Lycoming County Register and Recorder’s office has additional request for funds for legal fees; commissioners ask where it’s coming from

Where's the money coming from? That is what the Lycoming County commissioners want to know in response to the Register and Recorder's office requesting an additional $10,000 for legal fees for ongoing litigation against the county, which was not an approved 2026 budgeted item.

The county had already approved an additional $12,000 for the department over the budgeted amount of $5,000 for legal purposes and with the request for $10,000 to be added to that, Commissioner Marc Sortman said that would bring the total to $27,000 for legal fees -- $22,000 over the amount actually budgeted. The initial $12,000 requested had been moved from scanning fees earlier this year.

"At this point, there's been no response to our financial management team of where the money is coming from to support this additional $10,000 charge," said Sortman.

"I just need to know where is the money going to come from," he emphasized.

Kimber Smith, deputy register of wills in the Register and Recorder's office presented the agenda item to the commissioners at their meeting this week, asking them to approve the amendment to an agreement with Gregory A. Stapp, the attorney representing David Huffman, the register and recorder, in his suit against the commissioners and the county.

Smith indicated that she was not in charge of where the funds would be found.

The commissioners voted to table the request until Huffman verified how the money would be obtained.

The lawsuit stems from what Huffman alleges is a pressure campaign to have him move his office from the Lycoming County Courthouse across the street to Third Street Plaza where several county offices have relocated.

During the commissioners' comments portion of the meeting, Sortman revisited the need for county departments to account for spending taxpayer dollars.

"We need our departments to tell us where the money is going to come from. And in the past, people just made adjustments to budgets," Sortman said.

"We're doing the budget completely different, and we are following a budget. So if there's no money on the line item for legal services, you don't just ask for more money. It's got to come from somewhere within your budget of that particular department...It's got to be accounted for," he said.

Commissioner Scott Metzger brought up the fact that the commissioners are beginning to prepare their 2027 budget and part of that process is meeting with all the department heads.

"We emphasized to them that the county continues to be on a very tight budget. We balanced the budget last year. We want to balance it again this year, and we're not going to go back to the old system, where okay, we got through this year, we'll have money next year," Metzger said.

"We emphasized that if you run out of money on a line item. You don't borrow from another line item. You don't use it from another line item to make up the difference. You're going to need to come to commissioners and explain why you need that. We'll listen to you, and if you definitely need it, we're not going to say you can't have it, so your office has to shut down or go without, but we need justification...we'll sit and listen, and we'll be objective, and we'll help you get through this. But you're going to have to explain why you got the situation you got it," Metzger said.

"We have one or two in the county that continue to try to operate under the old system, and we're not going to allow it. It's not their money. It's not our money, we work for the people, and as long as you can explain it, explain your justification why you're doing what you're doing, we're okay with it. But you're going to have to explain it," he added.

In other actions, the commissioners approved the following items on their agenda:

subrecipient agreement amendment with the YWCA Northcentral PA and the American Rescue Workers to extend the time of the agreements which are paid through American Rescue Plan Act funds; a service plan with Atlas Copco for $9,002.86 for the large compressors at the Recycling Center at the landfill to be paid through operating expenses; an agreement with Clear Ballot for $5,500 for new USB sticks for 200 voting machines to be paid through an Election Integrity grant; a Juvenile Probation Office grant award of $242,417 to supplement officers' salaries; a Memorandum of Understanding between the county's Public Safety Department and the River Valley Transit Authority; an agreement with Trusted Power, Inc. in the amount of $23,335 for three years for maintenance of the courthouse power supply to be paid through operating expenses; the Government Management Software Subscription renewal with GovPilot in the amount of $126,072 for three years to be paid through operating expenses; and the updates to Policy 202 Access to Human Resources Files.

Under personnel, the commissioners approved the following new hires at the rates of pay listed:Pre-Release Center - William Porter, full-time resident supervisor at the Pre-Release Center, a union position, $20.70 per hour; Joseph Magliano and Kristopher Gruver, full-time correctional officers at the Prison, union positions, $21.50 per hour; and Rachel Cortright, part-time telecommunicator II in the Public Safety Department, $23 per hour.

The following changes in personnel in offices of elected officials were announced: in the District Attorney's Office there was an internal change with Annah Krol, temporary full-time law clerk at $57,876 per year and a new high of Angela Perry, full-time legal assistant, $16.02 per hour. Angela Tobin, was also hired as a full-time magisterial district court administrative specialist in MDJ Gardner's office at $17.95 per hour.

The next commissioners' meeting will be at 10 a.m., August 6 in the Commissioners' Board Room, 3rd floor, Third Street Plaza, 33 W. Third St.