Stanley P. Brozana Jr., 72 – Served 37 Years as Orwigsburg Police Chief
Schuylkill County Commissioners approved temporary raises for numerous Assistant District Attorneys on Wednesday. However, they held off on approving one-time bonus payments for several Adult Probation employees.
Commissioners, Controller Sharyn Yackenchick and District Attorney Mike O’Pake unanimously approved a temporary annual increase of $5,000 to the salaries of five part-time ADAs and two full-time ADAs during a Schuylkill County Salary Board meeting that followed Wednesday’s Work Session meeting.
The raises will go away after the DA’s Office finds another full-time ADA.
Getting raises approved on Wednesday were First Assistant ADA Michael Stine (new salary of $100,307.84), Senior Deputy ADA Jennifer Foose ($84,817.88), and part-timers Andrew Bench ($43,684.45), Karen Byrnes-Noon ($42,556.92), David Noon ($43,684.45), Thomas Pellish ($43,684.45), and Thomas Campion ($32,946.50).
The new rates go into effect on March 24.
O’Pake said his office is down one full-time and one part-time ADA. Recommendations he’s gotten to date for people to fill those roles “have not been good,” he told Commissioners on Wednesday.
“I’ve had a very difficult time filling those two spots,” O’Pake said.
The DA added that the trouble finding ADAs for his office is not a problem unique to Schuylkill County, adding that other counties’ DAs are also having a hard time finding qualified recruits.
O’Pake said students in law school are being recruited but so far, coming up empty.
“It’s not an easy job so we’re not getting a lot of applicants,” he said.
O’Pake added that his request is “revenue neutral” because it’s money that was budgeted for that full-time ADA that hasn’t been found.
He argued the compensation for his current ADAs is warranted because of the additional workload those that are currently employed by the County are taking on in the absence of those full- and part-time lawyers.
“Everybody is picking up more work and putting in more time,” O’Pake said.
Bonuses for Adult Probation Employees Tabled
The Salary Board tabled a motion, however, to approve one-time incentive pay bonuses for three employees in the County’s Adult Probation Office on Wednesday. Bonuses were requested as a side agreement to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between Schuylkill County and the union representing this office.
A total of $12,500 was being sought for Chief Probation Officer CJ Begansky ($7,500), Deputy Chief Probation Officer Jeffrey Polinksy ($4,000) and Adult Probation Aide Daniel Snopek ($1,000).
The pay bonuses, Begansky said when requesting it of Commissioners during yesterday’s Work Session meeting, was to reward employees for their “dedication and years of service” in the Adult Probation department and help retain them. The money is to be paid on each employee’s work anniversary date and would come from supervision fees collected by the department.
Since 2018, Adult Probation has lost 15 employees to higher paying jobs, Begansky said. By keeping loyal employees, he told Commissioners that it’ll improve supervision of those serving probation time and reduce recidivism.
The request to table that motion until next week was made by Schuylkill County Commissioners Chairman Larry Padora and unanimously approved by the Salary Board.
Padora said he’s seeking additional information on the bonus payments and once he’s got that information, it’ll come up for a vote again.
Photo: Schuylkill County District Attorney Mike O’Pake/Canary File Photo
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