Schuylkill Commissioner, President Judge Have Tense Exchange Over Potential Hire of Former Solicitor

Schuylkill County’s Commissioners Chairman and President Judge had a rather tense exchange Wednesday morning over the potential hiring of a former Solicitor for a Law Clerk position.

The confrontation happened during the Commissioners Work Session meeting at the Courthouse. It occurred because Court Administration has put in to hire Glenn Roth, former County Solicitor, for a job as a Law Clerk for a Judge on the Court of Common Pleas bench.

Court Administration is requesting to hire Roth at a salary of $63,241 and to begin on Dec. 15.

Schuylkill County Court Administrator Mark Barket’s question during the Public Comment portion of the Commissioners Work Session is what started the back-and-forth between Commissioners Chair Larry Padora and President Judge Jacqueline Russell.

Barket said he “wanted to inquire about PARs” on the meeting agenda. PARs are a Personnel Action Report that accompanies every Commissioners meeting agenda. They generally list personnel actions that are being considered or need votes at that meeting.

The Court Administrator wondered if an executive session – a meeting behind closed doors, common when discussing personnel issues – would be held next week, not this week.

Padora responded that he wasn’t sure if an executive session would be held at all with regard to Roth’s hiring.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be a need for an executive session,” Padora told Barket. “If there is a need, it’ll be next week.”

Padora added that the County Solicitor’s office “advised” him on that response.

That response from Padora did not sit well with Russell, who sat in the back row of the gallery of the Commissioners Board Room on Wednesday, next to Judge James Goodman.

“It would have been polite to let the court know rather than say come down here for an executive session today. We are wasting our time to be here,” Russell said to Padora.

The Commissioner responded, “Yes, ma’am.”

However, Russell continued by saying, “It would have been polite for the Commissioners to let us know, then we wouldn’t have come.”

Padora explained further regarding the lack of an executive session with regard to Roth’s hiring, “OK, Judge Russell, this morning, Mark was supposed to talk to me earlier this morning and he didn’t get in contact with me.

“I had a conversation with him the other day and he said we would continue this conversation this morning,” Padora said. “This was just decided just about 10 minutes ago, 15 minutes ago, in the Solicitor’s chamber.”

Russell was not pleased with Padora’s response and reiterated how she felt somewhat disrespected by having to attend the Commissioners meeting for an executive session that sounded like it maybe was supposed to have happened but didn’t at the last minute.

“I do represent the court. I represent the judicial branch,” she said.

Padora replied, “Yes, and you’re the person that’s hiring Glenn Roth.”

He and Russell sparred a little longer.

“It would be polite for the Commissioners to recognize my position and the judicial branch,” she said.

And that brought out another response from Padora, who said, “Yes, ma’am. Just like it would be polite if you would recognize the Commissioners, our branch.”

“I do,” Russell said, then turning to Commissioners Gary Hess and Boots Hetherington and asking them individually if she recognizes their office as she expected Padora to recognize hers.

Hess and Hetherington each said yes in response.

Salary Board Expected to Vote on Roth’s Salary Next Week

So, next week, when Commissioners meet for their regular voting meeting, it’s likely that Roth’s salary will be voted on during a Salary Board meeting that immediately follows the Commissioners meeting.

Court Administration does hold the right to hire whomever it chooses for open positions, often referred to as 1620 rights. That refers to Section 1620 of the Pennsylvania County Code, which gives row officers the ability to make personnel decisions independently of the County government.

Voting to hire Roth is not an action the Commissioners will take because of that right of row officers.

However, those hirings must still pass the County Salary Board, which includes all three Commissioners, the County Controller, and the department head that’s making the hire.

In this case, the Salary Board would include Padora, Hess, Hetherington, Controller Sharyn Yackenchick, and Russell.

Roth’s hiring and requested salary of $63,241 was only on the Salary Board’s Personnel Action Report (PAR) as an Informational item, with no action to be taken at Wednesday’s meeting.

Informational items are generally included as part of a Commissioners Work Session agenda and then voted on at the next public meeting, which would be Dec. 10.

If the Salary Board votes to approve Roth’s salary, then he’ll begin his job as a Law Clerk. Roth resigned as County Solicitor in 2023. He was named as a Defendant in the Jane Doe lawsuit against former Schuylkill County Commissioner George Halcovage.

Roth had been employed as Assistant Counsel with PennDOT up until last month, according to his LinkedIn profile.

If the Salary Board does not approve Roth’s salary next week, County Solicitor David Rice tells The Canary that Court Administration could come back to the board and request another salary. It would be up to the department making the request what next step they’d want to take. However, he called any speculation to that regard “anticipatory.”

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