PAC Boardman firefighters' forum plan not blocked

The event for evaluating trustee candidates is scheduled for next week.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The township civil service commission reconvened from an executive session and took no action Thursday, allowing a plan for a firefighters PAC-organized candidate forum to go forward.
Boardman Firefighters Local 1176 formed a political action committee about six months ago and sent letters last month to candidates who filed to run for trustee asking them to participate in a forum.
The six-member PAC plans to question participating candidates individually and could decide to endorse or to make financial or physical campaign contributions, according to its letter.
Complication
Firefighters are civil service employees whose partisan political activities are restricted under civil service law.
The civil service commission met after the letters went out and referred the issue to the Mahoning County Prosecutor's office. Members were mum about specifics except to say it was to determine whether there was a violation of township civil service rules and regulations.
Larry Saxton, commission chairman, had said that the commission would wait to receive a response from the prosecutor's office and then determine if any action was needed.
The commission met again Thursday morning and moved into executive session shortly after the meeting began. When it returned to regular session, the commission took no action.
Saxton said the commission received an opinion from the prosecutor's office, but he declined to divulge its contents.
The forum is set for next week.
"We still assume that we're following the rules, and we'll continue what we're doing until we hear otherwise," said Jim Hoover, president of the firefighters union and a member of the PAC. Hoover has said that the local worked with a state association to ensure that proper procedures were followed.