COLUMBIANA CO. County officials: No chief, no sweat

Commissioners say they may fill the post once the city's finances are better.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- It's been nearly a year and a half since Columbiana County commissioners laid off county development director Mark Gardner, and commissioners say the county is getting along fine -- for now -- without someone in that post.
Gardner was furloughed in May 2002 from the $47,000-a-year job after commissioners said the county no longer could afford having someone fill the post, which involved seeking out development grants and loans and promoting the county.
Gardner was paid from administrative fees that are attached to state and federal grants.
When that funding source dwindled, Gardner was forced to come to commissioners and seek $10,000 a month from the county's general fund.
At the time, the county was in the grips of a fiscal crisis brought on by a lack of adequate sales-tax revenue and couldn't afford to help the department. The situation led to Gardner's layoff.
Sales-tax boost
In June 2002, commissioners imposed a 0.5-percent increase in the county's 1 percent sales tax, which is helping the county to claw its way out of its funding quagmire.
But that doesn't mean commissioners are prepared to restore Gardner or hire someone else.
Commissioners Jim Hoppel and Gary Williams said the county would benefit from having a development director.
"We should have a permanent director," Williams said. But, he added, "We haven't crossed that bridge yet. We'll be looking at that down the road. We're in the process of eliminating debt," and filling the development director's post isn't a priority.
Handling duties
Hoppel noted that the development department's day-to-day operations are being fulfilled by its two clerks with oversight from commissioners.
The clerks are paid from the administrative fees in federal and state loans. Any excess goes to the county general fund to repay a debt acquired when the fund was subsidizing the department.
Much of the development director's job is routine and can be handled, at least in the short term, by clerical staff, Hoppel said.
"I'm not saying that, down the road, we won't have a director," he added.
The county benefits greatly by having a port authority, a development entity many counties are without, Hoppel said.
Tracy Drake, port authority director, "does an outstanding job" of promoting the county and landing funding for development, Hoppel added.
leigh@vindy.com