. And as a former employee knowing first hand, 99% of all County workers are good people who do a very good job everyday; please provide a fair wage, better health care, and then training allowing them to be the professionals they truly are!!!

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  8. "Emili is completely unqualified for the position. EIT stands for "Engineer in Training". He is unlicensed and is only a couple years out of college. If Brown had appointed him, Bernie would be all over him."

    Um, Stan Rugis was unlicensed, and I was not "all over" him. The HRC contains no requirement that the Director of Public Works be a professional engineer. Emili has several years of experience in Bethlehem, dealing mainly with bridges. I think he faces a difficult job, but have confidence in his ability.

    " Melissa Rudas has a conflict of interest and is actively suing the county. I wonder why that didn’t come out during all of this? Because Bernie has a hard on for both her and McClure and “conveniently” only reports what he wants. I bet he will delete this comment as he does not like to report facts just his “truths” and surely this has to be a conflict of interest for Ms Rudas and Mr McClure but no one seems to care about a current Solicitor suing the county she is appointed to represent. Good job Council for doing your homework!"

    If Melissa is involved in litigation against the county, and I don't know if this is even true, she will have to withdraw from the litigation and allow her Deputy Solicitor,Mike Corriere, to make all calls concerning the matter. It might be necessary to ask outside Counsel to handle the matter. But I do not know whether this is true.

    The reason Council does not act on nominations immediately is so that candidates can be vetted. That means that you had ample opportunity to make your objections to Rudas or Emili known to Council prior to the vote. You could have posted a comment here and I would have checked. But you chose to wait until after the conformation to object. That pretty much tells me you are not motivated by any desire for good government, but are a partisan hack.



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  9. Bernie- Is that true? Melissa Rudas is suing the county? ?

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  10. I seriously doubt it. Anonymity enables some people to lie.

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  11. What Happened to Dan Keen?

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  12. I just deleted another comment that just attacks me.Ovrr the years, I have taken down a few people who are quite full of themselves, and all that's left is to come on here anonymously and spew venom.

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    1. Again, your lies are the only ones that matter. Keep
      taking comments down. People will keep posting them. That’s why you have a blog. No truth is necessary. You could never be a real reporter. Why anyone would belive a disbarred drunk who wouldn’t kno the truth if it slapped him in the face is beyond me. Your audience is narrow and relegated to idiots.

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  13. See what I mean? Go away, Tricia. I'm sure there's some pig somewhere.

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  14. https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/nuria-diluzio-bethlehem-pa-rip-off-lawyer/bethlehem-pennsylvania-18018/nuria-diluzio-rip-off-lawyer-hire-her-for-a-criminal-case-and-you-will-be-sure-to-get-pr-1121288

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  15. The poster does not say that a different result was obtained with another lawyer, or that the courts found DiLuzio ineffective. What a shock that a criminal would complain.

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