Two seated Carbon County commissioners and two newcomers are on the ballot Tuesday for three open spots on the board.

Democrats are incumbent Rocky Ahner and Towamensing resident Jeff Schnaiter. Republicans are longtime Commissioner Wayne Nothstein and Jim Thorpe Mayor Mike Sofranko.

The position pays $75,629.

We asked candidates several questions and limited responses to 75 words. The questions were: 1) What would your No. 1 priority be as a commissioner in the term of 2024-2027?; 2) Federal stimulus money helped the county balance its budget in the past two years. What will you do moving forward to keep tax increases at a minimum or keep taxes steady?; 3) Salary issues have been a point of controversy in the county for some time. The county has experienced a high rate of departure. Other employees complained about raises of pennies. How would you address salary issues in order to be fair to everyone? 4) What do you think Carbon County should do with the former Packerton Yards site? 5) How will you insure that contractors stay within their budgets on the courthouse renovation? 6) There was a recent security breach on the county’s network. What would you implement to mitigate similar incidents from happening in the future?

Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

Rocky Ahner

Town: Lehighton

Background: Owned and operated a General Construction business for over 35 years. A Franklin Township Fire Company lifetime member and volunteer with the Franklin Township Little League showed me the need for volunteer support. Working on commercial and residential buildings has given me the views of local citizens and the knowledge of working on private and public buildings. As a commissioner I hosted sessions for Municipalities on zoning, grants and additional funding to benefit their communities.

Priority: As a Current Commissioner my number one priority has not changed, I still plan on being the gatekeeper of your tax dollars. Enhancing technology are cost savings that makes jobs less stressful. I look forward to working with all departments to have similar improvement and cost saving results like the Carbon County Children and Youth Department.

Budget: Separate the needs of the County for improvement from the wants is a must in saving tax dollars. We also have to be prepared for the infrastructure money allocated to Pennsylvania; a grant writer would be beneficial to the county and all Carbon County municipalities to find money to offset costs. Grant money doesn’t come to us; we have to prepare now, not after the fact when it’s too late.

Salaries: Updating job descriptions which leads to better pay has been proven. Speeding up the process to give employees the money they deserve is necessary to be fair to everyone. Money lost in training people that leave, exceeds the money we could actually give them to stay. The numerous part-time positions that are never filled are taking money away from current positions.

Packerton Yards: Residents always bring up that the Packerton Yards should be a parking lot to shuttle visitors to Jim Thorpe. Partnering the railroad and private investors through economic development could be an answer in taking the burden off the local entities.

Courthouse project: Unforeseen change orders from discovery of rotting wood or structural deficiencies are issues any project can expect. Work added that should have been in the original scope of work should be closely watched, if not it will be very costly to your tax dollars. Daily updates and an explanation of any change orders at the Commissioner’s weekly meeting will greatly reduce cost and be transparent to the public.

Security breach: We have an excellent Informational Technology Department. I support additional programs, security precautions and the education of employees for threats that could weaken our integrity.

Wayne Nothstein

Town: Lehighton

Background: A1967 graduate of Lehighton Area High School and a 1980 graduate of Northampton Community College with an associate degree in applied science, Nothstein is chairman of the board of commissioners. He spearheaded efforts for a new Emergency Operations Training Center in Carbon County, played a key role in the formation of the Carbon County Council of Governments and a business development group. He served on the state’s Emergency Management Agency 911 advisory board.

Priority: Restore employee morale, lack of trust of the commissioners and sense of being appreciated. Improve working relationships with employees by meeting with them, addressing their concerns and working with them to improve that morale, most of which has stemmed from the unfair increase in salaries to our valued employees.

Budget: We have been operating at a deficit for three years. Years one and two were saved by COVID funds and vacancies. 2024 proposed budget is at $5.6 million, draining our operating fund to less than $2 million. The courthouse project has been awarded a total of $4.5 million of the $5.5 million Capital Fund, leaving less than $4 million for expenses until April tax revenue comes. Could lead to layoffs, services cut or tax increase.

Salaries: Salary issues must be addressed at all levels. We have lost many of our knowledgeable, experienced long-term faithful employees due to no or only 2- or 3-cent increase in salaries. Many to higher paying employers. Twenty-two of our employees were approved for pay raises by the salary board but not financed by Commissioners Ahner and Lukasevich.

Packerton Yards: The Packerton Yard property has been for sale through the Economic and Development Corporation. We need to become more active in business development. The property has been difficult to market due to the property access crossing two railroads cost of providing rail crossing gates. Funds would have to be secured to raise the railroad tracks, a new highway access permit and traffic light must be secured to proceed.

Courthouse project: The contracts have been signed and change orders must be approved by the commissioners and will only be approved for unseen issues that are presented during the renovations.

Security breach: We have already signed a new contract with a different vendor for our security needs. New protective measures are being installed on every computer, including laptops. This project is now 95% complete. We have already started to implement multifactor authentication procedures. Due to staffing level shortage and turnover, we have not been able to implement additional training for our employees on what to look for and pay better attention to emails that may be suspicious.

Jeff Schnaiter

Address: Towamensing Township

Background: A retired member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Schnaiter worked as an inside wireman. As an active IBEW member, he served on the executive board and was chairman of the Apprenticeship Committee. He serves on the board of assessment appeals for the county and because of his interest in local government, has attended many commissioners’ meetings and township meetings. Jeff and his wife Carol moved here in 2020 from Northern Illinois.

Priority: Our number one priority should be to be fiscally responsible for the citizens of Carbon County and to continue searching for ways to use our funds to improve all of the county. We the tax payers deserve having those in office staying on top of how and where funds are being used. The following questions all need to be addressed with decisions on how we can improve Carbon County for everyone.

Budget: The county budget is a concern for all taxpayers. We need to address spending throughout all line items to show fiscal responsibility and keep taxes steady. A spending plan could be implemented, starting with three years, working up to five years, to show where we are headed. A grant writer would be a benefit to the county to help find new sources of funding. A balanced budget is high on the list.

Salaries: The citizens deserve to have positions filled by well trained and competent people. Those employed now are both and deserve a living wage with good benefits. The job description process needs fine tuning, to make the process of increases easier to process. We are losing good employees and spending too much time searching for and training people. We should work to make Carbon County more competitive while still staying fiscally responsible.

Packerton Yards: I have heard a suggestion for turning Packerton Yards into a parking area for tourism and the possibility of bus and rail shuttles to our tourist attractions. I would entertain looking at renting the property for this since I don’t think the county would want to enter into that market at this time. This idea of a parking area could make it marketable to someone and might solve the parking and traffic problems we face.

Courthouse project: The present commissioners have made a step in the right direction by reviewing the change orders as they come in to stay on budget. I would use my past experience as a business owner and contractor to work with the commissioners to keep a watchful eye on this project. There may need to be changes along the way to ensure we stay within the budget as we continue with the renovations.

Security: The security of our county is vital and needs to be constantly monitored. I believe the Information Technology department is capable of doing that, again though we need to make sure the department and all others are paid well to retain them in our county. We have the people in place to correct and maintain our security and safety, now we need to work on keeping them here in Carbon County.

Michael Sofranko

Town: Jim Thorpe

Background: A lifelong Carbon County resident, Sofranko is employed at Mack Trucks in Macungie. His three decades in municipal government include 14 years as mayor and 16 years as a Jim Thorpe Councilman, 14 of which he spent as council president. Under Sofranko’s oversight, Jim Thorpe’s police department has reduced crime and increased arrests for drug related offenses. He is married to Therese Krebs of Jim Thorpe for 35 years and they have two grown children.

Priority: My Number 1 priority would be to restore fiscal responsibility by balancing the budget. Over the last few years, the budget has been balanced by using savings. We need to stop kicking the can down the road and make some tough decisions regarding cost cutting, consolidation, and revenue generation. My second priority is to improve and retain our talented employee base. Investing in our current employees is far more fiscally responsible.

Budget: My predecessors had the luxury of using federal stimulus money. Now that money has been exhausted, we will need to do a comprehensive review of county budget. I will meet with all department heads and row office holders regularly to discuss ways to improve each department with an eye toward sustained cost savings while maintaining/improving county services.

Salaries: This is not only a commissioner issue. All elected officials must be held responsible. I see this as a collaborative vision with all row office holders and department heads working together to address the issue. Our county employees deserve a wage that can support their families.

Packerton Yards: I suggest creating a Welcome Center to encourage tourists to visit every corner of the county. We would need input from many sources including the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development, Pocono Mountain Vacation Bureau, and others to make this a revenue source that would benefit the entire county.

Courthouse: All contracts, line items, etc. that have been approved by past commissioners will be honored. However, any unforeseen issues or changes that arise must be approved by the commissioners.

Security breach: The last several years have shown that data breaches are becoming commonplace. As the field of IT constantly changes and becomes more challenging to manage, as commissioner, I will continue to develop our IT staff by training them with the required resources to protect information. I will also hire companies/consultants to support that education to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect our county and citizen data.