‘Caution’ should be watchword with Mahoning County budget

As he gets ready to leave office, Mahoning County Auditor Michael V. Sciortino is painting a rosy picture of county government’s finances — but caution is demanded on the part of the keepers of the purse, given the uncertainty surrounding the national economy. The stock market’s gyrations should serve as a warning sign.

Sciortino, a Democrat who was defeated in his re-election bid in November by political newcomer Ralph Meacham, a Republican, will leave office on March 8. His nearly 10-year tenure has been overshadowed by the state criminal charges filed against him for his participation in the Oakhill Renaissance Place conspiracy. He also offended many county residents when he spit the hook on a drunken driving charge two years ago after a high-ranking member of the sheriff’s department intervened during a traffic stop and drove the auditor home.

Meacham, who had never run for public office before he took on the Democratic Party insider, is a certified public accountant with an impressive resume in the private sector.

We believe the new auditor should be given an opportunity to review the county’s finances and Sciortino’s projections before commissioners Anthony Traficanti, Carol Rimedio-Righetti and David Ditzler commit to any unbudgeted spending.

DON’T GET CRAZY

Indeed, we echo the sentiments of Traficanti, who has been around long enough to know that today’s rosy picture could easily become tomorrow’s black shroud.

“Because we have new revenues coming in next year doesn’t mean that we have to get crazy,” Traficanti said. “We still have to watch our money. We have to keep the purse strings as tight as we possibly can.”

The commissioner’s cautionary note is similar to the one sounded by both his colleagues, Ditzler and Rimedio-Righetti, after voters — by a slender margin — approved a 0.75-percent sales tax renewal/addition.

The tax was sold to the voters as a criminal justice issue, which means the $24.75 million it is expected to generate will go to the sheriff’s department, prosecutor’s and coroner’s offices and 911 emergency-dispatch center.

During the campaign for the tax renewal/increase, which was led by Sheriff Jerry Greene, county officials talked about the need to provide a stable source of money for the county’s crime-fighting effort.

There was no discussion about pay raises for sheriff’s deputies, which is what has occurred as a result of a conciliator in the labor talks concluding that the county can afford to fatten the wallets of the employees.

RAISES IGNORE REALITIES

It’s unfortunate that many in the public sector continue to ignore the economic reality of the county at large and only look at government’s finances. Public employees should understand that most private-sector taxpayers have not had raises for several years and, in fact, have had to made concessions. Paying more for health-care coverage and having pensions frozen are the rule rather than the exception.

It’s unseemly for public employees to get more money in their paychecks at a time when the people who pay to keep government operating are forced to sacrifice.

Commissioners Traficanti, Rimedio-Righetti and Ditzler owe it to Mahoning County residents to hold the line on spending.