WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — After decades of service in the Army and then working for cities in places like Colorado, Delaware, and Alaska, Randy Robertson has landed in Wilkes-Barre to take on the role of Luzerne County manager.
"With this kind of work – city management – I've moved as much, if not more, than I did in 30 years with the Army, so I think I've got about close to 40 moves in my adult career," Robertson said
For the sake of transparency and consistency, Robertson says he'll host members of the media in his office on a biweekly basis.
"Every two weeks, there's a council meeting," Robertson said.
So why not have the same schedule to answer questions?
"We were going to try we have this for you all," he added.
The new Luzerne County Manager tells Newswatch 16 that one of his top priorities is to help with staff shortages and agencies in the county like Children and Youth and the Agency on Aging. His plan to help fix that is to raise starting salaries by $4,500 with state funding.
"Our Child and Youth Services were less than 50 percent staffing, somewhere around there, and that's the death spiral because that 50 percent is still holding us up is getting discouraged," he explained.
While Robertson admits working for the county will not make anyone rich, he's hoping to make it a premier employer in the area for the impact.
"That you can make a difference in 318,000 lives. So I think that's the most important because in some areas, well, we're having some real struggles," Robertson said.
If you would like to learn more about job openings with Luzerne County, you can visit the employment section on the county's website by clicking here.
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