Slowly, but surely, change coming to the public sector

Advocates for change in the way the public sector in the Mahoning Valley conducts the peoples’ business should have been heartened by two headlines in last Thursday’s Vindicator: “City, county test merging of services” and “Police union now supports 911 move.” In a region where the status quo has long defined governments and where lucrative public pensions are theology, change, any change, is to be applauded. And when consolidation is the goal, private sector taxpayers have reason to be cautiously optimistic about the future.

The first headline reflects a commitment on the part of Youngstown Mayor Charles Sammarone, who has the luxury of throwing political caution to the wind because he’s not governed by re-election, to find new and cheaper ways of serving city residents. Since he took over as mayor in August following the resignation of Jay Williams, Sammarone has been pursuing 911 consolidation with the county and the merging of the city and county’s health districts. He is also paying close attention to a plan that would create a metropolitan court system below the common pleas level to replace a slew of lower courts, including the Youngstown Municipal Court.

But aware that change does not come quickly in this region, Sammarone has taken a first step — albeit, a small one: The city and county have entered into a three-month agreement for the county to handle building inspections in Youngstown. If things work out, the arrangement could become permanent.

The second headline. “Police union now supports 911 move,” shows a major change in attitude on the part of Liberty Township police with regard to the dispatching of emergency calls. The Liberty branch of the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association had previously opposed a plan by the trustees to turn over the township’s 911 operation to Trumbull County’s 911 Center because the levy now in place isn’t generating enough money meet costs.

We had urged the police to take a close look at what was being proposed and to explore the assurances given by the county that Liberty residents would not be at risk if dispatching were reassigned.

Police Patrolman Ray Buhala, president of the Liberty OPBA, said the union looked at the issue from a financial and operational standpoint and concluded that change would not be a bad thing.

He said that residents would have had to approve a tax increase in order to fund the township’s 911 system at its current level. The union concluded that the increase was untenable.

As for concerns about response time, Buhala says they have been addressed with the technology that Trumbull County 911 has adopted.

No deal breaker

With regard to the city of Youngstown’s building inspection deal with Mahoning County, Mayor Sammarone has made it clear that the location of the office is not a deal breaker.

Such give-and-take is essential for successful government consolidations or joint ventures.

Sammarone is pursuing the health district and 911 consolidations, and all parties should use the building inspection project as a guide.

The timing of the city-county deal could not have come at a better time. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor of the Ohio Supreme Court will be in Youngstown March 26 to host a meeting on the courts below the common pleas level. One of the issues that is certain to be addressed is the proposal to create a county-wide metropolitan court system.

It has been three decades since the idea for making the criminal justice system more efficient and cost-effective was broached, but special interests have succeeded in undermining any real progress.

Perhaps now, with private sector taxpayers unwilling to finance the status quo, change will come.