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Mahoning Co. hires attorney to fight suit by Judge Belinky
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Judge Mark Belinky
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Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti
YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County commissioners hired a Cleveland lawyer to defend them from a mandamus lawsuit filed against the panel by Judge Mark Belinky of probate court in a dispute over his court’s budget.
In hiring Atty. Robert Glickman on Thursday, the commissioners set a $10,000 cap on his fees, which is the same as the cap they set when they hired Atty. John B. Juhasz to represent Judge Belinky. Both lawyers were hired at taxpayer expense.
Judge Belinky sued the county commissioners in the 7th District Court of Appeals on June 2 in support of his demand for a $915,715 operating budget from the county’s general fund for 2009.
On March 31, the commissioners gave the probate court $694,833 from that fund for this year, which Judge Belinky said is insufficient to meet his court’s needs. The probate court spent $762,859 from the county’s general fund last year.
“Litigation serves nothing more than making attorneys rich, and it costs the taxpayers more money,” said Anthony T. Traficanti, chairman of the county commissioners.
Traficanti said he hopes Glickman and Juhasz can reach an out-of-court settlement.
“To ask for increases at this time, to me, just seems erroneous,” Traficanti said, citing the troubled economy and the double-digit local unemployment rate.
“I just think the timing of this stinks, and I hope he withdraws his request for additional money” and lets the commissioners revisit his budget if the economy improves next year, Traficanti said.
Because of declining tax collections linked to the economic slump, the county auditor projects general-fund revenue at $59 million this year compared with $67 million last year. The general fund is the county’s main operating fund.
“If they’re willing to give us what we consider reasonable, we can negotiate a settlement,” Judge Belinky said of the commissioners.
“We only make up a very small percentage of the county general fund,” Judge Belinky said, adding that his court has the important function of protecting some of the community’s most vulnerable people.
“I can’t close the courtroom doors. If it ends up with me and a couple of clerks here because we’re running out of money, then that’s what it’s going to be. We’re asking for a reasonable budget by all objective standards,” Judge Belinky said.
The commissioners were forced to hire an outside lawyer to represent them after Paul J. Gains, county prosecutor, withdrew from representing them July 6.
Gains cited a nonbinding June 12 opinion from the state Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline that says prosecutors shouldn’t represent either party in cases in which county officials oppose each other.
Also removing themselves from this case were all four judges of the 7th District Court of Appeals.
Speaking only for himself, Judge Joseph J. Vukovich, presiding judge of the appellate court, said he would be fair and impartial. But, because Mahoning County supplies most of the appellate court’s budget, he said he wanted to avoid any questions about political influence over the appellate court.
Chief Justice Thomas Moyer of the Ohio Supreme Court will assign a panel of three visiting appellate judges to consider the case.
milliken@vindy.com