Columbiana County MRDD has some explaining to do

Already facing a credibility problem as a result of The Vindicator’s revealing that he had exaggerated the Columbiana County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities’ financial troubles, Superintendent William Devon is now trying to pass the buck.

It won’t work. It must not work.

County Auditor Nancy Milliken is no more responsible for the MRDD’s seeking more money from the taxpayers, than this newspaper is for reporting the facts about the agency’s budget.

There’s only one way that Devon can make amends: He should accept responsibility for what has occurred, apologize to Milliken for suggesting that it was her duty to inform him that the MRDD’s financial situation had changed, and should pledge not to seek any more money from the taxpayers than is necessary to operate.

Indeed, there is a 2.5-mill levy issue on the March primary ballot which was rejected by the voters last November. It would give the agency an additional $3.3 million a year.

The question that Devon must clearly answer is this: Are the additional dollars absolutely necessary in light of the budget revelations?

We ask it because in May 2007 voters approved a change to an existing levy that gave the board an additional $1 million a year.

The agency gets its revenue from four levies.

It ended 2007 with $6.3 million in assets. The board spends about $12 million a year.

Superintendent’s warnings

The balance flies in the face of Devon’s warnings that tight finances could lead to the closure of the Robert Bycroft School for youths, which is not required by law.

The school’s closing would require local school districts to pick up the costs. Educators raised concerns about this potential development with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, during a town hall meeting in November.

Last Friday, Devon admitted his agency “panicked” when revenues dropped from 2005 to last month. But even with the drop, the superintendent was projecting a balance of $4 million at the end of ’07; it turned out to be $6.6 million as of Dec. 11.

As for his pointing the finger of blame at county Auditor Milliken for the board’s seeking more revenue through the 2.5-mill levy that will be on the March ballot, we would argue that it is not her responsibility to spoon feed any public agency.

County Treasurer Nick Barborak, for example, noted that his office and the auditor’s office reconcile budget figures every day.

The decision by the MRDD to request a performance audit from the state auditor’s office is the proper one in light of the details that have surfaced. Also, county Commissioner Dan Bing’s suggestion that the proposed levy could be taken off the March ballot deserves serious consideration.

The MRDD board must know that voters will reject it again — as they did in November.

The challenge the board now faces is to restore people’s trust in the operation of the agency and to help Superintendent Devon overcome his credibility problem.

That’s a tall order considering the dim view many taxpayers have of government and other public agencies.