Westmoreland commissioners restructure election bureau; director's job in limbo

Westmoreland commissioners on Thursday overhauled the county election bureau to add a layer of management, increased pay for staff and, for the first time, acknowledged a potential change in leadership of the department.

The move comes a month after numerous operational and administrative issues plagued the bureau the days before and after the May 18 primary.

The restructuring, approved by all three commissioners and Controller Jeff Balzer, who sit as the county’s salary board, moves the department under the umbrella of the computer information systems department, where it had been until 2018.

“This decision was in the works due to all the new laws and regulations. We have to make sure we run a tight ship with the election, and we want to make sure, when people cast their vote, it is counted,” Commissioner Sean Kertes said.

The restructuring features the creation of three middle-management jobs, a quality assurance manager, voting system coordinator and an office manager. The office manager’s job was filled earlier this week. Applications for the two remaining new jobs will be accepted through June 25.

Commissioners abolished the deputy director position, one that had been vacant since last fall, and confirmed Director JoAnn Sebastiani is off the job and suspended with pay. They declined to provide a reason for that status.

Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher said the county would “potentially” look to hire a new director.

“We will be posting the director’s position once everything is finalized,” Thrasher said, while noting that Sebastiani’s final job status has yet to be determined. “The decision has not been made. What we want to focus on now is to have three middle managers first, and then we will make a decision on director.”

The election bureau, which operated for the past several months with four vacant positions, will see its staff grow from nine to 10 employees under the restructuring, which includes new registrar positions. Its budget will increase by $161,000 to afford higher salaries to existing staff and new hires.

Commissioners said the additional wages paid as a result of the restructuring will be offset by a reduction of overtime expenses. A Trib analysis earlier this year found that more than $171,000 in overtime was paid to election bureau employees in 2020.

“The last year showed me that we need a full overhaul of the election bureau to align it to the current needs of the public and the current statutes. We will continue to make tweaks and adjustments until the public has a full-service bureau that address their needs in a timely manner and gives them confidence in the electoral process,” Commissioner Doug Chew said.

Sebastiani, who spent five years as a deputy in the tax office, was hired in August to run the election bureau and immediately was tasked with overseeing a presidential election that operated under a new state law that, for the first time, allowed no-excuse mail-in voting and the use of newly purchased voting equipment — all during an ongoing pandemic and the highest voter turnout in decades.

Issues continued this spring when a district judge’s race was not included on ballots sent to voters in four precincts and the posting of results from the May 18 primary were delayed and incomplete. A court challenge is pending that claims the county did not include a school board race in the Southmoreland School District on this spring’s ballots.

Commissioners said the changes enacted Thursday are expected to prevent mishaps. Kertes said improvements are expected for the November election and include better customer service, upgrades to the election website and expanded hours at the election bureau office prior to and after Election Day.

He also said the restructuring is designed to retain and better educate staff, including poll workers and judges of elections, help pay for the purchase of electronic poll books and allow the county to rely less on outside consultants.