Mayor, panel at war over park plan

The mayor blasts the park and recreation commission for its hiring practices.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — There’s a war of words between Mayor Jay Williams, who wants an overhaul of the park and recreation commission, and commission members who oppose the plan.

In a letter sent Tuesday to city council, the commission members wrote they were “caught completely off guard” by Williams’ recent formal request seeking council’s permission for the amendment to be on the Nov. 6 ballot to change the agency’s operational structure.

“This ‘rush to judgment’ is the least responsible approach to this proposed charter amendment, as it does not allow for careful consideration of potential impacts on the operations of the commission and/or the city at large,” the commission members wrote.

In a Wednesday letter to the commission, Williams fired back — writing that the members’ response to the proposal shows they “fail to grasp the essence of the amendments: efficiency, effectiveness and most importantly, accountability.”

Williams: ‘No rush’

Williams also wrote there was no rush to judgment as “these issues have been discussed and debated for over a decade. Nobody who has been paying attention to the issues surrounding the park and recreation commission for the past several years should have been ‘caught off guard.’”

Williams also wrote that the way the members operate the commission can lead some to wonder if they have the “capacity to operate in a responsible manner.”

In his letter, Williams criticized the commission for its hiring practices that “have been fraught with problems ranging from civil service violations, to the manipulation of collective bargaining agreements, to excessive employee costs, to nonexistent/ineffective disciplinary actions, to long-standing hostile work environments.”

Williams wants city council to approve legislation at its Sept. 5 meeting to place charter amendments to change the commission’s structure on the Nov. 6 ballot.

The commission wants to work with all interested parties to address specific problems over a period of time and doesn’t support Williams’ plan. In the letter, the members wrote that a comprehensive analysis must be made to “determine how best to move forward.”

Williams wrote: “It is inconceivable to me that the park and recreation commission seems so fearful of allowing the voters to decide this matter. Your fear of public scrutiny serves only to raise suspicion and contempt.”

Changes sought

The mayor wrote that he didn’t want to “wage a public battle regarding the myriad [of] problems,” and the problems can’t be “fixed by the Band-Aid approach suggested by the commission.” But the mayor wrote he is left with the conclusion that the commission is “either unwilling or unable” to see the problems at the agency.

When asked Thursday for a response to Williams’ letter, commission members refused to comment.

The most significant change proposed by the city administration would require commission contracts and purchases to follow the same procedure as other departments: going through city council and the board of control. The proposal also would make the mayor, and not the commission, the appointing authority for all permanent park and recreation employees.

A Nov. 5, 1935, amendment to the city charter created the commission. The commission gets nearly all of its funding from the general fund, but the city administration and council have very limited authority over the agency.

skolnick@vindy.com