MAHONING COUNTY Sheriff responds to grievance

The sheriff says the captain's actions are self-serving political tactics.
By PATRICIA MEADE
and DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County Sheriff Randall A. Wellington says the anonymous release of a captain's union grievance listing Homeland Security sites he's guarding can be interpreted as illegal and has possibly undermined the security program.
"The issue of Homeland Security is not one that should be taken lightly and is most certainly not one that should have its shifts, personnel and their assignments detailed in newspaper reports," Wellington said in a written response Thursday to Capt. James M. Lewandowski and obtained by The Vindicator. "These actions have severely compromised the ability for us to provide a safe and secure program."
Lewandowski's union grievance, filed with the Fraternal Order of Police/Ohio Labor Council and reported in The Vindicator on July 18, contends that his new assignment to guard the Berlin and Lake Milton dams conflicts with at least eight departmental directives. He asked that a stop be put to the "acts of disparate and retaliatory treatment."
Lewandowski's grievance says his assignment to guard the dams on the graveyard shift is retaliation because he doesn't support Wellington's re-election bid. Lewandowski is expected to challenge Wellington for sheriff in the March 2004 Democratic primary.
Sheriff's answer
Wellington, in his response, said that Lewandowski's "political tactics" may have jeopardized the Homeland Security program and that such "self-serving acts will not be tolerated."
The sheriff said the behavior has undermined the program. "Our community at large is the victim of these political antics," he wrote.
When asked to comment on Wellington's response to his grievance, Lewandowski said: "Department rules and regulations prohibit me from commenting to the media without prior knowledge and consent of the sheriff."
Wellington was out of the area Monday and couldn't be reached to comment.
In his response, Wellington wrote that Lewandowski's grievance had no merit. Lewandowski is expected to pursue this matter through binding arbitration.
"I have not assigned you to any duty that is not within the scope of proper law enforcement or indicative of your job description," Wellington wrote. "You are a law enforcement officer, and you have been assigned to perform duties within the scope of such a position."
New patrol district
Lewandowski, in his grievance, said he learned from Maj. Michael Budd that the sheriff's department had received a $22,000 federal grant that created a Homeland Security patrol district where the dams are located. The grievance notes that Lewandowski was told he'd "head up" the new district and that he has been there since July 6.
State park rangers are in charge of patrolling the dams.
The Berlin Reservoir has a contract with the sheriff's department to have a deputy conduct a security check of the dam area four times, for about 15 minutes each, during each eight-hour shift, or 12 times a day. In return, the sheriff's department is reimbursed by the reservoir for three hours of salary a day.
"It's been a long-standing thing with the sheriff's department," said David James, a park ranger at the reservoir.
There is no formal agreement between the sheriff's department and Lake Milton State Park. But deputies, as well as officers from the Milton Township and Craig Beach police departments, are called to the area when there is a need for their assistance, a park spokeswoman said.
meade@vindy.com
skolnick@vindy.com