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Lackawanna County OKs airport LEO agreement amid complaints about secrecy and cost
Summary
After public criticism and a commissioner objection, the board voted to enter a law-enforcement-officer (LEO) agreement with Luzerne County and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport to provide sworn officers at the TSA checkpoint; critics said the deal lacked clear cost language and was developed with insufficient transparency.
Lackawanna County commissioners voted Dec. 3 to enter an agreement with Luzerne County and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport to provide sworn law-enforcement officers at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, a program county officials said will be effective immediately and run through Dec. 31, 2027.
The vote followed extended public comment and debate. Walter Griffith, who identified himself in the record as a county controller, urged the board not to approve the LEO program without clearer cost and operational details, saying the arrangement had been handled "behind closed doors" and that the agreement’s automatic-renewal language could leave taxpayers committed indefinitely. "Something smells here," Griffith said during public comment, pressing commissioners to specify the number of officers, hourly and benefit costs, and which…
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