MAHONING COUNTY MRDD chief objects to plan to bill agency

The MRDD chief said there's no legal authority to require payment.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The agency that provides services for Mahoning County's mentally retarded people should not be billed by commissioners for county services they receive, its superintendent says.
"It's clear that they don't have authority to do this," said Larry Duck, superintendent of the county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities.
He was responding to a proposal made last week by Auditor George Tablack that commissioners start collecting money from nongeneral fund boards and agencies that receive services from the county but don't pay for them.
Those services could include payroll processing, data processing, legal services and other functions.
Tablack said those costs should be assessed to each department on a pro-rated basis. If each department pays what it owes, it would bring in an additional $2 million a year for the county's flagging general fund, he said.
The MRDD board was among those boards Tablack said should be paying, but Duck said there's no authority under Ohio law for commissioners to try to recover such costs. He said the Ohio Attorney General's Office issued an opinion to that effect in 2001.
"I personally take exception to the attorney general's opinion," Tablack said. "That is not a law, it is only an opinion."
Tablack acknowledged that the board is not required by law to pay, but said he still wants to meet with Duck and explain why he thinks it should pay.
He said the federal government reimburses the county for costs the county incurs for programs that receive federal grant funding, such as the Department of Job and Family Services.
"The federal government is doing it. I think it's time for the state to get on the same page," Tablack said, noting that his rationale is based on the federal accounting standards.
What's allowed
Duck said Tablack is trying to apply the federal grant cost-recovery guidelines to operations of local services that are primarily derived from local taxes, not federal grants.
He said the county already makes money off the MRDD board each year through interest on money in the board's accounts and by assessing an administrative fee for collecting the board's tax revenue, both of which are allowed by law.
Those sources combined account for about $500,000 a year, he said.
But Tablack said those costs are mandated by law, not voluntary. He wants the board and other nongeneral fund departments to meet with him so he can explain the county's financial situation and why he believes all departments should share the cost of services.
"It's time to raise the bar and start talking about this," Tablack said. "It's a battle worth waging and it needs to be continued. I still believe we have a strong argument to make."
Duck said the issue has been raised in the past and quashed by the attorney general's opinions. Tablack should not pursue it again, especially since the county already gets money from the MRDD board, he said.
"It is unfair to create the inaccurate public perception that that county MRDD board is neglecting its fiscal responsibility to the county," Duck said.
bjackson@vindy.com