NORTH CANTON MAYOR DAVID HELD IS REASSESSING HIS ADMINISTRATION: "NOTHING IS OFF THE TABLE" IN TERMS WHO WILL BE LEFT STANDING AFTER THE ADMINISTRATION'S REORGANIZATION

UPDATE:  07/07/2010

The remake of North Canton administration materialized at last nights meeting.  It appears to the SCPR that Wise will be working for Mayor David Held through the end of 2010.  The Report understands that Wise's position will not be funded for 2011.

UPDATE:  REVISED AT 6:00 PM ON 07/06/2010

NORTH CANTON GOV'T REALIGNMENT

A SCPR source tells The Report that Mayor David Held will be announcing a reshuffling of his administration at tonight's Council Committee of the Whole meeting.

Earle E. Wise, Jr., the source says, in the Held plan will be shifted from being city administrator to another post with the title Director of Administrative Services and have an office located in the engineering department.  

James Benekos, the current city engineer, is to become city administrator (official title:  Director of Administration) with a pay raise of some $10,000 to earn about $96,000 annually.  Wise, the source says, is to be paid about $70,000 per annum.

Since the original post was made, the SCPR has spoken with Mayor Held who has confirmed to The Report the changes outlined in this blog.  Moreover, he says the changes are temporary and will likely implemented with the passage of an ordinance embodying the changes at next Monday's regular Council.


Held said Wise will be focusing on economic development in his new assignment.

Wise has long been the target of several councilpersons who want a change of direction.  However, Mayor Held is the only North Canton official who has the power to determine who is and who is not in his administration.  Held has maintained that he has the fullest confidence in Wise as city administrator and not about to remove him.


Apparently, Held has had a change of heart in an effort to improve his relationship with Council.  The SCPR believes that Council had devised a number of "persuaders" (e.g. limiting authority to spend without Council approval $2,500) to convince Held that he had to find a new city administrator.


ORIGINAL POST

The SCPR has been hearing that a big, big shakeup is coming in North Canton city government.  More specifically, it is coming in the administration of Mayor David Held.

The most prominent of reports is that Chief Administrator E.E. Wise, Jr. could be on his way out.  The SCPR's source says that this word has come from two different councilpersons.

So yours truly contacted Mayor Held and put the question to him.  "Mayor, is it true that you are considering relieving Administrator Wise of his position?"

Answer:  "No comment."

However, Held did go on to say that he is doing a complete and thoroughgoing reassessment of his administration, which should be done about July 9th.  What he would say about the Wise matter is this:  "Nothing is off the table."

This is quite a switch for Held who was telling The Report just a few weeks ago that Wise has his fullest confidence and that he serves at the pleasure of the Mayor and that he is going nowhere.

The SCPR believes that Wise has become a problem for Held (who really does want Wise to stay on board) because certain members of North Canton Council (Council) are disenchanted with Wise in terms of their expectations of him that they are fomenting unrest within the entire City Council and are using indirect means (e.g. floating the notion that they are about to require Held et al to get pre-Council approval for expenditures over $2,500) to communicate their message to Held.

Apparently, their strategy is working.  What was once off-the-table is now on-the-table.

Held says that he is working hard to generate more revenue for North Canton and to find ways to cut expenses by streamlining city operations.

Asked about the notion being floated at City Hall that North Canton needs to take a new look at the structure of its government in terms of perhaps modifying it (which requires a vote of the people) to go to a full-time mayor who also is a chief administrator.  Another possibility is to go to a city manager form of government.

Held dismisses such talk. He points out that North Canton's charter government has been in place for 50 years (since 1960) and, other than some minor tweaking (the last being in 2007), the structure of North Canton government is just fine, thank you, and he opposes any changes.

He described to The Report how North Canton's 15 member charter commission took the Dogwood City's charter apart line by line, in its every 10 year look at the charter, to figure out ways to improve it.

Although Held is a Republican (who works well with Democratic officials who dominate Stark County government), he broke ground when he became mayor, about 4 years ago, by bringing Wise, a Democrat, into office with him as the city's chief administrator.

There is no doubt that Held wants to keep Wise.  However, Council appears to think otherwise and is putting pressure on Held to sacrifice Wise for what they perceive to be "for the good of the order."

What will Held do?

It is hard to say.  David Held is a very loyal person and Wise should feel comforted that Held wants to keep him.

But, it could be, that he will ask Wise to step down so that Held and Council can get away from the bickering that Wise seems to draw from some on Council.

By doing so, the Mayor and Council can devote their energies to coping with resolving expected 2011 and 2012 and beyond deficits and leaving the political infighting in the dust.

THINGS ARE UNRAVELING FAST IN NORTH CANTON? COUNCIL TO CONSIDER LEGISLATION TONIGHT TO LIMIT THE MAYOR'S SPENDING AUTHORIZATION WITHOUT COUNCIL APPROVAL?

Last week the SCPR reported on an apparent rift between North Canton City Council and the Mayor David Held administration.

Readers will recall that the springboard for the blog was that the Held administration (actually, City Administrator Earle E. Wise, Jr.) requested that Council authorize the administration to spend up to $15,000 for the administration to go out and hire temporary clerical help.

Not only did Council not approve the request, but did so in what The Report thinks was in an insulting way.  A councilperson did move to approve the request.  However, not one single councilperson would second the motion.

A day later The Report spoke with Mayor Held about the matter.  Held described to yours truly about being reduced to one clerical employee while Council has three.  He talked about how he had recently lost an employee to Council.  The mayor did allude to a situation with the move that indicated that it was in the best interest of all that the move be made.  But he did not get anymore specific than that.

Apparently, the request for money for a temporary employee for the administration was to be a "make-up" for the loss of the employee to Council.

Also, readers will recall that the Held administration is using employees from the engineer's office and the civic center to help cope with the excess of work that the administration is inundated with.

Readers of the SCPR know that The Report is not content with a vague reference to relational problems in the administration of city government as being reason for action or inaction.

So The Report turned to a favorite of North Canton government:  Chuck Osborne.

Osborne is a former councilman who is a burr to most of North Canton governmental officials.  A annoying factor about Osborne to a number of the officials is that, in some instances, he knows more about the happenings at North Canton City Hall than some of these same officials.

And Osborne has turned out to be a terrific source to provide the SCPR with "the rest of the story" of the "behind the scenes" activity in the inner chambers of North Canton government.

Osborne says that City Administrator E.E. Wise, Jr is impossible to work with.  And in the switching of the employee from the administration to Council was a consequence of the employee taking no guff from Wise.  Apparently, the air got so saturated with acrimony, it was decided that the best solution for all was to move the employee.

The Report focuses on Osborne's account to make a larger point.

It appears to the SCPR that North Canton Council members, folks like Osborne (and Osborne says he knows of others) are having a difficult time getting along with Wise and that they find it discomforting to engage Wise.

Wise, a Democrat, was a former Stark County prosecutor who has run for a couple of local offices.  The last was for the judgeship of the Stark County Probate Court which he lost to Republican Dixie Park.

His selection by Held, when he took over as mayor, as North Canton's city administrator was hailed in the local media as a breakthrough on partisan politics.  Most local political observers including the SCPR, view North Canton as being a Republican enclave.

In recent times, the SCPR has been hearing a number of rumblings about Council's growing negative perception of Wise's performance.  However, Mayor David Held is not hearing any of it.  He tells the SCPR that Wise has his fullest confidence and that he is paying no attention whatsoever to Council discontent.

 So what is Council to do?

The SCPR believes North Cantonians witnessed the first public shot last Council meeting when the request for the $15,000 was made and rejected out-of-hand.

Unless Council changes it mind, The Report hears that there may be an ordinance on the table at tonight's Council meeting requiring Mayor Held to get specific Council approval for any administration expenditure over $2,500.

Another expected move is for Council to allocate X number of dollars to the Held administration in the 2011 budget (which is expected to have a $231,000 shortfall) with a salutation:  "here is your 2011 allocation boys and girls - spend it any way you like, but there will be no more."

So is there a standoff between Council and the administration in North Canton?

Yes and no.

Council is bending over backwards not to have a fight with the administration.  And Mayor Held, if he is anything, is a peacemaker.

The sticking point?  The SCPR believes it is the continuation of E.E. Wise, Jr as city administrator.

The Report has reason to believe that despite his public stance of "being squarely behind" Administrator Wise, Mayor Held is working the Stark County political circuit to help Wise find a alternative position.

The Report is told that Held had made inquiry with his friends in the Stark County Democratic Party about the availability of an appointment of Wise as a successor to Stark County Treasurer Gary Zeigler, if Zeigler decides to step down in the light of troubles facing the Stark County treasury over the loss of taxpayer money.

First, the SCPR does not think Zeigler will resign as treasurer.

Second, a Republican (Held) trying to influence the Democrat:  really?

Third, if Zeigler does quit, The Report thinks the position is set aside for Stark County commissioner Steve Meeks should he lose to Republican Janet Creighton in November; which The Report thinks he will.

So what is to happen, if Held cannot find an alternative for Wise?

A continuation of muted acrimony between North Canton City Council and the North Canton administration, that's what.

And that cannot be good for the future of North Canton.