Pay raise for Liberty Twp. law director is worrisome

The decision by two of the three trustees in Liberty Township to grant the part-time law director a pay raise prompts this question: Is it appropriate to throw fiscal caution to the wind when township government is, in fact, under state- declared fiscal caution?

From where we sit, the answer is rather obvious: No, a pay raise in the midst of financial uncertainty is not good public policy.

Indeed, trustees Arnie Clebone and Greg Cizmar, who voted to raise Law Director Cherry Poteet’s salary by 10 percent, have opened a can of worms by their action. First, there was little public discussion about the increase. Second, there are just as important, full-time township employees who have gone without a raise since the Ohio Auditor’s Office placed Liberty under “fiscal caution” in 2011 because former trustees sought to balance the operating budget by transferring $246,692 from the fire- and police-district fund. The state also found that a previous law director had been paid overpaid by $3,000.

Fiscal caution – a step below fiscal watch and two steps below fiscal emergency – allows local officials to maintain control of the budget.

It is noteworthy, within the context of Law Director Poteet’s raise, that trustees Clebone, Cizmar and Jodi Stoyak were advised in February 2018 by the auditor’s office to develop a three-year revenue and expenditure forecast for the general fund.

In addition, Nita Hendryx, chief project manager with the auditor’s office, said trustees should be adamant about spending within their means.

Hendryx said her office is conducting a fiscal analysis, and that it’s possible the township could remain in fiscal caution or be placed under fiscal watch or emergency.

In defending Atty. Poteet’s raise, Clebone said the law director had done a “phenomenal job for us” and that “We can call her anytime. ... I think it’s only fitting that we adjust her rate.”

Weatherfield pay

But here’s the kicker: It was Poteet who sought the increase in her $3,000 a month salary because she is making $3,500 a month as law director in Weathersfield Township.

She had initially sought $3,500 but accepted $3,300, Clebone said. She was hired in April 2018 to replace former Law Director Mark Finamore, who was paid $100 per hour.

Trustee Stoyak, who voted against hiring Poteet because the board had not discussed her selection, raised the same concern about the lack of transparency in the approval of the raise.

Vindicator Reporter Samantha Phillips, who monitors Liberty Township government closely, reported on Jan. 10 that a resolution on the agenda draft for the Jan. 14 meeting included the proposed raise.

Stoyak told Reporter Phillips she did not know the issue would be voted on until she received a copy of the agenda draft. She said she asked Clebone and Cizmar to withdraw the pay-raise item because it had not been discussed by the entire board.

The two trustees not only ignored their colleague’s appeal, but approved the raise during the Monday meeting.

Clebone, who is chairman of the board, acknowledged that Atty. Poteet’s request for more money had not been talked about either in executive session or at public meetings. He did say he anticipated some discussion before a vote.

Clebone, in justifying the salary boost, said the law director was vital to the developments in the township over the past year, including the passage of the road levy and securing grants to pave 8 miles of roads this year and at least 4 miles yearly for the next 11 years, and the increased use of speed cameras.

But Fred Coombs, a member of the township’s zoning board, expressed concern about the raise because the township remains in state-declared fiscal caution.

Echoing Stoyak’s concern about fairness, Coombs said other workers in the township haven’t received raises despite working hard.

Stoyak, who appears to be in an ongoing battle with her colleagues over the lack of transparency when it comes to important policy and operational issues, warned that the raise “will only inflame every other employee who isn’t receiving an increase. ”

Last February, Clebone talked about the benefits of meeting with officials of the state auditor’s office.

“It’s good for us to have a thorough understanding of how this [budgeting] works, and we want the public to understand what’s happening with the budget.”

So here’s a question for the trustee: Did you consult with Ms. Hendryx before concluding that a pay raise in the midst of fiscal caution is good public policy?