Court building needs repairs

The sheriff has also asked that laid-off deputies be returned to work.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The 10-year-old restoration job at the Trumbull County Courthouse is starting to show some signs of wear.
Today, county commissioners will be asked to spend $24,865 to repair a few problem areas in the historic building. Concrete has deteriorated in a wall in Judge John Stuard's office area, and a wall in the courtroom of Judge Andrew Logan was damaged by water because of a roof leak that has already been fixed.
Monet Painting and Restoration of Polk, Pa., submitted the proposal. Maintenance Director Al DeVengencie said Monet's proposal is reasonable. Also, he said Monet did previous work on the building, so it will not need to research the colors and history again.
Judge Andrew Logan said he and two of the commissioners walked through the building, constructed in 1895, and agreed the work needs to be done.
"We didn't want this beautiful building to get out of hand again," he said. The building was reopened in 1995 after major renovations were made.
Judge Logan said he has been "pleasantly surprised" the building has held up as well as it has in those 10 years.
Custodians back
Meanwhile, commissioners are bringing two custodians back to work this week after receiving two complaints from judges in separate buildings about lack of routine maintenance.
At today's meeting, the commissioners were to OK the return of the two custodians, the transfer of three other employees and the posting of one other job.
Anthony Carson, county administrator, said only two custodians were cleaning 15 county buildings before the two workers were brought back. He said that the task was "physically impossible" and that the county will be only somewhat better off with four.
In a letter to commissioners dated Sept. 7, presiding Judge Donald R. Ford of the 11th District Court of Appeals said, "It is our court's specific request that when ... financial improvement occurs, that you give serious consideration to restoring a higher level of janitorial services and maintenance."
Judge Logan said he, too, has mentioned the need for more custodial work in the courthouse, but he has not been "leaning on them for that."
"We understand it's tough" financially for the county right now, he said.
Need for deputies
Sheriff Thomas Altiere also has written the commissioners, asking that some of his laid off deputies be returned. Altiere asked Monday that 13 of his 22 or 23 employees on layoff be brought back so he could reopen the second floor of the jail to inmates. He also asks that additional deputies be returned to provide "a limited road division" to patrol roads in unincorporated areas.
There are inmates sleeping on portable bunk beds on the floor; that situation has produced a grievance filed by deputies working in the jail. They claim the conditions present an unsafe workplace.
James W. Keating, human resources director, said he doesn't believe any large-scale additions to the payroll will occur until after the first of the year, when the fiscal year budget is in place.
New taxes
The county has estimated that two new income taxes imposed earlier this year will generate $3 million for the rest of 2005. County Auditor David Hines had said earlier that much of that $3 million would be needed to address a $1.8 million shortfall expected in the county's payroll. He suggested that the other $1.2 million could go to bail out departments such as the sheriff, jail and county coroner.
As of July 1, the county is collecting a 0.5 percent sales tax and two new 0.25 percent taxes. Trumbull County's current sales tax is 6.5 percent.