Mahoning County officials must change with the times

It would be a grave mistake for Mahoning County government employees, especially officeholders, to view Tuesday's renewal of the 0.5 percent sales tax as vindication for the way they've been conducting the people's business. The 52,498 residents who voted "yes" -- 34,269 voted "no" -- certainly weren't telling the folks who have access to the public treasury that they should keep doing what has been done in the past.
It is our belief that the renewal of the tax was the result of an aggressive campaign by the private sector -- business, labor and community leaders -- and the promises made by the county commissioners. Those promises can be summed up thus: We will be good stewards of the tax dollars, and we will adopt the findings of the 2001/02 state performance audit to make government cost-effective and efficient.
The 60 percent of the Mahoning County voters who went to the polls and endorsed the sales tax renewal expect those promises to be kept. This newspaper, which demonstrated its support through a week-long front page editorial campaign, will make sure that the taxpayers aren't disappointed.
In that regard, we urge commissioners Edward Reese, Vicki Allen Sherlock and David Ludt, who control the General Fund purse strings, to first and foremost set goals relating to the state performance audit and then to establish deadlines for meeting those goals.
Audit recommendations
As an initial step, the commissioners should issue a report card within the month showing how many of the 210 recommendations in the audit have been adopted, how many are in the process of being adopted and the number that they believe are beyond their control and authority.
This last category is important because state Auditor Jim Petro has acknowledged that it would be impossible for Mahoning County to immediately implement all the recommendations. But Petro has also said that if all were incorporated into the conduct of county government, expenditures would be reduced by $2.7 million a year.
We fully realize that with 1,205 of the county's 1,800 full-time employees being represented by 18 collective bargaining agreements, change will not be easy. Indeed, some $1.2 million of the $2.7 million in savings would come only if union contracts were renegotiated.
We also recognize that county government isn't like the city of Youngstown, which has a strong mayor and a part-time city council. Instead, there are fiefdoms led by officeholders who are unwilling to give up their independence. This has stymied county government's progress.
But since Reese, Sherlock and Ludt are invariably blamed for all the county's financial ills, they have a right to lead the charge in changing the way government operates.
Therefore, once they publicize the report card showing the status of the audit recommendations, they should come up with a time line for meeting the goals they have set. The idea that the commissioners have no right to review the operations of every department and agency is ludicrous. As far as the taxpayers are concerned, the commissioners, the judges, the sheriff, the engineer and even dog catcher all feed from the same trough, which means they all depend on public dollars for their existence. Thus, it is foolhardy to argue that the commissioners should not comment on how the auditor, recorder, treasurer or the judges manage their money or even run their offices. The taxpayers don't want to hear it. They just want to know that every officeholder and every nonelected employee of county government is committed to changing with the times.
Health insurance
In the state performance audit of Mahoning County government, reference was made to the $6 monthly co-payment for health insurance negotiated into some union contracts, but not into others. But even in the eight departments that have a co-payment, the money isn't being deducted from the employees' checks. If there is one issue that has galvanized the critics of county government, it is this failure to enforce the contract. The conclusion that many residents have reached is that government operates on the principle of "no pain and lots of gain."
Rather than sweep the issue under the rug, the commissioners should publicly call on those unions that have not embraced co-payment to do so. So what if contracts have to be reopened to include the provision? That's what the taxpayers want.
Officeholders risk voter backlash if they conduct business as usual. Although the 0.5 percent tax renewal on Tuesday's ballot received overwhelming support, the renewal of the other half-percent sales tax might not fare as well when it goes before the voters in 2004.
Here are some of the other audit recommendations that must be embraced sooner rather than later:
UDevelop an overall job classification plan.
UImplement a new hospitalization plan to help reduce the rising premiums.
UReplace part-time judges with full-time judges and consolidate the four county courts.
UReduce the number of deputies assigned to courthouse security.
UImplement a pay-to-stay program at the county jail.
UExpand video arraignment.
In addition, the audit report recommends that all offices use the county's centralized personnel department. The operative word is all. There must be no exceptions.
Mahoning County government has two years to prove to the taxpayers that their money is being spent wisely. The clock is ticking.