(VIDEOS) COMMISSIONERS "KNUCKLE DOWN" ON DEPARTMENT HEADS & COUNTY EMPLOYEE RAISES

LAST UPDATE:  11:55 AM

UPDATE STATUS:  07:55 AM (ALL 2013 PAY RAISE ABOVE 2% POSTED)

UPDATE STATUS: "NEW" VIDEOS POSTED

VIDEOS

(NEW)

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CHRIS NICHOLS

STARK CO. BUDGET DIRECTOR

EXPLAINS

2014 BUDGETING PROCESS
(posted at 09:27 a.m.)

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ALAN HAROLD
JUSTFYING PAY RAISES 
TO
COMMISSIONERS
(posted at 11:55 a.m.)
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From the time they took office, Thomas Bernabei (November, 2010) and Janet Crieghton (January, 2011), they, as county commissioners,  have brought a measure of austerity to Stark County government that the county has not seen in many of a moon.

But it has not been without a fight.

In June of 2011 they got into a huge fight with now retired Stark County Veterans Service (VSC) executive director Robert Toth over salary increases being handed out at the VSC.

In her famous "the bureaucrats upstairs" (see video below) spiel,  Commissioner Creighton excoriates the board of the VSC for having approved what she deemed tp be "excessive raises."  Moreover, former Chief County Administrator Mike Hanke can be seen reading a resolution whereby the commissioners go on record as opposing the increase.



Well, it is 2-1/2 years later but apparently little has changed insofar as the commissioners are concerned with the Veterans Services Commissioners.

Obviously, it is a touchy subject for the commissioners to deal with, but in the commissioner (Bernabei, Creighton and now former commission Pete Ferguson) instituted work session format begun when Bernabei and Creighton took office, the commissioners are digging deeper that probably any other board of commissioners in modern times have dug in their endeavor to find "government waste" and to root it out.

Moreover,  they have taken to "jawboning" independently elected department heads and other department heads not under their control into complying with commissioner established pay raise guidelines.  For 2014, that guideline is a maximum of 2%.

SCPR readers will equip themselves to better and more fully understand the county budget process if you take a few minutes to look at this video of Budget Director Chris Nichols explain the documents that he has obtained from each county department in a "more or less" common format.



As the commissioners gain experience and hear the "tales of woe" from many of the the department heads, to wit:

• employees have not had pay raises in 3, 4 or 5 years,
• pay raises are "a must" to prevent an exodus of employees,
• the pay raises do not come out of general fund money,
• such and such employee is critically important above all others in the operation of the department, and,
• the department is returning "unused" money from last fiscal year
• SCPR NOTE:  The commissioners suspect that in some cases department heads over request in a given year so that the are always returning money and thereby give the illusion they are being frugal

they are developing rejoinders that effective blunt the justifications all of which seem to be on a "list of reasons" that seems to be circulating among department heads as a sort of "cheat sheet" or "talking points" when a particular department head appears before the commissioners.

The commissioners have recently hired Canton Township trustee Chris Nichols as the second-in-command in the commissioners' office to get a handle on Stark County's budgeting process and to help the commissioners ensure that Stark Countians are "getting the 'best bang' for the Stark County taxpayer buck" that is doable.

The Stark County Political Report thinks that the commissioners effort is working but that there is more work to be done and it will probably be another budget cycle (2015) or two (2016) before Nichols and the commissioners "bring the 'resistant'" department heads fully on board.

Here is 2014's "working" (that is to proposed) budget:

One example of a county official who has "taken to heart" the commissioners' determination to gain control of the efficiency with which county money is spent is county records chief John Runion.

(Note:  Data in these charts does not necessarily reflect all the employees in a given department, but is designed to provide the commissioners with a look a "raise trends" in the department)

The SCPR has put together a composite of charts showing trends in pay raises (above the 2% guideline) in 2013 given by department heads, to wit:

Here is a video of portions of yesterday's (01/14/2014) session between Auditor Alan Harold and the Stark Commissioners regarding his "more than 2%" pay increases.

CHECK BACK AS ADDITIONAL CHARTS ARE POSTED

Moreover, The Report has put together a video composite showing interactions between selected department heads on the issue of requests for commissioner approval of projected 2014 raises.

CHECK BACK FOR VIDEO

Each year the commissioners appear to becoming more adept at asking the right questions of county officials after having dug deep into the county's financial data and finding data that suggests that the county may not be as efficient with taxpayer dollars as it might be.

The Report commends the commissioners for their hard work.

It should be becoming apparent to county department heads that "the days of wine and roses" are over in Stark County in terms of playing games with department finances so to out maneuver the commissioners and the likes of the SCPR in detecting and bringing to public light their attempt to bamboozle the public.

Shame on those who try it.

Kudos to the commissioners for digging, digging, digging and ferreting out the inefficient and wasteful spending practices on the part of some of Stark County's department heads.