Baptism by fire for Meacham

Focus on the third word in the headline, because it best describes what’s going on with Mahoning County’s new auditor, Ralph Meacham: He’s on fire.

In his first major action as a novice officeholder, Ralph decided to fire longtime Chief Deputy Auditor Carol McFall because she withheld crucial information from him and from The Vindicator pertaining to the office’s payroll.

And, Republican Meacham is doing a slow burn as he peels back the layers of questionable decisions made by his predecessor, the morally challenged Michael Sciortino, a Democratic Party insider. Sciortino is facing a slew of state criminal charges over his role in the Oakhill Renaissance Place conspiracy. He lost his re-election bid in November to Meacham, who had never run for political office before he came out of retirement to give voters a choice.

Meacham had a very successful career as a certified public accountant, and it is this private-sector background that he brings to his new job.

His baptism by fire goes beyond the breach of trust by McFall, whom he had publicly praised in the months after his election win.

Inexplicable support

The pay raises and bonuses granted by Sciortino to a select group of employees as he was leaving office have merely served to reinforce Meacham’s belief that the Democrat did not have the best interest of the taxpayers at heart. Which is why he can’t get over the fact that Sciortino received a whopping 31,487 votes and almost won re-election.

How could so many county residents have been so blind? A cynic might suggest that government corruption isn’t a big deal in this area because of the widely held belief that “everybody does it.”

Given the large number of Demo-cratic officeholders and public employees who have enriched themselves — legally and illegally — at the expense of the taxpayers, there is a basis for the belief.

Nonetheless, Meacham’s brush with that political reality has created a burning desire in him to prove that a government office can be run efficiently, professionally and honestly.

Hence, his refreshing openness about what he’s finding as he delves into the actions of the man he replaced.

If unjustified, unaffordable pay raises and bonuses don’t get your blood boiling, consider this gem: The auditor has found that the contract with the union employees requires him to pay bonuses to members of the staff who complete professional education.

To clarify: The payment to attendees is over and above what the auditor’s office may shell out for the cost of registration, meals, mileage and any other ancillary expenses.

Indeed, the payment is over and above the regular wage the employee would earn while out of the office.

What is giving Meacham heartburn — there’s that fire again — is the $1,000 in bonuses that some employees have pocketed — for learning how to do their jobs better.

And, as fired chief deputy McFall’s separation salary payment shows, there’s a reward for unused vacation time, unused personal time and compensatory time.

Believe it or not, she was a nonunion, at-will employee.

So, why was McFall able to make off with $8,465 in separation pay? Because of something called “me too,” which, loosely translated, means that greed is good and is to be widely shared.

So whatever the union employees get, the at-will employees will also get.

This is made possible because of the attitude of officeholders in government that can be summed up thus: “Don’t worry, be happy; it’s not our money.”

A telling conclusion

After only a month on the job — he was appointed by the commissioners as interim auditor two weeks before he took the oath of office for his full four-year term — Meacham has come to this conclusion:

“We cannot sustain government.”

Who’s the we? The taxpayers of Mahoning County.

Here’s a reality check for elected officials and all others slopping at the public trough in the county: Voters barely approved the 0.75 percent renewal/increase in the sales tax in the November general election.

With all the nasty stuff that Meacham is uncovering and that will be uncovered in other departments and agencies in the not-too-distant future, the renewal/additional sales tax will suffer a devastating defeat at the polls in five years — if not before, through a referendum.

And the greedy sods in government will have only themselves to blame.