Trumbull commissioners to blame for tax rejection

Joseph J. Angelo Jr. and James Tsagaris just don't get it. Even after the voters of Trumbull County vented their anger over the so-called purchasing scandal by rejecting a 0.5 percent piggyback sales tax in Tuesday's election, the two commissioners were trying to deflect blame.
Angelo and Tsagaris contended that the 1-cent increase in the state's sales tax caused a backlash at the local level, resulting in residents saying no to making permanent the half-percent county tax that was imposed by the commissioners in April. The tax expires in April 2004.
"I think a lot of people are anti-Gov. Taft right now," Angelo said election night, after the complete but unofficial vote tally -- 43,084 to 12,435 -- clearly showed the extent of voter discontent in Trumbull County.
Here's a news flash for Angelo and Tsagaris: The vote on making the county sales tax permanent was a referendum on the two of you -- and you lost.
What about the third commissioner, Michael O'Brien? His relatively strong showing in the three-man race for Warren mayor shows that city voters, at least, weren't holding him responsible for what is now a full-blown investigation of the county's purchasing practices. Trumbull County's former maintenance director, Tony Delmont, has pleaded innocent to bribery, money laundering and theft in office charges. Two other former county employees have also been indicted.
Prosecutors contend that almost $400,000 was misspent in less than four years.
Newspaper probe
An investigation by Vindicator reporters brought to light the fact that Trumbull County had paid exorbitant prices for cleaning supplies that were never delivered or could not be found. O'Brien's immediate reaction was to loudly call on the county prosecutor to look into the matter. Angelo and Tsagaris were more muted in their comments and, in fact, refused to go along with their colleague's recommendation that Delmont be fired once his indictment was made public.
All three commissioners ultimately voted last week to fire Delmont.
By then, however, Trumbull County residents were champing at the bit to express their rage over the misspending of public dollars.
Even an appeal from county Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, who enjoys widespread support among the voters, wasn't enough to cool the public temper.
Thus today, Trumbull County faces a bleak financial future. Layoffs are in the offing, and there is talk of imposing a tax that would be dedicated to the sheriff's department. However, Angelo and Tsagaris will wait until a new commissioner has been appointed to succeed O'Brien, who takes office as mayor of Warren in January.
Given our belief that the defeat of the sales tax was a repudiation of Angelo and Tsagaris, we would suggest that any decisions about the county's financial future be made by an independent group of business and community leaders -- not the commissioners.
It's a matter of credibility.