After eight years of working for Schuylkill County, Assistant County Administrator Paul Straka will resign as he accepted the position of regional director of fiscal services at Service Access and Management Inc.
"My leaving is bittersweet," Straka said Wednesday. "I leave behind a wonderful group of co-workers and an outstanding team of department and agency managers and elected officials. Together, we have streamlined many of the day-to-day functions while producing significant savings for the county. My ultimate goal in this position was to reform where I could, cut spending where it was needed and invest where it mattered, while providing greater opportunities and better services for the employees and residents of Schuylkill County. It has been an honor and privilege to serve the residents of our county in this capacity."
The resignation was announced during the commissioners' public meeting Wednesday and will go into effect Jan. 25. Straka will continue in the position as needed at a per diem rate of $31.67. His salary as an assistant county administrator was $57,635.
"He has done an excellent job for the county," County Administrator Mark Scarbinksy said Wednesday. "He has been a real asset to this office and his new employer will definitely benefit. He will be a great asset to the organization. We wish him luck as he moves forward in his professional life."
Straka, Shenandoah, has been with the county for the past eight years. He was the fiscal manager at Rest Haven nursing home for four years before being appointed to assistant county administrator in 2008 and formed a "financial team" with Scarbinsky and County Financial Analyst Paul Buber that was put together by the county commissioners to assist the office with budgets.
"Paul was certainly a valued employee," commissioners Chairman Frank J. Staudenmeier said Wednesday. "It has been a privilege and a pleasure working with Paul the last four years in the commissioners' office. Our loss is someone else's gain. SAM will be getting a real good employee in Paul."
SAM is a mental health and developmental service provider and has provided a variety of case management services for the county since 2004.
In other news, the county retirement fund continues to improve. According to the monthly retirement board report from County Controller Christy Joy, the fund was $106,709,997 on Dec. 31. As of Wednesday, the fund increased to $108,536,748.99.
Jesselyn Heaps, Schuylkill Haven, was appointed to a temporary per diem investigator in the Public Defender's Office starting Monday with an hourly rate of $17.96. She will serve in the position until April 21.
The board also reappointed the following members to the Mental Health/Developmental Services Advisory Board from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2015; Frank Menne, Pottsville; Mary Ann Bausch, Pottsville; Thomas "Tim" Hale, Schuylkill Haven; and Irene Burke, Saint Clair.
After a brief executive session, the county retirement board agreed to retroactively record the retirement of Michael Gera, Frackville, a former prison guard, to Jan. 19, 2011. Joy said this was the date Gera was eligible for retirement but he didn't complete the necessary paperwork until November 2012.
Earlier this month, Gera settled a federal lawsuit with Schuylkill County regarding the American with Disabilities Act. Terms of the agreement were not revealed.
The commissioners also issued a proclamation endorsing the point-in-time homeless count that will be conducted on Jan. 30 by various county human service departments, police forces and community organizations. The program's goal is to provide an accurate account of those without homes on the county, raise awareness about the issue and seek federal funds to help end homelessness.
The next meeting will be a work session at 10 a.m. Jan. 23 in the commissioners' Hoffman Room.