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WARREN -- A discussion that began with talk of creating a more equitable hiring policy as one way to improve diversity in Trumbull County and to honor Black History Month with a real-world commitment, turned into an argument between two county commissioners about past hiring practices.
Commissioners today are expected to pass a resolution honoring Black History Month, and in it, are expected to commit to creating a countywide hiring policy that aims to increase access to county jobs for black people and minorities in the community. County commissioners committed last week to doing more for Black History Month than has been done in the past, and the Trumbull County Historical Society is expected to give a presentation on contributions made by the black community in the area.
All three commissioners appear to agree with creating a hiring policy. It was proposed when Commissioner Niki Frenchko asked the county' human resources department to reach out to employees for suggestions on the best way to honor the month.
Bernadette McElroy, supervisor at the child support enforcement agency, suggested the county not only "make a verbal commitment to promote and hire minorities, but make a resolution to do so."
At the meeting Wednesday, McElroy said although black Americans have helped build the country, literally and through cultural contributions, they still suffer disproportionately from discrimination, police brutality, predatory lending, red lining, unemployment, mass incarceration and other harmful things.
"This is why the slightest bit of inequality in the workplace cannot be tolerated," McElroy said. "I am here to say, I will continue to hammer my fists against the doors of opportunity in Trumbull County, until they open for women and minorities."
Assistant Prosecutor Stanley Elkins suggested committing to a hiring policy and creating a plan for inclusion.
"The best resolution you can do for the African American community is to establish a countywide policy that all job openings will be posted for all (all employees and the public) to see. The county can establish a website just like the State of Ohio has to post all job openings. I understand that some union contracts require that union members get to apply first. The job could still be posted stating that union members are given priority. A resolution stating you want to be (inclusive) is not enough without stating how you plan to do it," Elkins states in an email provided by the HR department.
Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said the county may need to set goals to increase diversity in county jobs, by compiling data on the percentage of minority people already employed in the county and seeing how it falls short of national equal-opportunity standards and the demographics of the area.
While diversity has been discussed before, it was "lip service" in place of real action for change, and the "onus" is on commissioners to "break down barriers."
Controversy arose in discussion of how hiring has been handled in the past, and how changes are being implemented now.
"Trumbull County, for 10, 20 years, forever, has not had a hiring policy," Frenchko said.
With no hiring policy, jobs often aren't posted a certain amount of time, giving news of the opening time to reach populations in the county, and favorites were selected for jobs over people more qualified, but "unconnected," Frenchko said.
"It is all based on who you know.," she said. "For decades, that was how you got a job, is by a commissioner, you put a commissioners' name on the resume or application, that is how you get a job. I didn't know anyone. So many people in this community aren't connected and they are qualified and they are desperate for opportunities for a good county job."
The system contributes to a culture of "favoritism, nepotism, cronyism, corruption" and damages the county's economic development efforts and reputation, she said. It allows "unqualified" but connected people to snatch up opportunities that others never had access to, which also decreases the abilities of departments to fully serve the public because the unqualified people don't run things as well, she said.
Commissioner Frank Fuda told Frenchko she came into the office with "great ideas" but doesn't know enough about how things work.
The two argued back and forth.
"You came in here with ideas, great ideas, great ideas, but you wanted to do things you knew nothing about," Fuda said.
"Twenty years and we still don't have a hiring policy?" Frenchko said. "Do you think the commissioners should have made sure there was a hiring policy in place since 2007, since you've been here, Mr. Fuda?"
Cantalamessa said the the commissioners should focus on the future.
"Can we start from this point on? I don't want to look backwards. I want to look at what we're going to do. Policies. Clear policies, I'm for those new policies and everything, we need to rework a lot of things, but we need to start from this point forward. If we're going to look backwards, we're never going to move forward," Cantalamessa said.
"The idea is to have three commissioners working together, listening to each other and making their decisions..." Fuda said. "You don't hear me; you don't want to hear. You don't know everything... You want to tell everyone you know everything, no one else knows anything."
The two talked over each other several times.
"If you do not have the right culture in the county, nothing else that you want to do is going to happen. You are not going to be successful in any other way," Frenchko said. "We have people who are not looking out for the best interests of the county at large, who are making decisions for political (reasons) because of pressure, fear of vindictiveness..."
Fuda said Frenchko told him a few weeks ago that he shouldn't be talking to constituents.
"Who do you think we're working for?" he said.
"If you believe that your job as a commissioner is to just call hundreds of people back and keep a list so that you can use it for campaigning next cycle, that is what a council person does," Frenchko said.
Instead of putting out individual fires, commissioners should be fixing the structural issues that allow the problems to occur in the first place, Frenchko said.
Fuda said he isn't saying creating a new policy is wrong, but said improvements have been made in hiring practices in past years and that department heads should write their own policies.
rfox@tribtoday.com