MAHONING COUNTY Judge ends budget battle

The judge said she's down to the business of using the money prudently.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- She didn't get all she wanted, but Judge Theresa Dellick said she got enough funding to satisfy her court's needs for the rest of this year.
For that reason, the judge said she's dropping a motion to have Mahoning County commissioners held in contempt of court, ending a budget battle she'd waged with commissioners since January.
At a special meeting Friday, commissioners voted 2-1 to appropriate an additional $925,000 to the juvenile court, where Judge Dellick presides. It was a compromise to settle a lawsuit in which the Ohio Supreme Court had ruled for the judge.
"The funds are certainly less than the Supreme Court found to be reasonable and necessary," Judge Dellick said in a written statement.
She said the important thing is to use those funds "as efficiently and as responsibly as possible" to continue operating the court until the end of the year.
The judge sued after commissioners failed to obey a court order she issued in December 2002, asking for $6.9 million to fund the court for 2003. As part of an across-the-board budget cut, commissioners appropriated $4.6 million to the court.
The high court ruled recently that the judge's request was reasonable and that commissioners must provide the additional money.
Negotiations
Because most of the year had already passed before the case was decided, Judge Dellick said she did not need the full amount and was willing to negotiate with commissioners for less. Commissioners Ed Reese and Vicki Allen Sherlock refused to meet with her.
"She was willing to work with us and I am willing to work with her," said Commissioner David Ludt.
Ludt and Auditor George Tablack met with Judge Dellick several times and negotiated the $925,000 amount.
Reese said he's glad the ordeal is over and that commissioners continued fighting even after the high court's ruling.
"I guess we saved $1.4 million for the county," he said.
Sherlock said Judge Dellick has requested $6.9 million already for 2004. She said the judge should implement a 10-percent co-payment for employee health insurance premiums to help offset that additional funding.
She also wants "full disclosure" of how this year's additional money will be spent, as well as how next year's money will be spent.
bjackson@vindy.com