MetroParks officials sued over handling of staff restructuring

June 10, 2016 at 12:09a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

MetroParks Lawsuit

Document

CItizens of Mahoning County complaint against Mill Creek MetroParks, indicating that the park's Board of Commissioners and park Executive Director, Aaron Young, initiated a reorganization plan without public approval. A plan that would result in the elimination of 28 jobs.

A lawsuit filed Thursday against the Mill Creek MetroParks leadership alleges that the park board and executive director violated Ohio Sunshine Laws on public meetings in its planning and implementation of a February staff restructuring that eliminated numerous park positions.

The complaint – filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by Barbara Brothers of Youngstown, and married couple Suzanne Anzellotti and Jim Ray of Poland – asks the court, among other things, to declare the position eliminations unlawful and issue an injunction to restore those employees affected by the restructuring to their former positions.

The listed defendants are the MetroParks board; board members John Ragan, Robert Durick and Germaine Bennett; former board member Scott Schulick; and MetroParks Executive Director Aaron Young.

Young was first made aware of the complaint when reached by The Vindicator on Thursday. He declined to comment until he had a chance to review the court filing. Ragan, board president, could not be reached to comment.

Ray, Anzellotti and Brothers told The Vindicator they decided to sue the MetroParks leadership because they believe it’s wrong that planning for the internal reorganization plan was done without first being presented to the public.

“I think they should have had some public hearings with everybody listening to what some of the problems were. They didn’t do that. They had secret meetings,” said Ray. “They didn’t obey the sunshine law. They had gatherings where folks didn’t know what was taking place. And that’s not appropriate, especially if it’s a public park with public money.”

“They have to vote in an open meeting on major changes. They cannot take those actions in executive session,” said Brothers, who also stressed her strong support for the park district.

“I just want things done the way they should be so that people will come back to supporting the park,” added Brothers, former chairwoman of the Youngstown State University English Department and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

The complaint details allegations that board members and Young privately deliberated on and planned for the staff restructuring before it was implemented without any formal board approval.

“The MCMP board met in 15 scheduled or special meetings in 2015 and twice in 2016 prior to the implementation of the reorganization plan. In none of the public portions of those meetings, nor any other public meeting, did the board discuss a reorganization plan, or job or position eliminations,” it states.

The complaint also alleges inappropriate use of email communications among MetroParks leaders, stating: “Defendants have communicated and deliberated with each other through email and nonpublic meetings since on or about August 2015 on matters that involve public business, including budget and finances, restructuring, staff reorganization, terminations, offers of severance and the elimination of positions previously created and or approved by the MCMP board.”

The suit also claims that MetroParks board members and Young unlawfully discussed the internal reorganization plan in executive-session meetings.

The plaintiffs point to section 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code, which requires public officials “to take official action and to conduct all deliberations upon official business only in open meetings unless the subject matter is specifically exempted by law.”

Referring to MetroParks leaders’ executive-session and email communications, the complaints point specifically to a clause that: “‘Meeting’ means any prearranged discussion of the public business of the public body by a majority of its members.”

“The reorganization discussed in executive session on Jan. 11, 2016, and emailed to all board members on Jan. 12, 2016, and Feb. 2, 2016, along with all responses, replies and exchanges thereto by Aaron Young, was a proposal, deliberated and approved by the Board in nonpublic meeting,” the complaint states. “The adoption and/or ratification of the reorganization plan by the MCMP board outside of a public meeting was a violation of O.R.C. 121.22(H), which mandates that a resolution, rule, or formal action of any kind is invalid unless adopted in an open meeting of the public body.”

The lawsuit similarly argues that a modification of Young’s job description at the Feb. 8 meeting improperly gave him the authority to implement the internal reorganization without board approval.

Just four days later, on Feb. 12, Young began informing 13 staff members that their jobs were being eliminated. Many of those staff members were immediately ushered off park property by Young and members of the park police.