Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Other applicants didn't measure up to Tablack, another commissioner said.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
SEBRING -- It's not having George J. Tablack as Mahoning County's new budget director that stinks, Commissioner John McNally IV says; it's how Tablack was hired.
"The past 24 hours have been frustrating for me," McNally said Tuesday after casting the 'no' vote to appoint the county's former auditor to lead the Office of Management and Budget. County Commissioners Anthony Traficanti and David Ludt voted for the resolution and said Tablack's appointment takes effect immediately.
"I was totally excluded from this," McNally said after the commissioners' meeting, which was at Copeland Oaks Senior Living Community.
"I don't know why. We never had this situation in the past. I was not involved in any interviews with George Tablack."
Traficanti disagreed. "[McNally] knows that everything we do, everybody's involved in it," he said.
Series of events
The county hasn't had a budget director since March 2004, when Elizabeth Sublette resigned her $62,000-per-year job to return to the private sector.
Tablack, a Campbell native, resigned as county auditor last July to become chief financial officer for Palm Beach County, Fla. He had been Mahoning County's auditor for more than 18 years. When he resigned, his annual salary was $79,745.
Tablack's salary is still being negotiated, but Ludt said the final figure may be between $80,000 and $85,000.
McNally said commissioners interviewed "seven or eight" candidates for the budget director's job two months ago but had decided not to fill the position, based on the county's financial deficit. The candidates were notified by letter, he said, and commissioners hired Ryan Gerek as a budget specialist making about $45,000 per year.
McNally received Tablack's application from Ludt on Monday, he said.
Tablack is "obviously a very smart guy who served us well as auditor," McNally said in mid-meeting, before the vote was taken.
McNally will work with Tablack at resolving the county's financial problems, he said, but commissioners promised taxpayers that people would be hired openly.
"I think the process in this hiring stinks," McNally said. "I believe [Tablack] can help us, but we've abandoned the process."
Traficanti comfortable
Traficanti said he believes Tablack's appointment was proper, since Tablack completed an application and was hired in a public meeting. "We hired the most qualified person," he said. "I'm totally comfortable with the hiring."
Traficanti said he "wasn't happy" with the other applicants.
Tablack was not interviewed as part of that group, Ludt said.
Commissioners agree on the need for a budget director. Other county officials, including current Auditor Michael V. Sciortino, had been encouraging them to fill the position.
"The auditor is the chief financial officer of the county," McNally said. The auditor "doesn't set budgets for county officials." Commissioners need someone who works for them and with whom they can speak freely, "not another elected official," he said.
Tablack helped commissioners during the first part of their term, Traficanti said. He and McNally took office last January.
Active recruiting
Ludt "actively recruited" Tablack for the job, Traficanti said.
"I never wanted him to leave," Ludt said of Tablack.
As for why Tablack is willing to leave his Florida job and its six-figure salary, "Sometimes there's a time in your life when money doesn't mean everything," Ludt said. Tablack has been separated from his young son, who still lives here, and "I think that worked on him," Ludt said.
As for questions about Tablack's new salary exceeding what he made as auditor, "How do you get good people? You have to pay them," Ludt said. "We need the best of the best to help us."
Tablack was at work Tuesday in Florida, but he did not return calls seeking comment.
shaulis@vindy.com