Governor approves nomination to fill clerk of courts position

Gov. Tom Wolf has approved a nomination to fill the vacant Carbon County Clerk of Courts position.

Last week, Wolf approved the county’s nomination of Francine Heaney of Nesquehoning to fill the post.

The nomination was then sent to the Pennsylvania Senate for confirmation, as it requires a majority vote. A nomination must stay on the Senate calendar for 10 days before a vote.

The Senate is in session three days this week, but since the 10-day requirement won’t be met by Wednesday, the Senate will likely vote in the next session scheduled for Oct. 15-17.

Once approved, Heaney will fill the vacancy created by longtime clerk of courts William McGinley, who retired on May 1.

Heaney would then get sworn in and serve for the next year and three months. In 2019, the position will be on the ballot for a two-year term.

Contacted this morning, Heaney said she was appreciative of the nomination.

“I want to thank Gov. Wolf for nominating me to become the next clerk of courts in our county,” Heaney said. “During my career with the county, I have worked hard to learn as much about the court system and the way it operates as possible, including the seven years in which I was a member of the clerk of courts’ staff.”

Contacted his morning, Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said he’s thankful the appointment was made.

“It is a long time overdue,” Gerhard said. “I’m glad the governor made the appointment.”

Heaney has served as administrative assistant from 2013 to present.

Before that, she was a clerical specialist from 2006-13; legal secretary from 2005-06; corporate secretary from 2004-05; and medical secretary from 1986 to 2004.

The clerk of courts office, as well as the bureau of collections, is being operated by acting clerk of courts Julie Harris, who served as the second deputy under McGinley.

According to state law, the acting clerk of courts position should have been given to the first deputy, but that position remains unfilled.

In August, commissioners contracted an additional three staff members from Lehigh County to help relieve the extreme backlog the clerk of courts office is trying to sift through.

At that time, Carbon County Commissioners voted to enter into agreements with Tony Remer, Dena Dalmas and Carmen Serrano to assist the clerk of courts office in the processing of records and other duties as deemed necessary between Aug. 18 and Dec. 31. They will be paid $15 per hour for their services.

In July, the commissioners confirmed that the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office is investigating the clerk of courts office and the county’s insurance carrier was conducting an audit of the office.

Gerhard said there have been difficulties with the office.

“We had a mess over there,” he said. “We’ve had some issues in the office; we’ve tried to not shed a lot of light on that.”

Gerhard thanked everyone who worked together, adding, “It’s definitely been a team effort,” he said.

“We’ve done everything that we could as a county board of commissioners to help the county office get through the issues that we’ve had,” he said. “I think we did the best that we could with what we had.”

Heaney said she’s aware there have been public accounts of problems that exist in the clerk of courts’ office.

“I am aware of these situations, and I am confident I can lead the way in not only rectifying those situations, but running an efficient and effective office that the residents of the county not only need, but deserve,” she said.

“I am looking forward to the senate’s confirmation of Gov. Wolf’s nomination of me, with every intent of honoring the trust they will have put in me for this challenging position with continued hard work.”