Manager Romilda Crocamo outlines year of service and infrastructure investments in Luzerne County state-of-the-county presentation

Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo delivered a wide-ranging state-of-the-county presentation at the council work session, summarizing county services, community-development spending and infrastructure plans for 2025.

Cro c a mo told council the county maintained a workforce of more than 1,400 employees and continued services, investments and pension funding “without increasing taxes.” She credited coordinated planning and said the county prioritized infrastructure, public safety and human services while seeking grant funding and maintaining fiscal discipline.

Key items Crocamo highlighted included more than $2.6 million expended under Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs for municipal infrastructure projects; emergency rental-assistance spending of roughly $42.6 million that the manager said assisted more than 13,400 households; and a “whole-home repairs” program that has completed dozens of homes with roughly $1.17 million in payments (figures presented by administration staff during the address).

Cro c a mo described year-to-date support for community organizations, including a $400,000 CDBG award for the Freeland YMCA so the facility could remain open. She also listed election operations accomplishments from 2024: implementation of enhanced election-security measures, online poll-worker training, and more efficient communications tools; the bureau processed thousands of absentee and in-person ballot requests and undertook voter-roll maintenance activities.

On public safety and emergency management, Crocamo previewed this spring’s emergency-management training schedule, including advanced incident-command courses and Skywarn trainings in March and April designed to improve local severe-weather reporting and response. She also announced county plans to update hazard-mitigation planning and to consolidate emergency-management operations over time.

Operations and infrastructure investments Crocamo described include multiple road and bridge projects scheduled for spring construction and targeted building upgrades. She said Luzerne County will invest in several repaving and bridge projects and estimated the county’s infrastructure program will total more than $20 million across multiple funding streams.

Cro c a mo also noted progress in corrections and human services: the county expanded medically assisted treatment in the correctional facility, restarted school-based child-services units in two school districts, and launched programs to support reentry using certified recovery specialists funded by opioid-settlement dollars.

Manager Crocamo closed by urging continued collaboration with state and federal representatives and calling for sustained attention to workforce and service-delivery challenges. The presentation was informational; council members thanked administration staff and asked to receive follow-up detail on specific departmental needs and upcoming grants.