For Austintown, the devil certainly is in the details

Austintown Township trustees have only themselves to blame for losing the opportunity to hold a special election in August for a 2.5-mill levy for police and fire services. It is asinine for anyone, especially a trustee, to suggest that The Vindicator is to blame.
The newspaper's reporter who covers Austintown was doing his job when he wrote a story last week pointing out that the trustees may have violated Ohio's open meetings law -- sunshine law -- when they held a special session at which the decision was made to place the levy question on the ballot in August.
As the story noted, trustees David Ditzler, Bo Pritchard and Richard Edwards approved a resolution May 19 designating Aug. 5 as the date for the election. However, the resolution was not listed on the agenda for the special meeting. Therefore, the public did not have prior notice that the resolution would be considered. Indeed, the agenda stated that the trustees were going to conduct bargaining sessions with employees.
Considering that Ditzler and Pritchard are not newcomers to government, and that Pritchard is a lawyer by profession, the failure to follow Ohio's sunshine law to the letter is inexcusable.
Edwards explained that he and his colleagues agreed to hold a special election in August so they could address the township's budget problems as quickly as possible. If Austintown is in such dire financial condition that failure to pass the levy in August could mean additional budget cuts -- about $1.2 million must be slashed from the general fund to avoid a deficit -- would it have not behooved trustees to ensure that every 't' was crossed and 'i' dotted?
Even more disturbing is the fact that no one in township government, not even Administrator Michael Dockry, was aware that the sunshine law was being violated as a result of the flawed agenda for the special meeting.
November ballot
As a result of the newspaper story, the trustees decided Tuesday not to hold the special election. The levy most likely will appear on the general election ballot in November.
During the meeting, Edwards sought to blame The Vindicator, saying that if a parent called to complain about a particular program's not being available, he would direct the individual to the person who first noted the "gray area" in the sunshine law.
"Isn't it amazing how we attract headlines?" Edwards said. "Is the gray area more important than a child's life? I don't think so."
Gray area? There are court rulings making it clear that a specific reason must be included in the agenda for a special meeting. Edwards might try to deflect blame, but it won't work. If he is suggesting that The Vindicator simply ignore possible violations of the law by government, he doesn't know us very well.
This newspaper has consistently fought local governments that have taken a cavalier attitude toward two laws that are essential to the public's right to know what's taking place in county courthouses, city and village halls and township administration buildings: open meetings (sunshine) and public records.
We do not take kindly to any violation because we have long believed that government must operate in the spotlight of public scrutiny. There are very few occasions that would justify secrecy. Indeed, we have gone so far as to push for opening labor negotiations to the public so interested taxpayers can have a close-up look at how their dollars are spent and the demands public employees make on shrinking treasuries.
Austintown trustees should have known better when they held a special meeting and passed the resolution calling for the special election. That they didn't is cause for concern.