MAHONING COUNTY BUDGET '04 requests fail to meet expectations

Funding requests total some $60 million for 2004.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- If Yogi Berra were looking at Mahoning County's budget requests for 2004, he could invoke his famous line that it's d & eacute;j & agrave; vu all over again.
Despite a plea from commissioners for cutbacks by elected officials, the overall requests for funding are some $13 million more than commissioners expect to have available next year. That means commissioners will have to make cuts, which probably will lead to battles with office holders.
That's the same thing that happened this year, and commissioners had hoped to avoid a repeat in 2004.
"It's very frustrating," said county Administrator Gary Kubic. "You almost feel as if some of the other elected officials live in another time zone or on another planet."
Commissioners announced earlier this year that overall general fund expenditures for 2004 will be cut by some 13 percent from this year's levels. They asked elected officials to submit their 2004 budget requests with that in mind.
Kubic and Commissioner Ed Reese said most elected officials submitted reduced budgets for next year, as they did for 2003. Offices such as the auditor's and treasurer's have historically complied with requests to voluntarily trim their budgets.
"But there are a few who have skewed the budgeting process," Kubic said.
Salary increases
The biggest increase was from Sheriff Randall Wellington, who was budgeted $13.5 million for this year but asked for $17.8 million for next year.
Wellington said he needs the extra money partly to cover a 4 percent wage increase for his 230 deputies and staff members who have not had a raise in two years. He said he also needs to buy new equipment for officers and wants to upgrade the security system at the county jail, which he said is long overdue.
The commissioners' budget proposal for next year shows an increase of about $22,500, which budget director Elizabeth Sublette attributed to increases in commissioners' salaries, which are set by Ohio law, and a 3 percent increase in Kubic's contract.
Those increases will lead to increases in workers' compensation and other wage-related costs, she said.
Sublette said commissioners made substantial cuts in other departments that are under their control, such as personnel, purchasing, facilities management, jail medical services, microfilm and the office of management and budget.
Clerk of courts
Clerk of Courts Anthony Vivo is among the officials who've asked for a funding increase next year. He's upset that commissioners canceled budget hearings so he didn't get a chance to explain to them why he needs an additional $405,000 for next year.
Vivo said his office is badly understaffed and has fallen far behind in keeping up with its filing of cases for the common pleas courts. He said he also needs more space for workers and storage, and does not have a contract agreement with his unionized employees, whose contract expired in December 2002.
He said his office's workload has increased by some 50 percent since 1998 while his staffing level has remained the same. He doesn't think it would be fair to cut his funding for next year, probably forcing him to lay off workers and fall further behind.
"By law, the commissioners must fund this office enough for it to operate efficiently, and they have not done that," Vivo said. "I'm not asking for raises. I'm just asking for more people to do the job."
Vivo said he's considering a lawsuit against commissioners if they cut his funding next year. He said commissioners should have followed through with the budget hearings.
Canceled hearings
Commissioners had scheduled the hearings so elected officials could explain their budget requests. Then, instead of making across-the-board cuts, commissioners would balance the need for funding against the services provided by each office.
They held a hearing for the sheriff but canceled the rest after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled against commissioners in lawsuits that had been filed by Judges Theresa Dellick of juvenile court and Timothy P. Maloney of probate court.
"We canceled the hearings until we could get all that sorted out and try to get a better handle on our revenue projects for next year," Kubic said. He said the hearings probably will not be reinstated this year.
"The ones that we did have were not that helpful," Reese said.
Judge Dellick has asked for about $1.2 million more next year than she received this year, while Judge Maloney is requesting less than this year.
bjackson@vindy.com