Appointment of JFS director triggers questions, concerns

Pardon our cynicism so early in the new year, but the selection of an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor to head the county Department of Job and Family Services smacks of pension-padding.

But we aren’t faulting Robert E. Bush Jr. for seeking the position for which he has no discernible qualifications. Such is the nature of the public-sector pension system, which is based on a formula containing several elements, foremost of which is compensation. An employee’s three highest yearly incomes are averaged and form the basis of the pension calculation. That is why there is so much jockeying for higher paying jobs — qualifications be damned — as public workers get close to retirement.

Bush, the chief of the county prosecutor’s office criminal division and a former chief of police and law director in the city of Youngstown, was appointed by county commissioners David Ludt, who has left office, Anthony Traficanti and John McNally from a field of 45 applicants. His assistant prosecutor salary on the books was $79,000, but he received 10 percent less due to the county’s financial woes. As director of the Jobs and Family Services, he will earn $100,896, which is what his predecessor, Judee Genetin, made. Genetin left in November to become Portage County JFS director. If Portage County commissioners saw the benefits of bringing in someone with experience in job and family services work, why didn’t the Mahoning County commissioners?

Of the 45 applicants for the job, there were five with JFS or related experience: Karen A. Gran Caldwell of Lordstown, specialist at Mahoning County Department of Job and Family Services since 2001; Frank S. Flaminio of Warren, One Stop Systems supervisor at Trumbull County Job & Family Services, since 1998; Sheila Eunice Hernandez of Waterbury, Conn., family support specialist, Casey Family Services, since 2008; Lori A. Murphy of Canfield, performance management administrator, Mahoning County Department of Job and Family Services, since 1995; Denetta C. Rozenblad of Youngstown, eligibility specialist, Mahoning County JFS, since 1999.

How did Bush’s qualifications, work experience and background make him better qualified than those or several other applicants for the job?

No screening panel

As for the process used, commissioners Traficanti, Ludt and McNally took it upon themselves to review the applications, rather than appoint a screening committee of individuals from government and the private sector that would have provided an objective evaluation. The commissioners could then have made the appointment from a list of five finalists.

Finally, there is the issue of how well versed Bush is with the operation of the JFS department, especially with regard to budgetary matters. In an interview with The Vindicator, he said his priorities would include familiarizing himself with the agency’s budget and past performance audits to determine how to deliver services more efficiently. That does not inspire confidence. Was he not asked during the interview process what cuts he would make in light of the reduction in state funding that is all but inevitable? If he was, how did he answer?

With nearly 300 employees and an annual budget of $24 million, JFS is the largest county department.

So, what does Bush bring to the table? His ability to interpret the labor contracts, which is what he did when he was police chief.

On issues involving the labor agreements and future negotiations, the only thing a director must know how to say is, “No.”