JobsOhio again torpedoes efficient open government

JobsOhio, the Buckeye State’s privatized economic-development agency, has landed in the cross-hairs of controversy once again after throwing caution and efficient public-spirited government to the wind.

This time, Ohio taxpayers have learned that the jobs agency has bucked responsible state and national trends of downsizing public-sector staffing and payrolls, and it did so with less-than-stellar accountability and transparency to taxpayers.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, JobsOhio staffing ballooned from 37 to 61 employees between 2012 and 2014, and funding spent on total pay and benefits increased a whopping 82 percent. John Minor, president and chief investment officer of JobsOhio, received a rather handsome $82,000 salary boost to $306,964 last year, though some of that was deferred from earlier years, the Dispatch reported.

More troubling, however, are its arguably lax accounting standards. Unlike truly public departments of state government, JobsOhio is not required to report gross “total compensation.” Instead, it reports only taxable income, which omits sizable income diverted to nontaxable contributions such as 401(k) retirement accounts and health-insurance premiums. Its reporting, unlike other state agencies, also does not list employees by name – only by job title.

These findings are but the latest tattered notches in the belt of an agency legally allowed to shroud itself in a veil of secrecy. The agency was created by Gov. John Kasich in 2011 to replace the Ohio Department of Development as Ohio’s lead jobs-creation department. Kasich and others argued that job building in the state would progress more quickly and efficiently if its lead agency could free itself from those pesky and cumbersome regulations and bureaucracy that are standard operating procedures at all other state taxpayer-assisted entities.

JOBSOHIO ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Today, Jobs Ohio justifies its structure by touting that in 2014 it assisted 276 companies that committed to create 21,377 jobs for Ohioans and make $6.1 billion in new capital investments.

Granted, such numbers are encouraging, but truth to tell, Ohio continues to lag other states that have job agencies that must follow exacting standards of public accountability. Between 2011 and 2014, for example, Ohio jobs grew 4.8 percent, compared with 6.1 percent growth nationally, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Secrecy and immunity from full public disclosure clearly do not whip up a recipe for herculean economic advancement. Nor do they respect the legitimate rights of taxpayers to open government.

After all, Ohioans contribute millions of dollars in grants awarded to JobsOhio, and state liquor profits are used to attract private financing.

But despite divisive controversies throughout its existence – ranging from serious questions of conflicts of interest among members of it board of directors to very public arguments from the state auditor over the need for a full public audit of the agency— JobsOhio remains firm in defense of its surreptitious ways.

As such, we remain firm in our strong and long-standing opposition to its operating structure. Secrecy surrounding JobsOhio remains unacceptable and continues to set a dangerous precedent. Ohioans deserve better.