MAHONING COUNTY Group calls for removal of Commissioner Sherlock

The effort stems from the court funding controversy.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
and DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS
POLAND -- California comes to the Mahoning Valley?
A local political organization that has been an outspoken critic of Mahoning County Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock say it is exploring a process to remove her from office.
The removal effort would be "for failure to perform official duties, misfeasance and malfeasance" in the juvenile-court funding controversy, the group said.
In Ohio, elected officials are removed through the courts. The Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts, the local political organization, would need to collect 13,041 valid signatures, or at least 15 percent of the number of county residents who voted in the last gubernatorial election. Those seeking the recall must convince a common pleas judge that the commissioner is guilty of malfeasance, misfeasance or dereliction of duty.
"It doesn't matter what I do; this group obviously doesn't care what's right," Sherlock said. "It's personal with them. Why is it just me?"
The organization wrote in a statement that it is targeting Sherlock because of a "continuing pattern of lawless behavior and disregard for the taxpayers of Mahoning County."
Sherlock's criticism
Sherlock has been the most vocal commissioner regarding a recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling that compels the county to provide an additional $2.3 million to the county's juvenile court system. Sherlock has criticized Judge Theresa Dellick of the juvenile court for filing the suit and said commissioners will not pay the additional amount.
Sherlock and Commissioner Ed Reese are refusing to comply with the court order, saying the county doesn't have the $2.3 million to fund juvenile court. Commissioner David Ludt wants to settle.
Ludt attended a public forum Tuesday at the Poland Community Baseball Association hall sponsored by the Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts about the funding issue. Sherlock pointed out that Ludt hasn't made a motion at a commissioners' meeting to fund the juvenile court, yet he is supported by the political group.
Sherlock said she would be willing to meet with Judge Dellick on this issue but only in public. Sherlock said the judge's attorney wants to meet behind closed doors.
The group would like Sherlock, who is up for re-election next year, to resign.
Source of financial woes
During the forum, Auditor George Tablack said the county is in a financial crisis but the courts' budget requests shouldn't be blamed for it.
"We have deflected attention toward the requests of two courts" that have little to do with the county's financial position, Tablack said.
The juvenile court offers the best chance to rehabilitate offenders, he said, noting that each career criminal costs society nearly $1 million.
To illustrate the county's financial crisis, he offered a chart showing that the county's general fund balance has fallen from nearly $18 million in 1999 to less than $6 million this year and is projected to dwindle to just over $2 million next year and nothing in 2005.
Court order
For this year, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered commissioners to provide an additional $172,000 to Probate Judge Timothy Maloney, which they have provided, and an additional $2.3 million to Judge Dellick, which commissioners haven't provided because they say they can't afford it.
Judge Dellick has said she's willing to compromise on her request.
Lawyers for Judge Dellick filed a motion Friday asking the Ohio Supreme Court to find the county commissioners in contempt of court for not obeying the high court's order.
Explaining their budgets
Judge Maloney said he began in 1997 by reducing the court's general fund budget to 20 percent below the 1996 budget of his predecessor, Judge Leo P. Morley. He noted that his budgets of about $920,000 each for 2003 and 2004 are a mere 3 percent higher than the 1996 figure, and that probate court spends just over 1 percent of the county's general fund.
Judge Dellick said her court maintains a detention center housing between 80 and 100 children, has about 700 juveniles on probation, and is responsible for custody, paternity, visitation, child support, juvenile delinquency and child-endangering cases. Mahoning County leads the state in violent juvenile crime per capita, she said.
"I need this money to fund this court," she said.
Noting that the county has 32 employees on layoff, Ludt said he supported providing Judge Maloney with the money he requested but thought the county couldn't afford Judge Dellick's request.
Referring to the Ohio Supreme Court case, however, he added, "We lost, and I took an oath of office to uphold the law."
milliken@vindy.comskolnick@vindy.com