County health board exhibits tone-deafness in giving raises

A $10,000 decrease in the amount of money the Mahoning County Board of Health receives from the Solid Waste Management District has prompted a re-evaluation of spending priorities, and from a recent story in The Vindicator, it appears that two important programs could fall victim to financial belt-tightening.

A reduction in the health board’s landfill inspections and a cut in the number of tests conducted on well water should be cause for public concern.

After all, residents are increasingly concerned about what’s being dumped at landfills in the county and whether the quality of groundwater is being affected by what was referred to as the fracking boom.

Although Mahoning County isn’t attracting the major oil and gas producers, concerns remain about what has taken place since the Utica Shale play brought a flood of speculators who spent hundreds of millions of dollars securing mineral rights from local landowners.

That’s why the testing of well-water and the inspections of landfills in Mahoning County are so important. They are meant to reassure residents that government is uncompromising in its role as protector of the environment.

The $10,000 decrease in the SWMD allocation to the board of health is prompted by the district’s revenue from dumping fees remaining stagnant, while costs are increasing. The district has imposed a 4.36 percent across-the-board cut in allocations.

County health Commissioner Patricia Sweeney acknowledged that the solid waste district’s revenue has declined in recent years, while expenses have risen.

The resetting of spending priorities is a reality that governments at all levels must face. Although the U.S. economy has been recovering from the national recession, this region is still dealing with anemic growth. Indeed, there are economic storm clouds on the horizon that require the keepers of the public purse to be prudent in making long-term spending commitments.

UNFATHOMABLE PAY RAISE

We have urged discipline on the part of government when it comes to granting pay raises to public employees because those increased costs rarely go down in difficult economic times.

Thus, we find it unfathomable that the Mahoning County Board of Health would give Sweeney a pay raise while talking about cutting back on landfill inspections and well-water testing. Such tone-deafness is disturbing on many levels.

First, it ignores the fact that taxpayers in the private sector continue to go without pay increases, have had their pensions frozen and are paying more in health-insurance premiums. Other benefits have been cut or eliminated.

Second, a 2 percent bonus (to bring Sweeney’s hourly rate to $47.60) for Feb. 1 to May 31, and a 1.5 percent wage increase in each of the two remaining years (to ultimately boost the hourly rate to $49.03) are certainly difficult to comprehend.

Did health board members not get the memo from county commissioners that urged caution in spending public dollars?

The argument being made to justify Sweeney’s raises — that they mirror those received by employees who belong to a union — is one the public has heard many times before and still is not buying.

There’s a question triggered by the pay-raise decision: Where was the public discussion prior to the decision being made?

A year ago, we blasted the Youngstown Board of Health for shelving the idea of consolidating the city and county agencies. Former Mayor Charles Sammarone, now president of council, had made the merger a priority. His departure ended the discussion, but now it’s time for consolidation to be put on the front burner.

As we have consistently argued, it’s all about saving money.