Mayor Williams gets his wish to oversee park department

When the results of Tuesday night’s election were announced, we were reminded of the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it,” as we saw that Youngstown voters had given Mayor Jay Williams authority over the park and recreation department.

Williams had sought changes to the city’s home rule charter because he believes the current setup, in which a five-member commission governs the department and acts independently of city government, is untenable.

Although the department receives millions of dollars from the city’s treasury, neither the administration nor council has any say about how the public dollars are spent.

We endorsed the charter amendments put forth by the mayor and lawmakers to rein in the park and recreation commission, and applaud city residents who voted for the changes.

It should be pointed out that one of the four amendments did not pass, but we believe it was the result of voters not having the complete text on the touch screen when they cast their ballots.

Regardless, the three amendments that passed will bring about the changes Williams sought.

Harsh criticism

The mayor was harshly critical of the park commission and the department, under former Director Joseph McRae, when he launched the campaign to change the setup. He put his chief of staff/secretary, Jason Whitehead, in as acting director when McRae left after 18 years.

He contended that the commission has been “plagued by numerous deficiencies over the past several years,” and that the 72-year-old charter amendment that created the department was “outdated and functionally obsolete.”

While we fully agree, we offer this advice to the mayor: Make sure your administration avoids the pitfalls that made the department such a failure.

The amendments passed Tuesday give the mayor the authority to hire and fire all full-time and part-time employees other than the director.

For decades, the park department was the dumping ground for individuals with political connections or personal relationships with members of council and the administration.

Mayor Williams can make qualifications and experience the main criteria for getting a job by adopting aclearly defined hiring policy.

Williams must know that he will be watched closely, and those who supported the changes he proposed will turn on him if they find that the game is the same and only the players have changed.