The Luzerne County manager position will be publicly advertised Friday, the citizen search committee decided Monday night.

Applicants must submit resumes and other information by March 4.

The posting may be viewed Friday in local newspapers and at www.luzernecounty.org/cm, the committee said.

The position will be advertised at a broad salary range — $96,564 to $175,571 — because the county council unanimously decided to stick with the compensation wording in the home rule charter. The charter says the salary can’t exceed the elected district attorney’s compensation — currently $175,571 — or be less than 55 percent of the district attorney’s salary.

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The county council had budgeted $160,000 for the manager compensation in 2016. Prior manager Robert Lawton had received $110,000.

The committee is developing a format to uniformly evaluate and rate applicants. Prospective finalists also must undergo intensive background checks that include a review of their credit history, the committee said.

The committee tentatively plans to identify three finalists by April 8.

Committee member Carmen Ambrosino asked Monday if the committee must release its three selected finalists to the council at a public meeting.

The committee agreed it will keep all applicant information confidential and leave it up to the council to determine if or when the names of finalists are publicly released.

Applicants who simply send in standard resumes won’t make the cut because the committee is requiring all applicants to provide concrete examples or evidence of how they have met specific skills required for the position, including experience with procurement, collective bargaining agreements and implementing changes.

The position requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and at least five years of relevant administrative/managerial work experience.

Gene A. Camoni, Gerard O’Donnell and Michael Giamber also serve on the committee. The council plans to fill a fifth vacant seat on the committee, possibly next week.

The committee also is developing an online survey to seek input from citizens and county employees on the qualities they want in the next manager.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes

jandes@timesleader.com

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.