Luzerne County Council has held off on choosing a permanent manager of the new home-rule government, and council members said Wednesday they don’t plan to seek new applicants.

But council may have to look for other prospects if the top choice – Robert Lawton of Rio Vista, Calif. – is not hired, Councilman Rick Morelli said Wednesday.

“If Lawton isn’t the person, I think it will clearly halt the process,” Morelli said.

Morelli said council and Lawton are negotiating a deal, which has been complicated by credit issues and attempts to get Lawton bonding coverage from an insurer. Morelli said he wants to hire Lawton, adding the preferred prospect has a minor credit problem because the market value of a property he owned was less than the amount of debt on the property.

“I don’t know all the details, but I don’t feel it’s a big deal,” Morelli said, noting underwater mortgages are very common in California because of the housing-bubble burst several years ago.

Morelli said he didn’t think the second choice – Patrick Becher of Oneida, N.Y. – would be hired because his salary demands are “much higher” than Lawton’s demands. He added he didn’t think the third-ranked finalist – Jeff Naftal of Lancaster, S.C. – would get the seven votes required from the 11-member council.

Lawton asked for a salary of at least $135,000 a year, records show. He is currently employed as principal management analyst at Solano County in California, and his current salary is $122,600, according to Georgia Cochran, Solano County director of human resources…..

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