(VIDEOS) MASSILLON ON THE BRINK OF DECIDING WHO HAS AUTHORITY TO APPOINT NEW RECREATION & PARKS DIRECTOR?

UPDATED AT 1:26 P.M. TO INCLUDE COPY OF FERRERO LETTER TO STERGIOS

VIDEOS

MASSILLON CITY COUNCIL

WORK SESSION

06/10/2013

************************************

COUNCILMAN LARRY SLAGLE

ON

"SOLUTIONS"

TO 

DIRECTORSHIP HIRING AUTHORITY

ISSUE

*************************************

COUNCILMAN PAUL MANSION

"A THIRD WAY"

REGARDING

HIRING AUTHORITY

**************************************

COUNCILWOMAN NANCY HALTER

ON

PARKS AND RECREATION ISSUE

*************************************

AUDITOR JAYNE FERRERO

ON

LAW DIRECTOR PERRY STERGIOS

OVERRUN ON 2013 BUDGET

A point that Councilman Paul Manson (Democrat at-large) made at last night's Massillon City Council (Council) work session meeting is that Massillonians are getting wary of all the "interim" leadership that seems to be in place in Massillon city government these days.

One "interim" problem may be on the road to a solution.

Councilman Larry Slagle (Democrat at-large and chairman of the Parks & Recreation Committee) promised fellow council members last night that he would have an "either/or" solution on the table for them by Council's next regular meeting slated for June 17th at 7:00 p.m. in council chambers.

Here is a SCPR video that captured the entire discussion at last night's meeting.



It appears that the solution likely to be imposed legislatively by Council will be from among two alternatives:

Either

• the mayor (Kathy Catazaro-Perry - "Mayor") will be empowered to make the choice, which she says is currently the way Massillon's existing ordinance reads (a position supported by current Massillon law director Perry Stergios), OR
• the Parks and Recreation Board will be unequivocally named in a rework of the existing ordinance as having the power and authority to name a new permanent director (a position supported by current Stark County prosecutor John Ferrero when he was Massillon law director)

Councilman Manson did offer "a third way."  But it very, very unlikely that the rest of Council will see it his way.

His third way?

To have Council appoint a new permanent (more or less) director of the Parks and Recreation operations.

Here is Manson elaborating on his proposal:

And here is Councilwoman Nancy Halter weighing-in on the Parks and Recreation matter:

If Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry had cultivated over her 18 months in office a "trust" relationship with Council, the SCPR thinks that there would be a pretty good chance that Council would clarify the vague ordinance to make it clear that she has the authority to appoint a new director.

But she hasn't.

So now she shall reap what she has sown.

Look for Council (unless the Park and Recreation Board at Thursday's meeting makes it clear that it does not want the authority) to opt that way.

In a sort of way, there is an ongoing thinly below the surface simmering war going on between the Mayor and Council.

And it is catching other Massillon elected officials in the spider web of political intrigue.

The Report hears that Auditor Jayne Ferrero (sister-in-law to John Ferrero) is not on speaking terms with Mayor Kathy these days.

Really?  Why?

When the Mayor recently went to the State of Ohio Auditor (SOA) with her request that the SOA audit Massillon books (presumably in process), it turns out that Catazaro-Perry had not consulted with Ferrero first.

Add to that the controversy injected into last night's meeting about the failure of Law Director Perry Stergios to keep his office expenditures in line with his total annual budget amount.

Ferrero says she is projecting a $70,000/$80,000 law department deficit (come September) if he does not make cut backs to compensate for a recent surge in his expenditures.

Trying to decipher the conversation from the work session, the SCPR's understanding is that Stergios hired a new assistant prosecutor recently to replace one who departed but that the department has lost a grant which paid for the position and hence the need to pay the salary from the department budget.

Here is a copy of the letter sent on May 10, 2013 to Director Stergios:

Here is the city auditor bringing up the topic and explaining her frustration with Law Director Stergios.

While the Parks and Recreation "hot button issue" may be going away soon, many others remain.  Among them are:

• the projected $2.7 million (perhaps lessening to $2.6 or $2.5 million according to Auditor Ferrero) Massillon budget deficit for 2013,
• how to raise revenues for the city that is acceptable to the taxpayers,
• dealing with a sudden surge in street lighting costs (at the tune of $16,000 per month, if not more) reportedly inadvertently caused by former Safety Director George T. Maier (now Stark County sheriff) in negotiating last year with AEP to replace First Energy as the electric supplier,
• the mushrooming of city departments being run by "interim" directors which some think causes instability in the operations of city functions,
• the sale/settlement of the Hampton Inn drain on the city budget,
• the failure of some departments of Massillon government (i.e. the law department) to live within budget numbers,
• the sale/settlement of the apartment complex at 59 Duncan Place at a less than owed (about $941,000), and
• the depletion of Park and Recreation funds by virtue of the funds being used to pay on the outstanding indebtedness on The Legends golf course complex

While it is good to see the likelihood that Council will act soon to resolve the authority problem on Parks and Recreation hiring, it is near certain that the Mayor and Council will continue their quibbling and competitive problem solving will remain "the order of the day."

As the SCPR sees it, the Mayor with a change of attitude could go a long way in resolving the standing "hot button issues" in a "let's work together" vein rather than her "I'll one up you" current posture.

If the "hot button issues" are to be effectively resolved, it will take the Mayor and Council working together!