Officials to vote on Tablack appointment

The county also is advertising for a human resources director.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The long-speculated appointment of George J. Tablack as Mahoning County administrator was expected to become reality today, as county commissioners were scheduled to vote on the matter.
Tablack was the county auditor for nearly 19 years but resigned last July to become chief financial officer of Palm Beach County, Fla. He returned to Mahoning County in December and has been working as director of the Office of Management & amp; Budget.
Fourteen people applied to be administrator. Tablack was among three finalists for the job and was interviewed by commissioners April 20.
Another finalist was former Youngstown Mayor George McKelvey, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Commissioner David Ludt in the May primary last week. McKelvey wanted to serve in the dual role of commissioner and county administrator, as Commissioner Anthony Traficanti has done for more than a year.
Ludt, whom McKelvey had criticized as being a puppet to Tablack, defeated McKelvey with 70 percent of the vote.
Ludt voiced his support of Tablack's appointment as administrator when the job was posted in February.
Letters of support
Tablack also had letters of support from at least 10 public officials when he applied for the administrator's job. The officials included county Sheriff Randall Wellington, Engineer Richard Marsico, Prosecutor Paul J. Gains, Auditor Michael Sciortino and Juvenile Court Judge Theresa Dellick.
The county hasn't had an administrator since December 2003, when Gary Kubic resigned his $85,000-a-year job to become administrator of Beaufort County, S.C.
Joseph Caruso was then appointed as assistant county administrator, from which he resigned in February 2005. Traficanti took over the administrator's responsibilities without additional pay, citing the county's financial problems. More recently, Traficanti has said the county needs someone to watch its finances on a full-time basis.
In addition, the administrator will direct activities of all departments in the commissioners' control, monitor compliance with commissioners' policies and supervise the office staff.
The county also began this week to advertise for a human resources director who deals with employee relations and contract negotiations. That post has been vacant since February, when James Petraglia resigned after about one year on the job.