NORTH CANTON LAW DIRECTOR TIM FOX A "STARK COUNTY" PERSONIFICATION OF OHIO'S CPIC "F" GRADE ON EASE OF GETTING PUBLIC RECORDS!

UPDATE:  5:30 PM

From: Holly Pierpont <holly.pierpont@att.net>
To: tramols@att.net 
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 1:11 PM
Subject: Today's blog

You wrote: "North Canton voters must be some of the most disengaged and ignorant of their self-interest in all of Stark County."

Yep.  I have to wonder what percentage of North Cantonians, who voted to end city paid health insurance three years ago, showed up last week and still re-elected those who basically ignored, disrespected and lied to them.  I believe we can expect nothing but more of the same for many years to come...  

-------------------------------------------------------

Jamie McCleaster <rmccleaster@aol.com>  Today at 5:20 PM

To:  Martin Olson

Martin,

Great blog today! I think this is an accurate assessment of what's happening in North Canton. I think a lot of people would agree that changes need to be made, but sometimes those changes come slower than what people want. Thanks for your honest and accurate reporting.


Jamie

(TOP PART OF GRAPHIC EXTRACTED FROM CPIC WEBSITE)
(HIGHLIGHTING & CHECKMARKS ADDED)

North Canton's elections last Tuesday had to be a huge disappointment to those North Cantonians/Stark Countians/Ohioans who think Ohio government and specifically Ohio's local government should be accessible, open and transparent.

While the SCPR piles on Law Director Tim Fox and thinks this autocrat richly deserves being unloaded upon, it is clear to The Report he is doing the will of North Canton councilpersons Foltz, Peters (council president), Werren, Fonte, Cerreta, Griffith and Kiesling.

North Canton City Council (NCC) is an embarrassment to Stark County's citizenry in terms of being hostile to its citizens on basic democratic-republican values of accessibility, openness and transparency.

Ohio is rated by the highly regarded Center For Public Integrity as deserving of grade F because of "the struggle" Ohioans experience in trying to "obtain public records from state officials."

CFPI investigators need to come the North Canton, Ohio.  Undoubtedly, if they came to North Canton, they would be horrified at the pillaging of the open government rights suffered by North Cantonians.

For North Canton City Council working in cahoots with Law Director Fox have made it like "pulling teeth" for a citizen to get North Canton government public records.

And the SCPR includes North Canton mayor David Held (ran unopposed last Tuesday) for not showing more leadership in publicly taking North Canton Council and Fox to task for their obvious hostility to any North Canton citizen who appears to looking into North Canton matters and their look might prove to be embarrassing to elected and/or unelected North Canton government officials.

Held implies in conversations with the SCPR that he disapproves of the anti-citizen attitude demonstrated by Fox in his apparent compliance with the seeming "wish of council mandate" to him, but Held does very little of a concrete nature to give credibility for his finessed rhetoric.

The only thing that Held has done of note in this regard is to force the release in February, 2014 of Tim Fox's legal opinion  (LINK)  to council members that North Canton's 72% voter approved health care ordinance was illegal.

But that was January, 2014.  He sat on his duff from November, 2013 until then and let North Cantonians uninformed as to why council was dragging its feet in complying with the North Canton voting public's desire on the matter of part-time council members not being eligible for taxpayer subsidized family coverage.

North Canton voters must be some of the most disengaged and ignorant of their self-interest in all of Stark County.

All that was needed in last Tuesday's election was for one of the challengers as among Pierpont (Ward 2; Peters), Hoagland or Osborne (Ward 3; Werren), McCleaster (at large; Cerreta, Griffith, Kiesling) and even perhaps Snyder (Ward 4; Fonte) to be elected and Mr. Fox's apparent mandate of foisting barrier after barrier after barrier on requesters of North Canton government records would come to a rapid end.

The SCPR trusts that the 2015 incumbent council member challengers will continue their campaigns unabated through to the general election of 2017.

North Canton voters seem to be some exceptionally ignorant in that they cannot see that the denial of others of core democratic-republican core values will likely one day come back on any of them who want the check up on the inner workings of North Canton government.

Also in for a tongue lashing at the hand of The Stark County Political Report are the core Stark County members of the county's delegation to the Ohio General Assembly.

Oeslager (Republican, Ohio Senate, 29th) in particular should ashamed of Ohio "F" grade on public records.

Seemingly, many, many, many years ago he made a name for himself as someone who fought for open records in Ohio has gotten "fat, dumb, happy and disinterested" on this issue and in representing almost all of Stark County (except extreme eastern Stark County).

A couple of years ago he outright rejected a plea from Canton officials to come to Canton City Council to discuss fiscal problems (he was then chairman of the Senate Finance Committee) saying "he was too busy."

Schuring (Republican, Ohio House, 48th) did heed Canton's plea, but proved ineffective in helping not only Canton but other Stark County political subdivisions.  Moreover, he has shown to inclination whatsoever to push for legislative enhancement of fundamental democratic-republican system values.

Hagan (Republican, Ohio House, 50th) seems totally disinterested in doing anything but pushing the agenda of the far right Republican-religious fringe group.

Slesnick (Democrat, Ohio House, 49th; term-limited out after the current legislative session) has been a total waste in terms of being productive for Cantonians/Stark Countians as a member of the Ohio House.

He does have the excuse of being a member of the House Democratic Caucus which because of their exceedingly low numbers get steam-rollered by the supermajority Republicans.

But the SCPR's take on Slesnick is that were he a member of the Republican supermajority he still would be ineffective because is political competence level is a near zero.

Mark the SCPR's word, Slesnick now that he has been a part of government is looking frantically at a way to stay on the taxpayer role.  He is now "entitled," is he not?

All any of Stark's Ohio General Assembly members have to do is to go to the Center for Public Integrity website and pick those aspects of the F grade which make the F grade an F grade and initiate legislative corrective action, to wit:

The foregoing are the "0" scores in the march to Ohio getting a grade F at the hand of the prestigious Center for Public Integrity.  There are moreover other questions that score 25, 25, 50 and 50 which, of course, are failing grades.

Only one of the questions was graded as passing and that question was only scored at 75 which in most grading circles is a middle level C.

So Oelslager, Schuring, Hagan and Slesnick have plenty to work on - if they care about enhancing the rights of North Cantonians, Stark Countians and Ohioans having a greater degree of open government.

And "if they care" is the appropriate overall question to put to Stark County's legislative delegation.

A F grade coupled with their inaction in remediation of a deficiency that has been of many years duration which, if they are aware legislators, have known about or should have known about indicates to the SCPR that they do not care about making all levels of Ohio government more responsive to Ohioans.

On top of the Ohio General Assembly's disinterest you have a North Canton City Council who through its law director takes full advantage of the legislative low priority for fundamental democratic-republican government accountability values.

Shame on North Canton's city council.

Shame on Mayor David Held.

Shame on legislators Oelslager, Schuring, Hagan and Slesnick.

And shame on North Canton voters for not being aware enough to place at least one caring citizen on the North Canton City Council to begin the process of reining-in the rest of council and their beholden law director Tim Fox!

BREAKING NEWS! OSBORNE & CITIZEN ACTIVISTS WIN APPEAL WITH JUDGE FARMER OVER NORTH CANTON LAW DIRECTOR TIM FOX

JUDGE FARMER'S DECISION POSTED

 AT END OF BLOG

Court Rules against North Canton

• cosborne@neo.rr.com
• Today at 1:31 PM
  

...

Hello Martin,

My attorney, Robert Cyperski, called first thing this morning to relay good news that Judge Farmer has ruled in our favor in our quest to get City Council to hear our appeal of the Planning Commission's decision on the Hoover District South Parking lot expansion. Will send court decision when I receive it.

While North Canton Law Director Tim Fox is not listed as counsel of record (but it will be interesting to see North Canton's pleadings which are not available on the clerk of court's website) on the online docket of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, you can be sure that Fox was in the thick of things on advising North Canton City Council (North Canton Planning Commission/Mayor David Held) on matters related to the Osborne-led citizen appeal on the Hoover District South Parking lot expansion.

The SCPR is making a big deal out of this turn of events because North Canton government officials and Fox trumpet it when Fox and North Canton win in other litigation that Osborne has been involved in since Fox became law director in September, 2012.

From yours truly's perspective, if one chortles on wining (LINK 1) (LINK 2); then you need to own it when you lose.

This is a case that North Canton government obviously on the advice and counsel of Director Fox did not comply with the law.

Is there any chance that Fox or his unnamed adviser will highlight this development on North Canton's website?

THE WRITTEN OPINION/DECISION 
OF 
JUDGE KRISTIN FARMER

IS IT "DO OR DIE TIME" FOR NORTH CANTON LAW DIRECTOR TIM FOX AS A PUBLIC OFFICIAL?

UPDATE: 5:05 PM

Chuck Osborne comments:

From: Chuck Osborne [mailto:cosborne@neo.rr.com]
Sent: Friday, August 07, 2015 10:29 AM
To: Martin Olson
Subject: My Remarks to Today's Post

 

Hello Martin,

 

I would like to make a few remarks regarding today’s post. You have done numerous “posts” regarding North Canton Law Director Tim Fox and his (Fox) arrogance and hostility to the citizens of North Canton.

 

You state that Mayor David Held and a majority of Council members concur with the view that Fox needs to turn over a new leaf. How many times have you reported that City officials had to ask Mr. Fox to “straighten up and fly right” as one might say?

 

When is enough enough?

 

I think your comment that “Osborne can and does get dug in and there is only one way, his way” is misconstrued.

 

What else can one do after the facts have been gathered, than to come to a logical decision on an issue and take a position?

 

Would you say that 72% of the voters of North Canton dug their heels in when they voted in favor of an initiative to deny part-time elected officials health insurance benefits at taxpayer expense?

 

I have talked to a lot of citizens over the years and when they are given the facts, they will take a position on an issue. Are they then “dug in?”

 

For many years, I have researched issues and after gathering the facts, have taken a position, only to be attacked for standing in support of the position.

 

What happens when other North Canton citizens, gather facts and take a position on an issue? As with me, they too are being attacked for “digging in” and holding to their position.

 

If one has not caught on to the pattern of attacks in North Canton, it is not just Osborne. Now it is Jamie McCleaster and Miriam Baughman. It is anyone who dares stand up on an issue contrary to what North Canton government wants its citizens to think.

 

You say discussion and attempts to remedy complaints are always better than litigation. I wholeheartedly agree!

 

Did North Canton officials really care to remedy citizen complaints regarding a salary increase in 2013 passed as “emergency” legislation “necessary for the preservation of health, safety and peace of the City of North Canton”?

 

No!

 

Thus, the lawsuit was filed.

 

Ohio’s Auditor of State has cited North Canton on numerous occasions over the years for the excessive use of “emergency” legislation.

 

In regards to the healthcare initiative, did North Canton City officials want to recognize the right of citizens to propose and pass their own laws?

 

They did not, thus the litigation filed by the City, not me.

 

Previous to Mr. Fox becoming law director, two North Canton Law Directors had no objections to the healthcare initiative when presented to the City in May of 2012.

 

Interestingly enough, it was a North Canton Law Director with over 24 years-experience as the City’s Law Director who sent the issue to the Stark County Board of Elections.

 

As you point out in today’s post, the City will not even participate in mediation offered by the Ohio Attorney General regarding a simple public records request.

 

City officials in North Canton have no respect for any citizen who takes a position contrary to their official position.

 

It does not make a difference whether that citizen is Chuck Osborne, Jamie McCleaster, or Miriam Baughman.

 

When Mr. Tim Fox was appointed to be the City’s first full-time law director in September of 2012, they chose someone who would carry out their attacks on citizens with a vengeance.

 

For political expediency, I expect Law Director Fox will ultimately pay the price for his actions and Fox’s reign of terror as law director will be ended.

 

And hopefully, the voters will see that the councilmembers who have fostered this kind of atmosphere and ignored the healthcare mandate of the voters will also pay a price for their actions and be voted out of office this November.

 

Thanks,

Chuck Osborne

ORIGINAL BLOG

The Stark County Political Report has learned that North Canton Law Director (unelected, appointed by North Canton City Council) could be nearing the end of his time as the city's legal counsel.

As The Report interprets the words of Mayor David Held in a conversation with him yesterday, Fox must adjust from having been in the private sector to being a public official or else it is likely that North Canton government will be asking him to move on from North Canton public employment as not being the right fit in terms of his temperament and concomitantly his ability to relate responsively and respectfully to community activists who make requests (e.g. public records) of North Canton officials.

Held did not state how long Fox has to show that he has has had "a road to Damascus experience."  However, the SCPR gets the impression that Fox's conversion had better happen soon indeed.

On September 18, 2012 Fox was sworn-in by then-former law director Roy Battista.

The SCPR's take is that Battista was the last law director that North Canton has had who had the confidence of North Canton's administration, its city council and the citizens of the city.

The first thing Fox should have done, which it appears he did not do, is to have sat down with Battista and vet him on the "ins and outs" of being a successful law director in all the dimensions that being law director entails.

From a legal technician standpoint, a number of Stark County jurists (attorneys and judges) rate Fox as being first rate.  One of his high marks from the standpoint of some if not all current city council members and Mayor Held is his sterling track record in winning lawsuits initiated by community activist and Ward 3 council candidate in November's general election Chuck Osborne.

One might think that building on his winning ways vis-a-vis Osborne on his lawsuits, Fox really, really, really over estimated his support by North Canton government elected officials.

Seemingly, think himself unaccountable, he stepped up the ante in terms of arrogating to himself the authority to direct a taxpayer paid for webpage rendition that some North Cantonians saw as a political attack on Osborne,  Jamie McCleaster (a council-at-large candidate in November's election) and Miriam Baughman.

Fox has denied to area media that he ordered the publication in support of incumbent councilpersons being challenged by McCleaster and Osborne saying that he was encouraged by an unnamed person to do so.



Who believes that Fox was merely being informative?

Who believes that he acted at the suggestion of an anonymous person?

More believable is a premise that he thought he was so in control in North Canton government that he could virtually do anything he wished, acting on his own.

It was David Held who ordered him to take down the webpage.

That had to be a shock for Director Fox for the SCPR is told by another highly reliable North Canton source in a position to know that Held has been Fox's most dedicated supporter for his nearly two years as law director.

Held himself told the SCPR that he tries to be patient with members of his administration.

However, it is clear to yours truly that Held's patience is running thin with Fox's perceived by the public anti-citizen stance as evidenced by what the SCPR thinks have been "way over the top" Fox denials in too many instances of public records requests.  And, Held, says that he is confident that a majority of council's views concurs with view that Fox needs to turn over a new leaf.

Administration officials and a number of councilpersons are upset with the expense borne by  North Canton government in complying with the voluminous Osborne in particular public records requests.

And, on the litigation expenses in fending off Osborne lawsuits, Held says that North Canton has had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But what about Osborne and his "out-of-pocket-costs" in initiating litigation?

No mention of this by administration officials or council members.  Interesting, no?

How many citizens are willing to spend their own money sticking up for the public interest?

Held suggests that Fox's webpage was a frustration reaction of the law director.

The SCPR can see North Canton's perspective.  And Law Director Fox's too.

But The Report is persuaded by Held's other point he repeatedly made in the conversation referred to above,  to wit:  such is the nature of holding public office, elected and unelected, and therefore being a government official is not for everyone.

As for the government litigation expense matter, that too is a common part and parcel part of being a public entity.

Perhaps if he law director, mayor and members of council had a "come let's reason together," there would be less litigation.

Perhaps, not.

Osborne can and does get dug in and there is only one way, his way.

The SCPR supports discussion and attempts to remedy complaints short of litigation with both sides approaching a controversy with a predisposition to resolving a given matter without resort to the courts.

And the admonition on a conciliatory attitude not only applies to North Canton officials but also to the likes of Chuck Osborne.

It appears that Fox is being currently assessed as to whether or not he can adjust to the realities of being a public official.

However, Fox may have stepped over the line with the webpage faux pas and should an incumbent councilperson or two or three or perhaps even five win in November, it could be that Fox will not get a chance to repent and mend in relationship with the citizen activist community.

One would think that should either McCleaster and/or Osborne and perhaps Holly Pierpont (running against council president and Ward 2 Councilman Daniel "Jeff" Peters) and maybe even Kathy Snyder (running in Ward 4 against councilman appointee Dominic Fonte) might join together to call for the political head of Fox no matter what "born again" conversion he might claim or demonstrate.

Osborne and McCleaster for sure would have to be skeptical of a 180 degree turn around.

Snyder might have motivation too because the reliance on her husband Jon on Fox's opinion as law director on Snyder's eligibility (also councilpersons Kiesling, Werren and Peters) in the legal sense of the word to have the city pay for his/their healthcare insurance benefits.

The Report thinks Snyder resigned first as council president and then as Ward 4 councilman because of the uproar over the healthcare issue.

Was it the Fox healthcare ordinance validity opinion letter the culprit?

Fox's opinion (November 15, 2013; released by Mayor Held on February 27, 2014) came in the aftermath of North Canton voters having voted about 72% in favor of an ordinance initiative referendum by Osborne in the November, 2012 general election which was designed to deny part time elected officials health insurance benefits at taxpayer expense.

For quite a period after issuing the opinion, North Canton officials (including Fox; citing attorney/client privilege) refused to release a copy of the opinion.  Eventually, Mayor Held did yield to public pressure and released the opinion.

Subsequently, North Canton's council directed Fox to file litigation (a declaratory judgment action) with the Stark County Court of Common Pleas Court.   Judge John Haas decided the case.  A source tells yours truly that the source thinks the reason for Haas' favorable to North Canton decision ran deeper than the reason(s) given in the judge's published opinion.

What might that deeper reason be?

Hmmm?

Now there is a new controversy between Fox and Osborne on a public records request.

From: Chuck Osborne <cosborne@neo.rr.com>
To: Martin Olson <tramols@att.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2015 3:40 PM
Subject: FW: North Canton Declines Mediation Request Regarding Recent Public Records Request

Hello Martin,
I apparently overlooked you when I first sent this out.

Now you have it.

Chuck

From: Chuck Osborne [mailto:cosborne@neo.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 08, 2015 9:36 PM
To: ...

Hello Guys,

Attached is an email I received today from the offices of the Ohio Attorney General informing me that the City of North Canton has declined to participate in mediation to resolve the City’s refusal to provide Public Records - for addresses of purchasers of pool passes to Dogwood Pool in 2014.

I was attempting to determine what percentage of pool passes were purchased by residents of North Canton versus patrons from outside the City, as the Dogwood Pool is a municipal pool for City residents.

I include a second email, dated November 19, 2014, also from the offices of the Ohio Attorney General informing me that the City of North Canton has declined to participate in mediation to resolve the City’s refusal to provide Public Records – a copy of an agreement for outside legal services.

In that request I was trying to determine the scope of legal services to be performed by an outside attorney and the hourly rate of pay for those services.

Once again, City Officials close out the “Public” from the public’s business.

Maybe City Hall should just hang out a sign that reads, “DO NOT DISTURB, WE ONLY WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU AT ELECTION TIME.”

Such is Life in the Dogwood City.

SAD times for the citizens of North Canton!!!
(note:  larger text emphasis added)

Awful, just awful!

"[T]he City of North Canton has declined to participate in meidation to resolve the City's refusal to provide public records ... . "

As the SCPR understands the Ohio attorney general's (OAG) mediation offer, the process is that:  an offer.  No obligation to accept the attorney general's recommendation.  Why wouldn't somebody (in this case Law Director Fox) be willing to sit down and talk about reaching a mutually agreeable solution?

Held tells the SCPR the refusal to do OAG's conciliation service is because Fox is convinced that he is correct on the law of the matter and therefore what is there to talk about?

Recently, Ohio's auditor David Yost started up a program to help citizens like Osborne carry a public records matter further.

The SCPR then suggested that Osborne try on the State of Ohio Sunshine Audit for size:

And Osborne followed up on the suggestion, to wit:

From: Melissa J. Crocker [mailto:MJCrocker@ohioauditor.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 2015 3:40 PM
To: Chuck Osborne
Subject: Sunshine Audit

 

Dear Mr. Osborne:

 

Per our telephone conversation, the Auditor of State’s Office is reviewing your Sunshine Audit complaint and will be sending out a letter with our findings in the near future.

 

Thank you,

Melissa Crocker

  

The SCPR applauds Auditor Yost for devising the program.

Hopefully, Osborne's effort will pay dividends.

North Canton's interaction with Yost's office will be an indication of whether or not Held's "adjust or else" admonition to Law Director Tim Fox has been heard by him.

As Ms. Crocker promises:  we should know in the near future.

Fox is now on notice that like or not North Canton's government is no longer will to abide his anti-democratic republican attitudes vis a vis the North Canton public no matter who the citizen might be.

The next move is Fox's.

Will he "adjust" or will it be "or else?"

NORTH CANTON CITY COUNCIL IS NOTHING BUT A MONUMENTAL "SCREW UP" THESE DAYS?

UPDATED:  12:17 PM (10/23/2014)

CORRECTION:  The SCPR inadvertently attributed to Law Director Fox as having accumulated and taken "the most" comp. time.

Actually, it is North Canton Chief Engineer James Benekos who takes "the honors" of being at the top of the list.  Fox is second.

Undoutbtedly, this is a rare case of Fox liking coming in second rather than "top banana" as he appears to accustomed to insisting upon, no?

The Report thanks the "eagle eyed" SCPR reader who picked up on the error.

As always, readers can depend on the SCPR to correct errors and to allow subjects of SCPR blogs to respond to the opinions of The Report.

VIDEOS

MAYOR DAVID HELD

ON

NORTH CANTON

COMP. TIME POLICY

Readers of The Stark County Political Report need to go back to the blog of June 24, 2014.

The June 24th blog contains a "spot-on" summary of the many grievances that a group of civic activists (who call themselves the "Concerned Citizens of North Canton" [CCNC]) have with North Canton City Council and its law director Tim Fox.

It may be that North Canton's council should be billed as "the biggest 'screw up' council" in all of Stark County.

As the SCPR sees it, since former council president Daryl Revoldt left council and since Jon Snyder,  Pat DeOrio and Jeff Davies are no longer council members "all Hell has broken out on council" and rather than "hear" and "work with" North Cantonians, the current council has chosen to do battle with the likes of the CCNC.

Not that Revoldt, Snyder (also a former president), DeOrio and Davies were perfect council persons, but, at least, they listened and they did not let the sitting law director at the time be "the tail that wags the dog" as appears to be the case with Law Director Tim Fox.

Wednesday's SCPR blog first reported an apparent additional (others: e.g. health care and public records management) North Canton City Council screw-up that has been in the works for some time; namely:  the formulation of a seemingly (according to the State of Ohio Auditor's office) illegal "compensatory time-off" policy and implementation.

Now this memo from council president Jeff Peters:

> From: ...  <dpeters46@neo.rr.com>
> Date: October 16, 2014, 12:36:49 PM EDT
> To: "MBailey@northcantonohio.gov" <MBailey@northcantonohio.gov>

> Subject: Memo from NC city council president
>
> Good afternoon all! City council, in the coming weeks will be addressing "comp time" among other compensation related things. 

With that in mind and questions surrounding how the final legislation will look, we want to address the current status of all accrued " comp time." 

Any accrued "comp time" to date  will not be recognized by council. 

We hope to have draft legislation ready by mid November so that we have a comprehensive and clear direction moving forward from that point. 

We want all to know that their hard work is noted and appreciated! 

If you have any questions re; this issue, please reach out to me or VP Foltz, and we ask for your patience while we move through the legislative process..
>
> Regards,
>
>
> Daniel J Peters
> NC city council president

The smoking gun in the memo?

Any accrued "comp time" to date  will not be recognized by council. 


 As of September 6th, this is how the accumulated/used comp. time chart looked.

Isn't it interesting that Tim Fox is the second largest accumulator and user?

And, if the the SOA makes in finding of "illegality," perhaps, the biggest payer of "cash equivalent" into the North Canton treasury.

If he is ordered to do so, wouldn't this be a case of "poetic justice?"

Why the "abrupt" stoppage?

The SCPR thinks that Peters/Foltz have reason to believe that when the State of Ohio Auditor's office next audits North Canton,  there might well be a finding that as of September 16, 2014 (presumably there has been more comp time earned and consumed in the ensuing 30 days), recipient North Canton employees will have to repay the city for the comp time consumed.

Not because the employees did anything wrong!

But likely because council blindly relied on the position and therefore advice of Law Director Fox that in his opinion the State of Ohio Auditor (SOA) is wrong on its interpretation of the legality of North Canton's formulation and implementation of the comp time policy.

As far as the SCPR can tell, the whole scheme got up and running on the basis of a letter issued by Mayor David Held who "unduly" (in the opinion of the SCPR) relied on the legal opinion of Law Director Tim Fox.

What does Fox's opinion appear to be?

That North Canton could cast aside State Auditor  e-mails implying (the SCPR's interpretation) that there would be "a financial reckoning day" for those employees that received time off from January 1 through October 16th because North Canton is "required as a matter of law" to provide for comp. time in ordinance form.

Apparently, as evidenced by the Peters memo, council is now having second thoughts about taking the law director's advice.

Mind you, the CCNC is not challenging the desire of council to compensate certain exempt employees (which means they do not get paid overtime for working in excess of 40 hours a week) for "beyond the call of duty" hours worked.

But rather the CCNC cares about, in council's failure to act via a city ordinance, exposing the beneficiaries of the policy change to the possibility that these employees "down-the-road" will have to pay "cash" - potentially in the thousands of dollars category - because of council's apparent reliance on Fox's position vis-a-vis the State of Ohio Auditor's office.

The Concerned Citizens have tracked the issue for some time.

In Wednesday's blog, the SCPR did not include documents which show the progression of events.

But being the only Stark County media outlet that fully informs its readers, the SCPR today shares relevant documents with The Report's readers.

COMMUNICATIONS 
NORTH CANTON CITY OFFICIALS
STATE OF OHIO AUDITOR

JON SNYDER (THE THEN COUNCIL PRESIDENT)

January 8, 201[4]

To: Directors of Finance, Law, and Clerk of Council Re: Compensatory Time for Exempt Employees

Dear Karen, Tim and Gail,

Because you are exempt employees, the law prohibits the City from compensating you monetarily when you are required to work beyond the normal workday. I know that you have sacrificed a significant amount of your off-duty time for the City—simply attending weekly City Council meeting over the period of a year would account for nearly 12 days of overtime. Accordingly, beginning with the first pay period this fiscal year, I wish to offer you the ability to earn compensatory time, as described below, as recognition for your past and continued service to the City.

The Exempt-Employee Compensatory Time Policy below is in draft form and I intend that it be included in the update to the City of North Canton’s Employee Handbook:

1. Accrual and usage of compensatory time for exempt employees

a. The employee’s supervisor must approve overtime in advance.
b. Compensatory time may be earned one-for-one for required work hours in excess of normally scheduled hours.
c. Is recorded on time curds when earned and when used.
d. Is earned and used in not less than 0.5 hour intervals.
e. May accrue up to a maximum of 40 hours.
f. Compensatory leave shall be granted by the employee's supervisor at a time mutually convenient to the employee and the supervisor.
g. Earned compensatory time shall be used before an employee is granted a leave of absence without pay.
h. Earned compensatory time shall not be used to extend an employee’s date of resignation or retirement.

2. Transfer and cash out prohibited

Earned compensatory time may not be transferred between employees, converted for payment, or converted to another form of vacation time or compensation. Employees forfeit compensatory balances upon transfer, termination, resignation, or retirement.

Please contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or comments.

cc:  Mayor, Council mbrs

January 8, 201[4]

To: Finance Director 

Re: Directors’ Time Sheets

Dear Karen,


Beginning with the first pay period for fiscal year 2014, the Directors of Finance, Law, and Administration, and the Clerk of Council will not require a supervisor’s signature for their time sheets or for the City Employee - Time Off Request form. Employees serving in these positions are at the highest level of supervision, trust, and accountability within North Canton’s government. Accordingly, their signatures attesting to the accuracy of the aforementioned documents require no additional validation.

Please contact me if you have any questions, concerns or comments.

cc/  Mayor, Council Mbrs,
Dir. Admin, Law, Clerk of Council, MAYOR DAVID HELD

MAYOR DAVID HELD

January 21, 2014

To: Director of Administration, Mike Grimes

Re: Compensatory Time for Exempt Employees

Dear Mike,

The law prohibits the City from compensating exempt employees monetarily when required to work beyond the normal workday. I know that our exempt employees sacrifice a significant amount of "off-duty" time for the City during the year for simply attending weekly City Council meetings, Planning Commission meetings, Zoning Board meetings, snow plow duty and many other type of events.

Accordingly, beginning with the first pay period this fiscal year, I wish to offer them the ability to earn compensatory time, as described below, as recognition for past and continued service to the City.

The Exempt-Employee Compensatory Time Policy below is in draft form and intended to be included in the update to the City of North Canton’s Employee Handbook:

A. Accrual and Usage
1. Exempt employee overtime must be approved in advance by the employee’s supervisor.
2. Each hour of approved overtime is earned one for one for comp time.
3. Comp time is used in not less than 0.5 hour intervals.
4. An employee may accrue comp time to a maximum of 40 hours.
5. Comp time shall be granted by the employee’s supervisor at a time mutually convenient to the employee and the supervisor.
6. All comp time must be used before an employee is granted a leave of absence without pay.
7. Comp time is recorded on time sheets when earned and when used.

B. Transfer and Cash Out Prohibited

1. The City does not permit comp time to be transferred from another employer or between employees.


2. Similarly, the City does not permit employees to cash out comp time or convert it for payment.

It is the assessment of The Stark County Political Report that two North Canton government officials (Finance Director Karen Alger and former Clerk of Council Gail Kalpac) and Jamie McCleaster, president of the North Canton Concerned Citizens deserved "the" credit for council president Daniel Jeff Peters' e-mail of October 16, 2014 which stopped the Held/Fox/Snyder (former council president and Ward 4 councilman Jon Snyder) "dead in their tracks on the apparently illegal (according to the SOA) plan.

The SCPR waited through Council of the Whole meeting, an exceptionally long (cough, cough) executive session of council on Monday evening, to get an interview with Mayor Held.

The Report wanted to get Peters on camera, too, but it appeared to the SCPR that Peters scurried out quickly - perhaps - to avoid the SCPR camera.

Of course, it is possible that Peters had "home matters" to attend to and therefore had to make a quick exit.  It is a SCPR impression that Peters normally hangs around after a meeting.

The following interview of Held, the SCPR self-servingly thinks, was quite incisive and effective in smoking Held out on what went on between him, Snyder, Fox and others in their coming together in a consensus that Fox's inexplicable advice - i.e. to ignore the SOA and its insistence:

• that an amendment to North Canton's original base time worked ordinance or,
• a completely new ordinance be put together to make compensatory time taken off legal and,
• therefore take affected employees "out-of-fiscal-danger" of potentially having to reimburse the city treasury for the compensatory time taken off.
•  

The primary theme that Held sounded out in the interview as the reason why recipient comp. time employees should not be concerned about a SOA imposed "cash" recovery of comp. time used through October 16th (reference:  the Peters memo to council) is a repetition in this excerpt in his January 21st letter, to wit:

Notwithstanding Held's video denial, the SCPR is convinced that Timothy Fox is in charge in North Canton government.

Should Fox's boss (in effect, a majority of council, i.e. four of the seven members) fail to rein him in and reassert its dominance; groups like the CCNC (in the 2015 elections) should target enough of the sitting council members with opponents (or get existing members "to see the light") pledging and committing to reassert council hegemony in North Canton government.

The SCPR thinks that when the SOA auditing personnel show up on the steps of North Canton City Hall, Mayor Held, Fox, former Councilman Snyder and Peters "may end up eating crow."

As written before by the SCPR, the Concerned Citizens are not against the compensatory time policy adjustment, only that the program be implemented according to the "rule of law."

Obviously, Fox and the SOA have a different take on what the law is. Such is not new for Fox.  

He has a different take than others on:

• the legality of legislation passed by a nearly 80% to 20% on the vote of North Canton's voters,
• the interpretation of Ohio's Open Records law as contrasted to that of Ohio's attorney general, and
• now contends with the State of Ohio Auditor on the proper legal foundation for comp. time policy change and implementation.

Is this a case of the world being wrong and Tim Fox being right whenever Tim Fox is having a legal opinion?

The Report thinks that the CCNC ought to take another look at any policy change and insist that any legislative change:

• have a cap (notice the SCPR broached that topic with Held), and
• that perhaps the accumulation of compensatory time not begin to accrue for any given work week until an included employee has worked 50 hours.

Former Clerk of Council Gail Kalpac in a conversation on Monday afternoon with the SCPR says that she alerted Jon Snyder to the need for an amended or new ordinance immediately on her learning of the Held/Fox/Peters scheme for putting a policy change in effect.

She also mused about how for the many years she worked for North Canton that there was no thought by exempt employees of being compensated (time wise or cash payment wise) for working beyond the normal American work week of 40 hours and that she thinks somebody ought to be looking out for North Canton taxpayers in that respect.

The SCPR agrees with Kalpac and thinks that council and the CCNC should rethink that matter and adjust any forthcoming legislation to address Kalpac's points.

There were a flurry of e-mails going back and forth between Held administration officials, Law Director Fox and council members and the SOA on the legality of (let's call it what it really is) "the Fox plan." Here, in the estimation of the SCPR, are two key e-mails that reduce "the bone of contention" to a succinct rendition of the the overall controversy, to wit:

 EMAILS

First, from the State Auditor's Office:

And then, the ultimate authority (SCPR sarcasm, folks):

It is apparent to the SCPR that Fox, who is said to have been recruited (in 2011) by Held to run for the Ward 3 council seat then occupied by temperamental but talented Councilman Jeff Davies, has Held's loyalty and has insight into the internal dynamics of council politics and thereby has survived in maintaining at least four council votes.

Jon Snyder tells the SCPR that he is likely to run against Held next year but might opt instead to run for council-at-large.

In any event, The Report thinks that unless or until council gets Fox under control, North Cantonians can look forward to one pitched battle after another between a majority of council (being manipulated by Fox) and North Canton's vigorous citizen activists. And the SCPR thinks that the North Canton Council as presently constituted is not about to get Law Director Tim Fox under control!

Hmm?

"No cash changed hands" and therefore the 15 or so affected employees have nothing to worry about? 

How about North Cantonians as citizens and taxpayers receiving diluted city services because a given employee was off the job and on comp. time?

Is there a "cash equivalent" in the opportunity cost of North Cantonians not having access to city employees out-of-the-office on comp. time?

The bottom line of all this discussion is Law Director Tim Fox and - to the SCPR - his holding a majority of council and Mayor Held in thrall.

Again to say, unless and until a majority of council pledged and committed to controlling the law director is in place, there are rocky times ahead for North Canton government!

(RESOURCE: OAG VIDEO) NORTH CANTON'S COUNCIL & MAYOR SHOULD STOP THE "BS" COMING FROM LAW DIRECTOR FOX ON E-MAILING PUBLIC RECORDS TO REQUESTERS!

 UPDATED: 09:30 AM

VIDEO

OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL

"TRAINING"

VIDEO

ON OAG MEDIATION SERVICE

North Canton's mayor (David Held) and North Canton's city council

ought to be "hanging their collective heads in shame!"

As can seen above, North Canton's website lists council members in red, white and blue.

In fact, its website color theme is red, white and blue, to wit:

And, its website shows the American and Ohio flags waving in full glory over the North Canton government complex.

But as far as the Stark County Political Report is concerned, North Canton city council's (and Mayor Held's) failure to rein-in city's law director (Tim Fox) on the matter of unfettered accessibility (including e-mail transmission) is not in accord with democratic-republican values upon which our great nation was founded.

Last night on CantonRep.com and preresumably in today's print edition (the SCPR blog is being written in the early morning hours of July 11th), The Canton Repository's Robert Wang has written an article (North Canton declines to email public records)  on how North Canton deals with requests (by the requesters) for the transmission of North Canton government records by e-mail.

The SCPR welcomes "the Johnnie Come Lately" interest by The Repository on public accessibility to the peoples' records.

Stark County media of every stripe needs to step forward and put the heat on Held, and councilpersons Foltz, Peters (council's president), Werren, Fonte, Kiesling, Cerreta and Griffith to cut the "BS" and take measures to compel Law Director Tim Fox to provide public records by e-mail, if so requested by a citizen requester.

As things stand now, North Canton's website color scheme should be in black and white.

Black and white?

Indeed!

It appears that North Canton government is countenancing if not encouraging Fox's drawing of an antagonistic line between the mayor's office and the city council office on the matter of full and unfettered access to the peoples' records.

How dare North Canton officials play its disingenuous game of dodge ball as to whom is responsible North Canton's instituting anti-democratic-republican values.

Fox points the finger at council and its various members past and present.

It seems as if North Canton government officials are proud to be part of the 10% of Ohio's political subdivisions which are not totally complying with Ohio's Sunshine Laws on public records.

North Cantonians and Stark Countians should frequent the website of the Ohio Coalition for Open Government.

The website offers up-to-date news on developments on open-government issues as well as pointing readers to resources that citizens can use in battling local Ohio governments such as North Canton's.

One such resource from a series of "training" videos published by the Ohio attorney general (OAG) office is the Ohio attorney general's mediation program.

There has been talk that Director Fox might seek an opinion of the OAG's office as to the legality of his unwillingness to use e-mail to transmit copies of public records.

The SCPR thinks that such a suggestion is a lot of Fox "huffing and puffing" inasmuch as the OAG's mediation service is an  existing available forum that has been around for some time but which the law director appears to not have sought out.

And, of course, individual citizens can seek the OAG's mediation service out and the SCPR encourages them to do so.

Here is an Ohio attorney general "training" video on how one can invoke the mediation process.



The SCPR thinks that the "elephant in the room" in North Canton government in enabling and encouraging Fox "to stiff-arm citizen access to public records" may well be North Canton mayor David Held.

Moreover, though Fox likes to bill himself as a "tough guy," it appears to the SCPR that he falls all over himself "kissing the posterior" of those he thinks are the power brokers in North Canton government as a way to stay in place as law director even though the Concerned Citizens of North Canton want him out and out yesterday.

As readers know, the SCPR has been all over North Canton government for a long, long time for its decidedly "to Hell with the citizens" attitude when it comes to respecting the wishes (e.g. the 72% vote [November, 2012] favoring Citizen Chuck Osborne's limitation on part time employees receiving North Canton subsidized health care insurance.

That same attitude surfaces in a number of instances in the conduct of North Canton government business vis-a-vis the public.

The SCPR thinks that a marked shift towards antagonism of North Canton government in relation to the public stepped up markedly with the hire of Tim Fox as North Canton's law director.

As written before, and as former Councilman Jon Snyder said in an interview with the SCPR this past Monday; it appears that the ratcheting up "us against the public" has to do with Held's and council's fear of Mr. Osborne.

With Snyder's departure, Osborne is by far more knowledgeable, informed, and experienced (de facto) than anybody currently in North Canton government.

They know that and their reaction is just that, "a reaction," and what we are getting is a refusal of North Canton government to release a report to council by Fox on the legality of the Osborne's health care ordinance for months.

Held tried to don the mantle of being a champion of the public's right to know when the report was finally released, but the truth of the matter is likely that Held was up to his eyeballs in deep sixing the report.

As shown in The Report's graphic for today's blog, North Canton government deserves A BIG FAT "F" when it comes to assessing its public accessibility factor whereas the Stark County commissioners (with Janet Creighton and Thomas Bernabei having come aboard in November, 2010) having restored county government credibility to be fully consonant with our nation's founding fathers'democratic-republican values.

Wang in his piece did an effective job in showing former councilman and council president Jon Snyder being complicit in Fox's stonewalling of public accessibility.

In the SCPR's video of Snyder on Monday he seemingly threw Fox under the bus in his criticism of how the law director's lack of social skills in dealing with the North Canton public.

But Wang's revelation of documents apparently linking Snyder to the stonewalling is persuasive to The Report that Snyder has deep roots in the problem.

With Snyder being gone, it is time for the current body of council members to place a policy for providing public record via e-mail (if so requested by a requester) in ordinance form.

Wang, in his reporting, gathered some telling quotes from the Ohio attorney general's office, to wit:

• Dan Tierney, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General’s office, said about the Sunshine Laws manual, “we would not put it out, if we didn’t believe it was factual and correct.”
• He pointed to a provision that says the person requesting records can have them duplicated “upon any other medium upon which the public office ... determines that it reasonably can be duplicated as an integral part of the normal operations of the public office...”
• Tierney said for a city to say it’s not required to send records by email it would have to say email wasn’t part of its normal operations.
• Fox called Tierney’s argument“ridiculous.”

Tierney is correct.  Fox's argument is "ridiculous."

Even though it appears that Tim Fox is answerable to nobody in North Canton, the fact of the matter and the law of the matter is, that he is.

On July 2nd the SCPR did a blog on chapter and verse examples of Law Director Fox foot dragging.

The longer council allows Fox to pursue his public-accessibility-belligerent attitude; is all the more evidence that they cannot pass off "the public be dammed" attitude as being an "off-the-reservation" law director.

It is a scandal on American democratic-republican values and citizen-electors exercising the voting franchise for an elected mayor and elected city council members to allow an "unelected" law director determine in what manner citizens can obtain public records.

Mayor Held, council members Foltz, Peters, Werren, Fonte, Kiesling, Cerreta and Griffith need TO STOP THE "BS" AND DO IT SOONER THAN LATER!!!