[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},"mediaId",6650670,"mediaKeyId","2503462-743c552468bf0e2c4106b1c9f29d3b06","parentId",2503462,"title","Monroe County commissioners approve proclamations, leases, budget adjustments and grants on March 5","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",2140000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2503462-743c552468bf0e2c4106b1c9f29d3b06&start=2140&end=2140","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2503462-743c552468bf0e2c4106b1c9f29d3b06/thumbnail_2140000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6650670/Monroe-County/Pennsylvania/Monroe-County-commissioners-approve-proclamations-leases-budget-adjustments-and-grants-on-March-5","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6650670-e1d1c6beae73aea827778671589f2673/orig.mp4?Expires=1771157682&Signature=jDOVfAOm3WXyowbk6wHaLL7xZgK51cqJ7maL3MmpZWtZHtrudqQxK6YkX14wrM8mzfg-wqA2yhZqfwDdw6OIol4FGT6JchlSsTdXYkAJSzUbQDmtJVko0tVaN7uEtztvB3J1-fLPxrl7AJIge~bvlrV2Tc~tFkjgkLpd79I6bTKxLW0WlohhOTDKGTznugkWRA2qRj0kLOp14IyTKz34c6tfq0zmJ~144I3Q5Tg8O-qCb5E8P1YLr3dSnTvy7zLvIB~fNED~yz66UFTiCxXWMB2dL-O3Hki9TWV~6Apd3GOx4irgGeXxS4CzD1XmXGjGN6UuIoK~TM9bqjiOC8rgdQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Monroe County, PA","date","2025-03-05T16:48:37.5Z","article","The Monroe County Board of Commissioners on March 5 approved a range of routine and programmatic items, including proclamations, appointments, leases, capital purchases and budget adjustments.

Highlights and outcomes (motions approved)
- Proclamations and certificates: The board approved proclamations recognizing Employee Appreciation Day (March 7) and special recognitions, including a certificate for Shawnee Fire Company's 80th anniversary (motion carried by voice vote).
- Minutes: The board approved the minutes of its February 2025 meeting (approved by voice vote).
- Personnel and staffing: The board approved personnel items on the agenda, including ratification of additional hours in the sheriff's office and related personnel motions listed on the meeting agenda (motion carried by voice vote).
- Lease: The board approved and executed a lease agreement with Barrett Township to use space as a senior center for the period beginning March 1, 2025, through February 28, 2026, at $600 monthly (motion carried by voice vote).
- Appointments: The board appointed Gabrielle Cray to the county workforce development board with a term to expire June 30, 2027, and reappointed Robert Hay to the Monroe County Transportation Authority board (motions carried by voice votes).
- Children and Youth: The board approved an adoption assistance agreement for an individual identified in the public record as \"BS\" (motion carried by voice vote).
- Budget adjustments: The board approved a budget adjustment report dated March 5, 2025, totaling $1,284,140 to cover multiple departmental needs, including a water heater installation at the correctional facility ($281,586), payment to Northampton County Detention Center for three beds ($615,000), pass-through funds and equipment purchases for various county departments. Additional line items recorded in the meeting included medical contingency invoices and smaller grant/expense adjustments.
- Grants and housing funds: The board ratified the grants manager's authority to sign a fiscal-year grant contract (recorded amount $156,160) and approved reallocating $600,000 of remaining Emergency Rental Assistance Program administrative funding to affordable rental housing (motion carried); commissioners clarified that the reallocated funds are not a direct landlord-to-individual rental assistance program but are proposed for housing authority renovations and affordable-housing projects.
- Correctional facility contracts: The board approved Amendment No. 1 to the operating agreement with Aramark Correctional Services LLC to update a breakfast menu and related pricing for March 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026; and approved an amendment to Securus Technologies LLC for commissary/communication rate updates per the FCC agreement, effective March 8, 2025, through March 8, 2026 (motions carried by voice votes).
- Waste cleanup and vendors: The board approved a proposal with the Monroe County Municipal Waste Authority for cleanup of campsites and county-owned property adjacent to Lehi Park for $18,200, and added several vendors to the county-approved vendor list, including Cornerstone Community Initiative (a community reentry/housing support initiative) and Giant Lockbox LLC.
- Use of public space: The board approved use of Courthouse Square and Courthouse Plaza for the \"America 250 / PA Founders Day\" event on April 1, 2025 (motion carried). Commissioners noted plans for a keystone installation and public tours of the new courthouse.
- Capital purchases and equipment: The board approved a capital-purchase report for $12,652.48 (shipping containers, vests and a shredder) and a computer capital purchase of $1,605.98 for a controller printer (motions carried by voice votes).

Procedure and voting
Most actions recorded in the meeting minutes were approved by voice vote with commissioners saying \"aye\"; the record does not provide individual roll-call tallies for the majority of approvals documented in the meeting transcript.

Public questions and clarifications
Attendees asked about the Cornerstone Community Initiative (commission staff said they would provide board members with the organization's leadership and public-information details after the meeting) and about whether the $600,000 ERAP reallocation would be used for direct rental assistance (staff said the funds were proposed for housing authority unit renovations and must be spent by a grant deadline; specifics of the subrecipient projects were not detailed in the meeting record).","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Commissioners Public Meeting- March 5th 2025","oneSentenceSummary","At its March 5 meeting the Monroe County Board of Commissioners approved multiple routine and programmatic items, including proclamations, a lease for a senior center, budget adjustments, appointments, contract amendments for the correctional facility and ratification of several grant actions.","taxTitle","Monroe County, Pennsylvania","taxId",18155,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_46":80,"_48":81,"_50":82,"_52":83,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":84,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":85,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6650675,"Monroe County public defenders press commissioners for pay parity; chief warns he may leave",1088,73000,1161000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2503462-743c552468bf0e2c4106b1c9f29d3b06&start=73&end=1161","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2503462-743c552468bf0e2c4106b1c9f29d3b06/thumbnail_73000.jpg","/articles/6650675/Monroe-County/Pennsylvania/Monroe-County-public-defenders-press-commissioners-for-pay-parity-chief-warns-he-may-leave","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6650675-11cb3dd1ed2df2cbdb716e1389d985fa/orig.mp4?Expires=1771157682&Signature=gPngc-L4aV6JfDrXTYGxcdpxzaaGbfL~8MzU0dxUTJHpXgOFvtqGYoQeV6gCHDqHKt-1OlM3DJQ4v~VpSfyqlNvLfhvO5CwMoEu90XEYwxppJavfjliwwOxmtvjdx0SHnVTTppIwkIZN-yDGB-CE-AS9mQsK3mHtIzIxSYWY1MlYARrDJeaaK6jMPZZqx1f-LXzf8n7grGuZEF5F4Ef3llWcaXzpJtSkbzx97z0f-OpP6rWckvsdJj4rB~EhZ3jhf58XOOw14IprWEA~VV9vg3CZMAI6F~mZj48wT29sdWyTHgzRy6Hew3VTvd-BvzWnrj0JKc8cC3HBHzP68AgMCA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chief Public Defender Jason LaVar told the Monroe County Board of Commissioners on March 5 that a proposed county salary grid that places public defender management below comparable prosecutor positions risks staff retention and could force him to consider leaving his role.

LaVar, who spoke during the meeting's public-comment period, described a 20-year career in the county public defender's office and said the board's decision \"leaves me with no other option than to strongly consider moving on.\" He and attorneys from his office urged the commissioners to adjust proposed pay levels so management in the public defender's office is competitive with the district attorney's office.

The issue drew remarks from multiple attorneys who said the proposed grid undervalues work done by public defenders and will worsen staffing shortages. \"By proposing a pay grid that places the chief public defender position below that of the first assistant district attorney position, this county signals to our office and to the public that it does not value our work as equal,\" said Attorney Angela Ramos.

Why it matters: Public defender offices represent people who cannot afford private counsel; persistent pay disparities with prosecutors, attorneys said, can reduce experienced candidates for supervisory roles and increase caseload pressure on remaining staff.

What speakers said and cited evidence
- LaVar described his path to the office, his continuing trial workload while serving as chief and his view that the office now ranks among the best in the state. He said limited office space and historic underfunding have been enduring problems, and that recent salary proposals make retention harder.
- A union statement read at the meeting said the attorneys in the office \"write in support of our chief, Jason LaVar, Esquire\" and said many of the office's attorneys accepted positions in Monroe County because of LaVar's leadership.
- Attorney speakers cited statewide standards. One speaker referenced the American Bar Association's Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System, noting principle eight calls for parity between public defenders and prosecutors on salary and resources.
- A speaker identified as the county's district attorney (speaking during the public-comment period) said the two offices have historically had pay parity within the union but noted one procedural constraint: \"by state law at a thousand dollars below the judges of the court of common pleas,\" meaning some elected prosecutor pay levels are set by statute. The same speaker also said the DA's office prosecutes more cases overall because it handles additional conflict counsel and private-defense-represented cases.

Quantities and comparisons offered at the meeting
- Speakers said Monroe County had 34 jury trials in 2023; they compared that with 17 in Northampton County, nine in Pike County and five in Carbon County for 2023.
- One speaker said the salary board's proposed starting salary for a full-time deputy chief in Monroe County matched a part-time deputy chief pay in a neighboring county: \"Janet Jackson makes a base pay of $72,109.23,\" the speaker said, and added that the proposed deputy-chief starting figure would be the same.

Commissioners' responses and next steps
- Commissioners acknowledged the public comments and said some follow-up work remains. At one point a commissioner indicated the county intends to file or follow up with a CPQ submission (classification/compensation questionnaire) for public defender positions and that the pay-grid proposal had not yet been finalized or approved at the time of discussion.

Context and limitations
- The meeting record shows extensive public comment and internal advocacy but does not record a formal vote or final approval of a new salary grid for public defender management on March 5. Several speakers said a deputy-chief position has remained vacant; speakers argued that proposed pay levels would worsen recruitment.

Ending: The commissioners are continuing to review the county pay proposal; public defenders and their supporters asked the board to revise the grid to achieve pay parity with prosecutor management, citing statewide guidance and local trial volume as justification.","Chief Public Defender Jason LaVar and members of the Monroe County Public Defender's Office urged the county commissioners on March 5 to revise a proposed salary grid that would place public defender management below prosecutor pay, saying the proposal undermines recruitment and retention and could prompt LaVar to resign.","actionData","errors"]

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Monroe County commissioners approve proclamations, leases, budget adjustments and grants on March 5

Monroe County public defenders press commissioners for pay parity; chief warns he may leave