Hiring of recycling chief demands formal process

Everything the Mahoning County commissioners do between now and the Nov. 2 general election will be viewed by the voters through the prism of the sales tax renewal, which is why Edward Reese, Vicki Allen Sherlock and David Ludt would be advised not to name John Cox director of the county's recycling division without first conducting a nationwide search.
It may well be that five years after his political appointment to the position of assistant director, Cox is knowledgeable enough about the operation of the Mahoning County Solid Waste District office to serve as the chief, but that does not mean his credentials should go unchallenged.
The commissioners must know that talk of "succession" -- Reese used the word last week -- in Mahoning County government is an invitation to their detractors to charge that the "good ol' boy" system of hiring is alive and well. It's the kind of charge that could shake taxpayers' confidence in the keepers of the public treasury, which, in turn, could result in the sales tax renewal's being rejected in November.
The commissioners well know there is no more important an issue facing Mahoning County than the financial stability of government. That stability will be greatly undermined if the 0.5 percent tax on the general election ballot is rejected. The loss of $12 million a year in the general fund will necessitate deep cuts in every department. And given that most of the money goes for employee salary and benefits, massive layoffs would follow.
Best and brightest
As we noted recently with regard to the hiring of the animal warden in Mahoning County, taxpayers will not take kindly to important jobs' being filled by the commissioners without a search for the best and the brightest. This is not to suggest that the payroll of county government, and all other local governments for that matter, are loaded with unqualified, inept individuals. But there is a history of questionable hirings in this region that has given rise to a goodly amount of cynicism toward the public sector.
What does a nationwide search accomplish? In the case of the director of the Mahoning County Solid Waste District, it means, first and foremost, that the commissioners and the human resources director would have to set minimum standards and qualifications for the position.
In 1999, when Mahoning County was looking to fill the position, here's what was required of the applicants: a bachelor's degree in management, environmental science or a related field, and a minimum five years' experience in solid waste management.
For the assistant's job, the qualifications were a bachelor's degree in management, public administration or a related field and a minimum of four years' experience in public administration.
Timothy B. Berlekamp, who was hired to fill the top spot and resigned last week to become director of planning and business development for the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio in Columbus, came with such exceptional credentials that then-Commissioner David Engler called him a "heavy hitter." He had been director of the Ottawa/Sandusky/Seneca County Solid Waste District, a former Seneca County commissioner and past president of the Ohio Solid Waste District Association.
Township trustee
Cox, on the other hand, was a Boardman Township trustee and had served on the county's solid-waste policy committee. He wasn't called a "heavy hitter" by Engler or the two other commissioners, Frank Lordi and Ludt. Yet, he was hired.
Now, Reese and Ludt believe Cox is deserving of promotion. But without knowing whether there are more qualified individuals who would have no aversion to the $65,000-a-year salary and the lucrative benefit package, the commissioners would be confirming taxpayers' worst fear -- that things haven't changed for the better in county government -- if they arbitrarily give Cox the top job.
At most, they should make him acting director and let the board of commissioners conduct the national search next year. Reese and Sherlock will be leaving at the end of their terms, which means there will be two new commissioners joining Ludt on the board. They should not be shackled with a decision on hiring made by lame-duck officeholders.