PLAIN TWP TRUSTEE (GIAVASIS) QUESTIONS REPOSITORY'S COMMITMENT TO "SUNSHINE"

At Tuesday night's regular township meeting (uncovered by Stark County's only countywide newspaper), Plain Township trustees (Stark County's largest township) announced that they, beginning Tuesday (which was in and of itself a demonstration project put on by Trustee Lou Giavasis) are making available to the interested public a videocast (on YouTube linked up on the township's website) of the township's regular meeting, zoning commission meetings and board of zoning appeals meetings.

Such is a major step forward, in the opinion of the Stark County Political Report, in making local government more accountable, transparent and accessible to everyday Plain Township citizens.

Councilman Kevin Fisher (Democrat - Ward 5) tells the SCPR that he wants to do a similar thing with Canton City Council meetings.

The SCPR applauds Giavasis' leadership on "letting the sunshine in" on Plain Township government and also recognizes Trustees Al Leno and Scott Haws for supporting the board president's lead.

The Plain Township initiative is a model for other township, village, city, and board of education to follow.  Fisher of Canton undoubtedly will be in touch with Giavasis for assistance in figuring out "the nuts and bolts" in constructing and configuring a meeting videotaping operation.

The Plain effort and the Fisher ambition deserves the support of local media.

It appears to the SCPR that Giavasis questions, as Stark County's only countywide media outlet, The Repository's commitment to promoting beams of sunshine illuminating the processes of local government except, perhaps, when The Rep itself is having difficulty with something like an unhonored public records request.

He told The Report that he and his fellow trustees' motivation is to get Plain residents more involved in their local government.

He said that the board of trustees recognize that people's lives are filled with loads of everyday responsibilities and that videotaping the meetings is a move by the board to make township meetings available to citizens on their timetable.

The SCPR sees that more and more Stark County political subdivisions are enhancing their interaction with their constituents.

North Canton, for instance, held a townhall-esque meeting, also Tuesday night, attended by some 175 citizens at the North Canton Civic Center hosted by Ward 4 councilman and Council President Jon Snyder and Ward 1 Councilman Doug Foltz (Councilwoman Marcia Kiesling and Mayor David Held were also present) in which city police, fire and EMS officials counseled North Cantonians on ways and means to protect themselves from the ravages of crime, fires and emergency medical incidents.

Since Tom Bernabei (November, 2010) and Janet Creighton (January, 2011) took office, Stark County government has become much more accountable, transparent and accessible.

A recent interaction with Canton/Vassar Park citizen Bruce Nordman resulted in the commissioners facilitating with Sheriff George T. Maier an immediate increase of bed utilization at the Stark County jail from 400 beds to 450 on the way to full use which will be 501 beds.

Until Nordman got involved, the sheriff was saying it could take months to have a significant increase in bed utilization because of difficulties in finding qualified candidates to hire as deputy sheriffs.

Nordman has also seized the initiative (he calls his effort:  Group 175) with Canton City Council and the mayor (with whom he meets on April 16th) to dramatically increase the number of police from its soon to be 150 to 175.

When (in 2007) Canton's force was last at 175, the city had to be safer because the 175 made about twice the arrests that they are making now.

One sees very little if any editorial support of the efforts to bring more accountability to local government by The Rep.  Moreover, it appears to The Report that the newspaper affords scant recognition of Stark County citizens who take on local government when it is not being responsive to citizen needs.

Trustee Giavasis felt strongly, and the SCPR agrees, that Plain trustees deserved coverage/recognition of its Tuesday night initiative.

And, of course, in writing this blog (as yours truly has often done before), The Report regularly and actively exhorts local governments and officials to be more be more accountable, transparent and accessible.

Usually the blogs are critical of the lack of thereof in Stark County political subdivision government.

But not always and the Plain Township example is one worthy of laudation.

Though he gave The Rep a "heads-up" on the initiative, he says nobody showed up to cover the event.

Here is summation of what he had to say to The Report about The Rep's failure:

• He got of phone call from The Rep that they could not cover Tuesday's township meeting because they did not have enough reporters to cover Plain, North Canton and Jackson Township at the same time,
• However, what particularly disturbed him was that there was no follow up, as of the time yours truly was talking with him on Wednesday, by the folks at The Rep wanting to know whether or not the trustees had passed a resolution providing for the taping of township's meetings for citizens to view at their leisure,
• "And this is the one that preaches openness and transparency."

Two weeks ago the SCPR attended a Plain Township meeting which had a couple of zoning change request hearings as part of the overall meeting.  Impressive to The Report was that the trustees let affected citizens who showed up as much time as they wanted to make their case.  Moreover, the Stark County sheriff took second place to the citizens in terms of placement on the overall meeting agenda.  It seems to The Report that the Plain trustees have their priorities right.

Not only does Plain Township lead the way for local governments to follow in terms of accountability, transparency and access, but appears to the SCPR to be the most fiscally responsible board of township trustees.

As indicate above it is uncommon for the SCPR to write a blog holding up any public official or government body as an example to be followed. 

However, Plain Township and its commitment to making local government processes accessible Plain citizens and thereby making those processes transparent which, of course, ultimately leads to accountability is a model that should be given the highest accolades and support.

A SCPR "hats off" to the Plain Township trustees!

All of Stark County local governments should pattern themselves after the Plain Township example.

DISCORD IN PLAIN TOWNSHIP: TRUSTEES - DEMOCRAT GIAVASIS & REPUBLICAN HAWS VIE OVER PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS. A CASE OF DEMOCRATS BEING PRO-UNION & REPUBLICANS BEING ANTI-UNION?

UPDATE:  10/27/2010 AT 9:30 AM


FROM PLAIN TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE LOUIS GIAVASIS

Martin, I read your blog this morning and only one important thing in my opinion is the fact this type of agreement does not effect labor costs. All Public projects must be bid at prevailing wage! Union or Non Union. It does not subject non union contractors to pay union wages because prevailing wage is prevailing wage and both sides have an equal opportunity to get work.  Again, it is my opinion that this type of agreement will allow Plain Township specify that the labor force is local PERIOD! Why in the world in todays economic climate would we spend local tax dollars and send those tax dollars away from Stark County to an out of county or state contractor.  We have a responibility when we use our tax payers dollars to put our local work force to work first so those dollars come back to the area.

This discussion took place over several weeks, it was not something that was brought up that night and just passed, I feel it is my responsibility as an elected leader to make sure that the lion's share of our tax dollars on these projects stay local and help our local economy, not some other counties. 


ORIGINAL BLOG


Republican Plain Township Trustee Scott Haws says that Democrats Louis Giavasis and Al Leno jammed a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) biasing the township in favor of unions at the expense of Plain's taxpayers was done at the October 12th meeting of trustees.

Giavasis responds that the "jamming down" is utter nonsense and what's more Project Labor Agreements save taxpayer money.

To the SCPR, the truth of the matter is that both pro-union forces (usually Democrats who get favored with union campaign financing) and anti-union groups (usually Republicans who are predominantly favored by campaign contributions of contractors and businesses generally) are trying to tilt the public sector towards the side that favors them.

Recently, the Stark County passed a PLA resolution.  Guess what?  All three commissioners are Democrats.  Go figure, no?

Moreover, Canton city government (controlled by Democrats [only one elected Republican - Mark Butterworth/Ward 8]) has entered into a PLA for construction of it new fire station at 25th & Cleveland Avenue.

PLA's could become a new battleground of squabbling between Republicans and Democrats as it is likely that more Republicans will be elected to countywide office next week (Janet Creighton as commissioner, for one) and therefore in a position to contest the passing of resolutions mandating PLAs for new construction projects.

Plain township does not presently have a PLA in place, so why the need to pass a PLA resolution as Plain Trustees did on October 12th?

Trustee Giavasis tells the SCPR that the PLA resolution does not bind the township to implement a PLAs.  

Moreover, there is no financial/economic-based answer to this question.

It is sheer politics in the estimation of The Report.  Stark County unions have been pushing PLAs as a matter of policy with Stark County local government units in those venues in which Democrats control.

As Plain Township has been mulling over PLA legislation, union representatives have been showing up at meetings.  Such is also true prior to the county commissioners passing a similar resolution.

Apparently, the union thinking is to get the legislation in place and then as contracts come up to push for utilization of the PLA process on each and every contract.  The goal likely is to create a legal history of using PLAs and then if and when Republicans come to dominate a given unit of local government, they will be hard pressed to defy legal precedent of using the PLAs.  Local governments generally afflicted with the "that's the way we have always done things" mentality.  Unions know this and seem to be exercising foresight to advantage themselves.

The fact that is unions who push for PLAs must mean that they see an advantage in having them.

If, when entities like the Plain trustee and the Stark Commissioners or Canton City Council, a balanced group of contractor/business representatives and union representatives showed up in support of a PLA resolution/legislation, then one could buy the notion that such legislation is interest group neutral.

Trustee Giavasis attacks the Nimishillen Township trustees in his reply to The Report for building its newest fire station without the benefit of a PLA, to wit:

Martin, I feel this type of agreement will put our local contractors to work first, we can specify what percentage must be local, what percentage is union and no union, it prevents cost over runs and it will prevent the same or like financial and construction disaster Nimishillan (sic) Township experienced with their recently constructed fire station. Not only will it prevent the high cost over runs it may prevent the costly litigation they expended to have their problems fixed with that building. We owe it to our tax payers to have the highest quality workmanship and at the most cost effective rate that prevent additional expenses as what happened in Nimishillan (sic) Township ... .

What follows is a chart of the differences between Plain Township Trustees Giavasis and Haws:

As far as the SCPR is concerned, PLAs could be a good thing provided that business (management) and the workforce (unions) would come together and agree on a format and substance (in general) that both benefit from.  In other words, a win-win situation.

There is a mythology in America that "all I want is a fair chance."

The Report wishes such was the case.  But it is not.

In the cases of PLAs unions are trying to advantage themselves over management.

In fighting PLAs outright, rather than sitting down with representatives of organized labor to achieve win-win model PLAs; management is trying to keep in place perceived advantages in not have broad working agreements.

If both groups really cared about the well-being of taxpayers, they would hammer out a template that becomes a win for the working force, a win for business and management and, most importantly of all - A WIN FOR THE TAXPAYER!