Sunday, April 22, 2007
LISBON — You’ve read story after story about officials fighting for a bigger slice of the financial pie.
Columbiana County Commissioner Daniel Bing has a better idea.
“I can mediate,” Bing said.
He has just completed training to become a mediator who can help solve problems to increase cooperation and stretch tax dollars.
He recently attended a seminar hosted in part by a little-known state agency, the Ohio Commission on Conflict Resolution.
“A lot of people don’t know about it,” Bing said.
As a mediator, Bing can be called to be a volunteer, independent third party to try to reach a collaborative or consensus-based agreement between elected or appointed officials.
The commission oversees mediation efforts in the state but also suggests ways government officials can avoid political slug-fests.
He said his mediation efforts will likely be out of the area to prevent any claims of political or personal agendas. But he believes those efforts will help the county in the long run by helping to make contacts in other parts of Ohio.
For complete story, see Monday's Vindicator or www.vindy.com.