Voters favored referendums on the ballot in Lackawanna County, as well as in Carbondale and Scott Twp.

Voters overwhelmingly said yes, with 74,115 votes, to amending the county’s home rule charter to prohibit county employees and officials from making individual stock trades or prediction-market bets based on nonpublic information obtained through county service, compared to 7,413 no votes, according to unofficial results posted Tuesday night.

The proposed amendment would also create a reporting requirement tasking the county solicitor with producing an annual report that includes all ethics complaints made against county, state and federal elected officials who represent Lackawanna County residents, as well as a summary of individual stock trades by those state and federal officials “based on publicly available information.”

Action Together NEPA, a progressive organization, led a petition drive over the summer, and more than 40,000 signatures were obtained on petitions from voters in both Lackawanna and Luzerne counties to get the proposed measures on the ballots in both counties.

Carbondale

In Carbondale, 1,504 voters said yes to amending Section C9-2B of Article IX of the city’s Home Rule Charter to allow the mayor, if they are serving in the capacity of managing director, to carry out their duties as managing director while campaigning for office. That referendum received 1,070 no votes. It would also change any masculine pronouns in the section to general pronouns.

Under the current charter, first adopted in 1977, any city employee who files a petition for election to a partisan political office and does not withdraw shall be required to take a leave of absence for the duration of the campaign. If not elected, the employee shall promptly be restored to the previously held position without losing any rights, according to the current charter language.

The referendum would mean the mayor would not have to take a leave of absence as managing director while campaigning.

The issue arose when Mayor Michele Bannon, then the city clerk, had to take a leave of absence for several months from her longtime position while campaigning to run as mayor, which officials said created a gap in city leadership. Bannon currently serves as both mayor and managing director.

Carbondale last amended its Home Rule Charter in 2004, when residents approved a referendum allowing the mayor to fill the position of managing director if he or she met the qualifications. Amending the charter — the city’s governing document — can be done only by referendum or petition from residents, according to officials.

Scott Twp.

In Scott Twp., 1,439 voters said yes to allowing the township supervisors to levy an additional .065 mills to property taxes to pay for ambulance and emergency medical technician services in the township. The referendum received 941 no votes.

The tax increase is in addition to the 1-mill increase voters approved in 2020 to help pay for local ambulance service at Justus Volunteer Fire Company. Supervisors Chairman Michael Giannetta said the increase approved in 2020 pays for the EMT at Justus to work Monday through Sunday from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Officials had to lower the millage rate in this year’s referendum due to the countywide reassessment this year.