MAHONING COUNTY Officials, sheriff can't agree on 2003 budget

The sheriff says he has toed the fiscal line. Commissioners say he has stepped over it.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners wanted the sheriff to chop $3.5 million out of his budget for next year.
Instead, Sheriff Randall Wellington asked for nearly $2 million more than the $16 million he'll spend this year. He wants $16.9 million for operating, plus $900,000 for training and a security upgrade.
The sides seem to be at loggerheads over what to do about it.
Commissioners say the sheriff's staff grew by nearly 50 employees between January 2000 and January 2002.
Wellington says he wasn't at full staff in January 2000. He said that between December 2000, when he was at full staff, and December 2002, he's down five employees.
Commissioners say the sheriff has ignored their requests to cut back his spending this year. Wellington says he's cut some $650,000 so far. He eliminated overtime pay for jail deputies this summer to help keep costs down.
"I think we've been very prudent in our operation here," he said.
Informed
Commissioners began telling officeholders last summer to brace for a 20 percent budget reduction next year. Stagnant sales tax revenue, a sharp drop in investment earnings and a projected loss of state money are the primary reasons for the cuts.
Commissioners gave each office a target budget figure for 2003, and asked them to prepare their budgets within that amount.
All offices that do not have anything to do with courts or public safety complied, as did the domestic relations court, according to budget director Elizabeth Sublette.
The common pleas courts, area courts and prosecutor's office did not cut their budgets, but did not ask for increases either. Their budget requests for next year are for the same as received this year, Sublette said.
Wellington and Judge Theresa Dellick of juvenile court asked for significant funding increases next year. Judge Dellick has said she needs the additional funding, about $1.6 million more than the $5.3 million she received this year, for employee raises. Her staff has been passed over for raises for 10 years, and it's time to catch up, she said.
She also said the money is needed to continue programs aimed at curbing juvenile delinquency.
Wellington's rationale
Likewise, Wellington said he needs most of the additional money to maintain staffing and program levels. To drop down to the $12.5 million target for his department, he would have to lay off about 80 deputies.
Under terms of a negotiated labor agreement, he's obliged to give deputies a 4 percent pay raise next year.
His department took over security at the juvenile justice center this year, which created an additional $500,000 cost. That job was once privately contracted.
He has officers assigned to various task forces and road patrols, and as resource officers in various schools around the county. All those programs would have to be cut if his budget is slashed, he said.
"It would affect our whole span of operations here," Wellington said.
Thomas DeGenova, Wellington's fiscal officer, said about $900,000 of the total budget request is a "wish list." He said $550,000 is for replacement of the security systems at the county jails, and the rest would be for training.
If commissioners cut his budget, Wellington said he probably would not take legal action to force more money out of them, although Ohio law gives him that authority.
Wants to talk
"I would hope we could work together on this," he said.
One thing he'd like to do is sit down with commissioners, go over his budget line by line and have them tell him where to make cuts.
"I want the commissioners to tell me where they think I can cut," Wellington said. "If they're going to budget me less than I want, then tell me what to do."
But Commissioner Ed Reese said that's not going to happen.
"He's elected by the people to run his department. That's his responsibility and his job," Reese said. "Our job is to balance the budget."
Commissioners plan to approve the 2003 budget at their meeting Thursday.
They also have asked the state auditor's office to begin the process of placing the county under fiscal watch. That's based on the idea that if next year's spending continues at this year's levels, the county would be more than $9 million in the hole.
However, commissioners acknowledge that when they approve a balanced budget next week, the reason for a fiscal watch would go away.
bjackson@vindy.com