(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!

MASSILLON: A "POLITICAL CESSPOOL" OF INFIGHTING. AND THE MAYOR EXPECTS TRUST TO PREVAIL?

It is sadly bemusing that Kathy Catazaro-Perry's administration thinks that the "trust climate" in city government is such that she can ask Massillon City Council (Council) chairman Donnie Peters, Jr., to give Council's blessing to a proposed passing of the city's street lighting costs to Massillon taxpayers.

It appears to the SCPR that a number of the new Massillon city administration's words and actions have had the effect of sewing seeds of mistrust during its first four months plus in office, that it is mind-boggling for the administration to presume that Peters would sign off putting the matter on Council's agenda without having needed information.

What I  (Peters) was really upset about was they wanted me to approve the assessment before they told me how much.  It’s like saying I’m going to pass an income tax, but I’m not going to tell you how much until you decide.  (Will residents have to pay for street-lighting assessments, Matt Rink, The Independent, May 5, 2012)

But it is not just the street-lighting situation that is creating "trust havoc" in Massillon.

There are Massillonians who think the administration's layoff of 27 employees (19 police and fire) is not all that its cracked up to be in terms of savings.   These folks think the administration may be playing politics with the layoff to make it appear it is taking bold action when the reality is that it is engaging in a shell game.

It has been pointed out to The Report that contractual safety force staffing requirements may cost the city enough in overtime pay and unemployment compensation expenditures that Massillon will end up saving very little if any towards closing its projected $1.1 million 2012 deficit.

In fact, the source says, the layoffs could end up costing more than if no layoffs had taken place.  The administration failed to provide Council certifiable numbers on the costs.

Moreover, some look at the layoffs as a political move designed to give the administration the upper hand in getting Council to approve tax increases in one form or another for the city.

Not sharing the actual numbers showing the savings or extra cost is hardly a way to build confidence in the credibility of the administration's move.

Sources also tell the SCPR that it is very uncomfortable working for Massillon government with Mayor Kathy in charge.

Mistrust, suspicion and paranoia is said to be running rampant within the halls of the city administration.

There is the disparity in the financial treatment between different sets of employees which work for the city.

The SCPR has heard for years (even going back into the Cicchinelli administration) about a frosty relationship existing between administration employees and Massillon Municipal Court employees over disparate pay package treatment.

It is somewhat ironic that Catazaro-Perry has not been able to or willing to get a handle on the differences and get court officials to bring court employee remuneration packages into line with the rest of Massillon city government employment.

After all, her biggest booster is none other than Johnnie A. Maier, Jr (Massillon clerk of courts) who is thought by the SCPR to be - in league with his brother and Safety Service Director George Maier - the de facto mayors of Massillon city government.

One would think that if they want the titular leader to succeed, they would be working a breakneck speed to smooth over the dissonance between administration workers and court employees.

And, of course, there is the pay boost thing for members of Council as well as the law director, the city auditor, the city treasurer and the mayor.

Apparently, the mayor is not content in refusing the raise for herself thereby making her an example-in-action as to what she thinks the right thing to do is.  She has an "out-of-control" safety/service director shaming Auditor Ferrero, Law Director Stergios, Treasurer Lambert and council members Townsend, Manson and Slagle for taking automatic pay raises.  Hardly a trust inducing move.

That the safety/service director would do such a thing is more evidence that Catazaro-Perry is not in control and therefore cannot be trusted by council members or independently elected officials as the person who really is in charge.

Add on to all the foregoing, the flap over possibly ending Massillon's trash collection function.

With Republicans controlling Council by a 5 to 4 margin, it is predictable that sooner or later the city will be getting out of the trash collection business.

Most Republican officeholders these days seem to be bent on privatizing any and everything they can get their hands on.  Especially if union jobs are at stake.

Catazaro-Perry is a huge beneficiary of union contracts in her successful run to become mayor.  It is not going to set well with her organized labor supporters that she is not likely going to be able - over the long haul - to protect the sanitation worker union jobs.

There are two trust problems for her in the trash collection issue.

It appears that the majority of Council (i.e. the Republicans) does not trust the mayor's ability to manage trash collection to the overall benefit of taxpaying Massillonians.

And, her inability to protect union jobs has to be an opening for distrust to creep in and eventually disrupt an important political relationship for her.

It seems to the SCPR that Mayor Kathy Catzaro-Perry is keeping "the faith" that in the end that things will work out for her administration.

But how can faith thrive in a sea of mistrust?