Lackawanna County officials continue to seek residents willing to serve on county advisory boards, authorities and commissions, with dozens of those seats either currently vacant or held by members whose terms expired.
The county recently issued a news release inviting members of the public to apply for consideration for 45 such seats by Jan. 21.
Incumbent members with expired terms should submit letters of interest if they wish to be retained, while new applicants are asked to submit both letters of interest and resumes. An online application is available via lackawannacounty.org by clicking “Boards & Authorities” under the government tab at the top of the website.
All materials can be submitted through the mail addressed to county Deputy Chief of Staff Traci Harte at the Lackawanna County Government Center 6th Floor, 123 Wyoming Ave., Scranton, Pa., 18503; faxed to commissioners at 570-963-6812; or emailed to notarir@lackawannacounty.org.
The ongoing effort to update the rosters of county boards, authorities and commissions began early last year, shortly after Democratic majority Commissioners Bill Gaughan and Matt McGloin took office. The county’s goal is to ensure that all seats on those bodies are filled, current and manned by members appropriately suited to serve in their respective capacities.
The following bodies had open seats as of Friday:
Agricultural Land Preservation Board, four openings; Lackawanna-Susquehanna Behavioral Health/Intellectual Disabilities/Early Intervention Advisory Board, three openings; County of Lackawanna Transit System Authority, one opening; Lackawanna County Conservation District, three openings; Lackawanna County Fair and Recreation Authority, four openings; Lackawanna County Disability Action Committee, five openings; and the Scranton/Lackawanna Health and Welfare Authority, one opening.
Others include the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority, three openings; Lackawanna County Housing Authority, one opening; Lackawanna Industrial Development Authority, six openings; Lackawanna County Land Bank Board, three openings; Lackawanna County Literacy Committee, three openings; Lackawanna County Regional Planning Commission, four openings; Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority, one opening; Lackawanna County Redevelopment Authority, one opening; and the Multipurpose Stadium Authority of Lackawanna County, two openings.
A few of those open seats are restricted to individuals with specific interests and backgrounds. Of the open positions on the Agricultural Land Preservation Board, for example, two must be filled by farmers and one by a developer, the county said. On the conservation district board, two of the three open seats are also reserved for farmers, the press release notes.
“These boards and authorities and commissions are really important to the work of county government, and we want to make sure that the public has an opportunity to submit their letters of interest and their resume so that we can put good, qualified people who are interested in serving county government on these boards, authorities and commissions,” Gaughan said Monday. “It’s a good opportunity for people who want to get involved but may not … want to be involved in politics necessarily.”
The appointments themselves are made by commissioners.