Clerk of Courts Maria T. Casey spoke during the public comments part of Wednesday’s Schuylkill County commissioners meeting, saying the county has hired too many consultants to perform a tasks that could be done in-house.

She mentioned consultants who were hired to conduct a judicial sale, to do human resources work, and, on Wednesday, to perform background checks on potential employees.

Casey said the consultants hired for the judicial sale made mistakes, including one that caused documents for the sale to “sit for weeks” until the mistake was corrected.

The sheriff’s department, she said, is unable to hire staff because the pay is too low.

“We seem to funnel all the money out of the county,” she said.

Assistant County Solicitor/Risk Manager Glenn T. Roth Jr. later spoke, giving a timeline of the judicial sale that showed little delay.

He said the Tax Claim Bureau was given court approval for the judicial sale on July 18, and it is already working on another judicial sale for later this year.

“There are always mistakes that are made due to the sheer volume of properties,” he said.

Port Carbon resident Jeffrey Dunkel spoke, confronting commissioners about what he said is a “mass exodus” of employees.

He said a total of about 53 people have left since he began tracking resignations over the past year or so.

Dunkel also said commissioners have denied American Rescue Plan Act funds to those first responders who applied.

Dunkel also spoke about the lawsuit against Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. by four women who work at the courthouse, giving explicit descriptions of alleged wrongdoings.

That prompted a backlash from Commissioners Chairman Barron L. Hetherington, who is recovering from a serious injuries caused by a fall at his farm earlier this month.

Hetherington said his wife drove him to Wednesday’s meeting, and that his 4-year old granddaughter wanted to come with them. But, Hetherington said, his was not comfortable with her being at the meeting because he knew Dunkel, a frequent speaker during the public comment time, would again describe the acts allegedly committed by Halcovage.

Ringtown resident Douglas Litwhiler spoke, referring to commissioners’ recent allocation of pandemic relief funds to build a 911 tower in Hegins.

Litwhiler asked if one could also be built “north of the mountain” (Frackville, Mahanoy City, Shenandoah) in Schuylkill.

Hetherington said that was “part of the long-term plan.”