Let's hope it's the start of a great relationship

For as long as we can remember, Mahoning County Auditor George Tablack has complained about the lack of cooperation from the county commissioners' office and has gone so far as to contend that the current fiscal crisis could have been avoided if only commissioners Edward Reese, Vicki Allen Sherlock and David Ludt had turned to him for advice and guidance.
Indeed, not too long ago, Tablack appeared before Vindicator editors and writers and announced that after 171/2 years in office he was throwing down the gauntlet. His message to the commissioners: Brace yourselves for a public battle on all things government.
Thus, it was a pleasant surprise when Tablack called an editorial writer last week to hail the solution that he and the commissioners had worked out for Mahoning County's financial contribution to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport this year.
But the auditor didn't stop there. He thanked The Vindicator for a May editorial that encouraged the auditor and commissioners to work together to develop a long-range funding plan for the airport. Here's what it said in part: "Earlier this month, there were encouraging signs that the airport had become the bridge between the offices of the Mahoning County commissioners and the county auditor.
The past
"There has never been a close relationship between Auditor George Tablack and commissioners Edward Reese and Vicki Allen Sherlock. Only Commissioner David Ludt has been able to maintain strong ties with Tablack.
"Yet when Sherlock invited Tablack to meet with commissioners to discuss the funding of the regional airport against the backdrop of the county's long-range revenue projections, he agreed.
"The meeting took place, but Reese did not attend. Nonetheless, the session was a great success."
And that seems to have been the beginning of a worthwhile relationship. Despite criticism from Reese and some in the community over Sherlock's and Ludt's unwillingness to rush into approving funds for the airport, the several weeks they and Tablack spent discussing the issue and meeting with Western Reserve Port Authority officials and members of the Mahoning County Convention and Visitors Bureau was time well spent.
Out of those deliberations and an in-depth analysis of county government economic forecasts came agreement June 5 on how the county would fund the airport this year and what should be done to ensure a definite revenue stream in subsequent years. Commissioners voted unanimously -- Sherlock had never said she opposed funding the airport, while Ludt had publicly questioned Mahoning County's involvement at a time of tight budgets -- to allocate $100,000 from its general fund and to ask the visitors bureau to make a one-time commitment of $50,000. The airport authority had asked for $182,000 from each county. Trumbull County has earmarked that amount for the airport, which is in Vienna Township in Trumbull.
The commissioners and Tablack believe that legislation is being discussed in Columbus that could provide long-term funding for the airport. The measure would allow county commissioners to increase the county's lodging tax above what is already being charged to be used by port authorities for the airport.
Such a legislative initiative deserves the attention of the region's delegation in Columbus because it would solve a persistent problem for the airport, namely the lack of operating funds.
Meanwhile, Mahoning County commissioners and the auditor are receiving high praise from Congressman Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, who had voiced concern that without operating funds the airport would have been forced to close, thereby jeopardizing the future of the adjacent Youngstown Air Reserve Station.
The present
In his telephone call to a Vindicator editorial writer, Tablack expressed the hope that the spirit of cooperation that developed over the airport funding issue is an indication of things to come. We share his hope.