Citizen work groups to quiz Trumbull County department heads with eye toward cost cutting

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

The nine members of the Trumbull County Citizens Budget Committee that had its second meeting Tuesday night established small work groups that plan to fan out across county departments to gather certain information.

They chose the elected and nonelected departments heads they would interview, with the committee members choosing those interviewed based on the backgrounds of the committee members.

Atty. Jeff Goodman, for instance, and former Niles clerk of courts Barry Profato will head over to the county courthouse to meet with several judges.

Mike Matas, the budget director for Lake County, will be among those asking questions of Auditor Adrian Biviano.

There may be some standard questions to ask of each department head interviewed, but Sheriff Paul Monroe should be asked specifically about the large budget increase former Sheriff Tom Altiere requested, Goodman said.

As the group began to assemble a framework for its inquiry into the county’s finances, certain topics emerged committee members theorized might produce the kind of efficiency and savings they hope to recommend to the county commissioners at the end of their meetings.

They talked about the review of union contracts some committee members have already done and the amount of pension expense for bargaining-unit employees required under state law versus the amount of pension the county pays for them (90 percent in many cases).

Matas, the committee’s chairman, said he’s eager to find out how the amount of employee pension expense paid by the county varies between union and nonunion employees.

Matas also mentioned $23,000 Lake County spent on a wage study that told the commissioners there whether their pay scales were reasonable.

He said the committee doesn’t have the time to carry out something comparable to what was done in Lake County, but it should take a look at such issues.

Longtime insurance executive Richard Musick is willing to give his opinion on the liability insurance the county uses. John Sandberg, a former quality engineer for Delphi Corp., said it sounded like the county had used the same insurance carrier for 15 years.

It might be time to look at what various insurance carriers have to offer, Matas said. The group has announced no new date for its next meeting.