City seeking stay on payment order issued by court

The city has orders to pay the money and not to pay it, a new legal filing says.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The city of Girard has asked the 11th District Court of Appeals here to stop Girard Municipal Court from forcing the city to provide money to cover the court's Tuesday payroll.
Mayor James J. Melfi, on behalf of the city, filed a motion Wednesday that seeks an emergency stay of the payment orders from Municipal Judge Michael A. Bernard until the district court has decided the case.
Otherwise, the city will be required to issue checks for the court's employees on or before 2 p.m. today. Doing that would be a violation of Ohio law prohibiting the city from appropriating funds not authorized by a state oversight commission, the motion says.
The city is in a state of fiscal emergency and is subject to orders of the state Financial Planning and Supervision Commission, which is authorized to approve plans for any appropriation measure, the action states.
The city is subject to penalties, including criminal misdemeanor charges, if it appropriates money not approved by the commission, it says. If the city doesn't comply with the orders of Judge Bernard, it would be subject to contempt powers of Judge Bernard, the motion says.
Bonuses
According to the motion, Judge Bernard granted lump sum bonuses to his employees that were not included in the court's appropriation for 2005. As a result, the court has insufficient funds to finish out payroll payments for the remainder of the year and needs the city to provide more, the motion says.
Judge Bernard, in a complaint filed in the district court Dec. 1, asked that council and the mayor show why $49,000 in additional funds requested by the court was not granted.
The judge's court action also requested that, upon the city's failure to give a reason for the money not being granted, the city be made to appropriate a sum of $849,503 to the court for the year. That figure includes the requested $49,000.
Before taking the matter to appellate court, Judge Bernard issued a court order in November to force the city to pay the additional $49,000. Council refused.
On Tuesday, Melfi said the city fully intended to follow all court orders -- including the initial order by Judge Bernard to grant the additional funds. He said council would explore seeking reimbursement of the funds when the matter is heard in appellate court.
"We are going to inform the court that we believe the cost the judge has placed upon the city is unreasonable," he said. "Council has said, 'Enough is enough.' We are going to have to prove that the money is unreasonable and certainly a burden to the city."