Trumbull County commissioner’s request resisted
Commissioner says county needs administrator, budget director
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WARREN -- Trumbull County Commissioner Niki Frenchko is seeking an agreement with her two colleagues to hire an administrator and a budget director.
"A county administrator would save money by preventing waste related to errors due to lack of supervision and policy compliance, and proper planning that has contributed to costly litigation and corrective actions," Frenchko said. "A sound administrator with a master (degree) of public administration and outside experience would provide supervision for the supervisors and our office, which has been absent for decades -- thus contributing to the inner-office political turmoil, and the blind leading the blind, which has led to audit findings."
Commissioners Denny Malloy and Mauro Cantalamessa, as well as other former Trumbull commissioners, disagree that the positions are needed. Cantalamessa said two such hirings would add more than $300,000 to the county budget.
"Much of what an administrator would do relative to policy implementation, I have recommended or placed on the agenda, but the other two voted it down," Frenchko noted.
A survey done by the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, however, shows that other counties do have administrators and budget directors working as part of their staffs.
Neighboring Mahoning County, for example, has an Office of Management and Budget director and two account clerks.
AUDITOR'S INPUT
Because the Trumbull commissioners are responsible for management of the county's general fund budget, Frenchko argues the office should have a full-time budget director under its control who would gather financial information, make recommendations to board members about the allocation of funds, and do whatever financial research is needed for commissioners to make economic decisions.
Frenchko said the first hiring should be a budget director.
"There are no budget controls in place, or any oversight," she noted. "The commissioners or our staff do not even perform these duties -- they are given to the auditor."
County Auditor Martha Yoder attends every workshop and regular board of commissioners meeting to provide a breakdown on most financial issues.
Yoder, who took office in January, noted the auditor's office has been doing budgetary work with the commissioners' office for more than 30 years.
"Commissioner Frenchko has called what we have been doing illegal," Yoder said. "I don't believe it is. Based on my research and from discussions I've had with other auditors across the state, it has been called unique, but not illegal."
Frenchko criticizes the practice, saying it has been a longstanding segregation of duties that has been unchecked forever.
"With the sheriff's department, 911 and other departments over budget, the taxpayers deserve a budget manager to stop the others from saying 'yes' to every request made," Frenchko said.
Yoder said she goes to the workshops and Wednesday meetings primarily to explain transfers that must be journalized, and to inform commissioners about any new revenue that might be coming in through grants or other sources.
The auditor's office later this fall will use its historical data and work with the commissioners to provide a recommended 2024 county budget. Commissioners will have each county general fund department submit recommended budgets based on projected needs.
The auditor's office then will provide a recommended budget in time for the commissioners to review, make changes and vote on before year's end.
Yoder said her office will continue to work with the commissioners, regardless of whether they decide to hire a person within their office to do budget work.
"What we want is what is best for the county," Yoder said. "Either way, we will be working with the commissioners."
ACROSS OHIO
Frenchko has argued that the majority of other Ohio counties -- especially those of similar size and population to Trumbull County -- have office formats that utilize something similar to office managers and finance director.
The County Commissioners Association of Ohio in December 2022, responding to a request by Frenchko, surveyed the majority of state's 88 counties and found that 53 had county administrators. Frenchko supplied the CCAO survey.
When this newspaper sought to independently verify that, Nick Ciolli, identified as a CCAO research analyst on the survey, would not send the information.
Frenchko explained the organization is private and not required to respond to media open records requests. Ciolli, however, did contact Frenchko about the newspaper's request.
Further, in a survey of 18 counties, the CCAO found that 14 had some form of finance / budgeting / fiscal staff in the commissioners' offices.
MAHONING COUNTY
Mahoning County Commissioner David C. Ditzler said his board's clerk is the office manager. Ditzler has been a commissioner for 11 years. Prior to being commissioner, Ditzler was an Austintown Township trustee.
"We don't have a large staff," he said. "We have seven people in our office."
Mahoning's commissioners office has an Office of Management and Budget director and two account clerks.
Ditzler said Mahoning commissioners meet regularly to discuss the county's budget throughout the year.
"In respect to the American Rescue Plan Act funds, everything we consider is first sent through our prosecutor's office to make sure it meets the (federal) criteria," Ditzler said.
Because Mahoning commissioners have their own management and budget employee as part of the office, they don't collaborate with either the auditor or treasurer offices as closely as Trumbull County commissioners do with its auditor.
Ditzler said Mahoning commissioners work with these offices toward the end of each year as the commissioners are formulating the next year's budget. The commissioners meet with each county department separately to review their budget requests and look at the current year's expenditures.
OTHER COUNTIES
Beverly Adzic is the clerk administrator in Licking County.
"My job is a hybrid between an administrator and clerk," she said. "I manage the day-to-day operation of the office and serve as the board's clerk."
"A true administrator would have a lot more authority," Adzic said. "I work in an advisory capacity. When departments approach me about meetings with commissioners, I act in an advisory capacity, then I would act as a liaison to the commissioners."
Licking County commissioners also have a deputy clerk who specializes in budget and finances.
"I believe in the separation of powers between the commissioners' and the auditor's offices," Adzic said. "The county commissioners have oversight over the general fund budget. That has been my experience."
"In my personal opinion, I would think they would want to have a budget administrator," she said. "The budget is under the commissioners' purview."
Chris Jacobs, county administrator in the Medina County Commissioners Office for 10 years, manages the day-to-day office operation. Medina has a clerk of the board, an assistant clerk and one other support staff member.
"Medina has 13 departments under the commissioners' authority," he said. "They come to me when they have an issue they want to take before commissioners."
"There also is a finance director who also is under my supervision," Jacobs said. "This office goes over all of the appropriations that fall under the commissioners."
"We work with the auditor's office," he said. "The flow of information has worked well under this model."
TRUMBULL OPINIONS
Malloy, board president, said he has seen other counties with adminstrators working in the commissioners' office -- but he maintains the three commissioners in Trumbull work as the office administrator. He is in his first year as a commissioner.
Malloy does not feel the three would be able to come to a consensus on bringing in someone for the job.
"It would not be fair to bring in anyone under this toxic situation," he said. "She would want to bring someone under her control or someone she could bully into doing things that are not allowed under our policies."
Malloy noted the office employees now come to either himself or Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa when Frenchko asks them to do something they believe is beyond their responsibilities.
"If we brought in an administrator, we would be doing the same thing," he said.
Malloy notes he has the desire and willingness to continue to do the type of legwork that typically would be assigned to an administrator.
"I don't see the weakness in our office that would require an administrator," he said. "I am a Republican. I don't believe in bringing in another layer of people, when the position is not necessary."
As far as bringing in a budget director, Malloy said the county is in good financial shape.
"The auditor is the chief financial officer of the county," he said. "She should be in the budgetary process. I don't see a reason why we should not continue doing what has been done."
Cantalamessa, currently the longest-serving board member, strongly disagrees about hiring someone in either position.
"I think it's preposterous to think that in today's economic climate and the price of everything going up for all of our constituents, that now is the time for the board to add over $300,000 to our budget for two management positions," Cantalamessa said. "I'm trying to right-size government not add any more high-priced bureaucrats to our payroll."
"People, when they elect us, expect us to roll up our sleeves and do our jobs," he said. "Our constituents don't expect us to hire others to do our jobs, so that we can show up to more ribbon cuttings and photo-ops.
"If you need personal assistants and administrators to do your job for you, then you shouldn't have taken the job," he said. "That's how I feel, at least."
EX-COMMISSIONERS
Former Trumbull commissioner, Warren mayor and state legislator Michael O'Brien also is against the idea of an office manager.
"Commissioners are full-time county employees that are compensated well enough to run this office without bringing in an office manager," O'Brien said. "Commissioners must be able to work together."
O'Brien said commissioners should be able to divide responsibilities among each other so the work can be done efficiently.
O'Brien was a commissioner from 1984 through 2004. During that time, O'Brien said the board worked closely with the auditor in monitoring finances, including an auditor's representative going to the weekly workshops and commissioner meetings.
O'Brien, however, explained that during a five-year period, the commissioners did hire a part-time special project finance director in their office.
"We were doing a $50 million project in restoring the county courthouse, constructing an new county jail, restoring the county administration offices and building the 11th District (appellate court) courthouse," O'Brien said. "This went beyond what the auditor's office would normally do."
Former commissioner Frank Fuda, who served with Frenchko during his last term, also does not believe the office needs either a highly paid administrator or a budget director.
During his last term, Fuda, a Democrat, often fought bitterly with Frenchko over the office operations and the treatment of county staff.
"Trumbull commissioners make approximately $102,000 a year," he said. "That's not including benefits and retirements. Commissioner (Paul) Heltzel and I ran the commissioners' office successfully for many years without having either of these positions.
"We completed millions in county projects," Fuda stressed.