Lackawanna County is eliminating four more positions, bringing to 28 the number of county jobs slashed over the past two months to help balance the 2013 budget.
Cutting the four positions will save $184,837 in salaries and benefits next year, according to figures provided by the commissioners' office.
Chief of staff Maria Elkins said Thursday the latest cuts include the elimination of a secretary's position in the Department of Human Resources, which will result in a layoff.
Two vacant positions will also be cut, effective at the end of the year, she said. They are an accountant position in the treasurer's office and a clerk position in the clerk of judicial records office.
In addition, Ms. Elkins said, the county will not fill the Common Pleas Court law clerk position left vacant by the resignation of Patricia Grande Rieder.
Ms. Rieder, a law clerk for Judge Chester T. Harhut, stepped down earlier this month. She has announced she is running for judge next year.
The cuts complete the workforce reduction that majority Commissioners Jim Wansacz and Corey O'Brien warned was coming when they released their 2013 budget in October.
In the first round of cuts in early November, the commissioners announced 11 employees were being laid off and 13 vacant positions would be eliminated.
Overall, the cuts are expected to save about $1.44 million in salaries and benefits in 2013. After the payment of unemployment benefits, the net savings will be more than $1.2 million.
Since 2008, there has been a net reduction in the county workforce of more than 600 employees.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com