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Canfield opposes charter amendments spearheaded by Frank Micchia
By ROBERT CONNELLY
CANFIELD
Resident Frank Micchia has again put charter amendments on the ballot for Canfield City residents.
And again, city officials are opposing both measures put forth by Micchia, a resident who frequently speaks at Canfield City Council meetings. Micchia has put four amendments on the ballot in the past two years — all of which voters approved.
”We certainly don’t feel that they are necessary,” said Joe Warino, city manager.
The first amendment states that prior to any final vote by city council, residents or representatives of residents can comment on a vote. Time limits are three minutes for an individual and 30 minutes on any single issue.
The second amendment would require that the finance director, chief of police, zoning inspector and public-works foreman attend each city council meeting and give a report. The ordinance dealing with this amendment said each report “shall be open to questions by any resident or their representative in attendance,” and those speaking would be limited to a maximum of three minutes on any single question.
Micchia said these will lead to transparency and accountability for the city. He also said he had to fight to get the amendments on the ballot — he showed The Vindicator an expense report for hiring an election lawyer to assist him. “It’s a sad, sad day when a citizen has to hire a law firm for democratic rights,” he said.
He also provided several documents, including one dated Aug. 4 and signed by city attorney Mark Fortunato in a letter sent to Warino. Fortunato detailed that according to Canfield’s charter, “establishing new and different procedures” is done only by council majority vote and questioned the substance of Micchia’s charter amendments.
He wrote, “It is my opinion that the Clerk [of Council] should not submit the same to the Mahoning County Board of Elections.”
On Aug. 7, Micchia’s law firm, Columbus-based McTigue, McGinnis & Colombo LLC, sent a letter to Fortunato. It told Fortunato, “City Council has a mandatory duty under the Ohio Constitution to forthwith submit the two proposed constitutional amendments” and cited specific previous case law backing Micchia’s charter amendments.
That letter cited Morris v. Macedonia, in which the Ohio Supreme Court stated, “The city council’s constitutional authority to review the sufficiency of petitions is limited to matters of form, not substance.”
Canfield Council put the amendments on the Nov. 4 ballot at its Sept. 3 meeting, which featured many speaking against the matter. “I take offense to the proposed charter amendments,” Councilman Chuck Tieche said during that meeting. “I believe that I was elected to city council to evaluate things that come before this council, not by necessarily taking in everyone’s comments and voting by the majority of those that speak to me.”
Robert Minkler, Canfield Parks Recreation and Cemetery Board member, talked during the public comment section at the Sept. 3 meeting. He applauded Micchia’s efforts in getting the signatures and getting these measures on the ballot. But he countered: “I think many of these measures are detrimental to the city. They slow down our meetings; they’re not efficient.”
The matter has come up at many council meetings recently, leading to heated debates each time between Micchia and city officials. Councilman John Morvay told Micchia at the Oct. 1 council meeting, “I am sick and tired of you. ... What I think you are doing to the city is detrimental.”
Micchia garnered about 585 signatures for each of the amendments, he said. “I would hope all citizens consider this and vote for it,” he added.
Warino and city leaders have pointed out that having department heads at meetings would lead to further expenses — either overtime or compensatory time. “To have them there on a weekly basis when there’s nothing that addresses their departments on the agenda I just think [is] a waste of city expenditures,” Warino explained.
Micchia has countered that point with the fact that the finance director and chief of police are salaried positions and said schedule adjustments could be made for hourly employees.