Youngstown must pay for past bad decision

First, to indulge in a bit of wishful thinking: Wouldn't it be wonderful if some resident of the city of Youngstown filed a lawsuit to stop the city from paying $30,000 claimed by two former magistrates for unused sick leave?
At the very least, the suit would require Atty. Andrew Bresko and Atty. Lynn Sfara Bruno to be deposed by the lawyer for the plaintiff, which means they could be asked such pointed questions as, "How many hours a week did you dedicate to your job as a Youngstown Municipal Court magistrate?" And when they answered, the lawyer could then ask, "Could you provide us with your time sheets, which every attorney maintains, to support your claim?"
But as we said at the outset, it's wishful thinking.
The reality, as established by Ohio Auditor Jim Petro, is that the city's board of control, made up of Mayor George M. McKelvey, Law Director Robert Bush and Finance Director Barbara Burtner, must pay Bresko $19,360 and Sfara Bruno $9,908.
Employment status: It's all about the divine right of judges, you see. The municipal judges who were in office in 1980 when Bresko was hired and 1988 when Sfara Bruno was put on the public payroll didn't concern themselves with such details as the employment status of these individuals.
Thus, after an exhaustive review of the magistrates' tenure in office, the state auditor and his staff, including his legal counsel, concluded that the magistrates' claim for unused sick leave is valid.
The conclusion is based on the absence of a clear-cut job description that would show whether they were full- or part-time employees and the presence of documentation that seems to suggest that Bresko and Sfara Bruno were given full-time status so they would be eligible for benefits that city employees who put in 40 hours a week receive.
There is nothing to indicate that the two magistrates actually worked 40 hours a week for the city in the municipal court or in their offices, the state auditor says, but given Ohio Supreme Court rulings that provide judges with dictatorial powers when it comes to the operation of the courts, the city administration would be on shaky legal ground if it refused to approve the $30,000 payment.
We would hope, however, that when the board of control meets to take up this issue, the mayor will publicly express his disdain for what the judges of the municipal court who hired Bresko and Sfara Bruno did, or more accurately failed to do.
There should never have been any question about the employment status of the magistrates. In February 2000, the three judges currently on the municipal court bench ended all magistrate sick and vacation leave, and late in the year they created a full-time magistrate position to replace the ones established in the 1980s.
Bresko resigned in December, and Sfara Bruno quit in January.
Judges had suspended Bresko after his name appeared in a complaint filed by the state Supreme Court's disciplinary counsel against Edward A. Cox, formerly a judge on the 7th District Court of Appeals. The complaint says Bresko is among at least nine local lawyers who loaned then-Judge Cox money
Federal investigation: Sfara Bruno, who cited the demands of her law practice as a reason for leaving, was reportedly being investigated by the FBI as part of the federal government's crackdown on government corruption in Mahoning County. She has said that she wasn't aware of any investigation and that it had nothing to do with her departure.
The payment of the $30,000 to these individuals is a bitter pill to swallow, but the mayor sought direction from the state auditor and he got it.