CORTLAND — Former Cortland City Councilman Jerry Bayus Jr. has taken advantage of the flexible policy of Cortland City Council for public comments at council meetings in recent months.

He spoke for hours at council meetings in Diedre Petrosky and city council handled the replacement of Service Director Kim Blasco when Blasco left the position in January for a job with Boardman Township. The city has no service director.

What might have been short remarks at other local governmental meetings went on for well over an hour at the Aug. 18 and Sept. 3 meetings. Bayus requested the resignation of Petrosky and Law Director Patrick Wilson at both meetings. His remarks were not a continuous presentation because his remarks prompted responses from city officials.

For example, Bayus first started to speak at about 7:41 p.m. Sept. 3, about 53 minutes into the meeting. By about 9 p.m., Bayus said Petrosky should resign and “take her law director with her.”

Just prior to the Sept. 3 council meeting, on Aug. 30, a paid advertisement also appeared in the Cortland News, a local newspaper, containing more than a full page of information in small type with a headline reading, “A pattern of corruption as detailed in the (Aug. 18) Cortland City Council meeting.

At the bottom of the ad, it stated that the information was “researched, compiled and documented by Jerry Bayus of Cortland.”

Bayus spoke for about 90 minutes at the Aug. 18 meeting. At that meeting, Bayus focused on Sean Ratican, who served as interim service director until the end of August, and Jeffrey Jiang, who provided other services to the city. He said the men knew each other at Kent State University, where Ratican is a professor.

According to the detailed, 38-page, single-spaced minutes of the Sept. 3 council meeting, Bayus said he had “stayed out of politics for 20 years” but after he learned that the city hired Ratican to handle matters related to the city’s service department, he had questions.

“I have wasted more than three weeks of my life researching, following leads, getting tipped,” said Bayus, who owns Bayus & Associates Accounting and Tax Advisors of Cortland.

He said he researched ordinances over the past 2 1/2 years, something he said that council members, “sitting here on council every two weeks, you can’t see.”

Bayus said at the Sept. 3 meeting he was going to discuss ordinances related to the hiring of Ratican and Jiang. A short time later, Petrosky left the meeting. Bayus continued on with his grievances.

ORWELL HIRES

The village of Orwell appointed Ratican as village manager and Jiang to be assistant village manager — both in early May, according to the Ashtabula Star Beacon. Neither man will receive benefits like health insurance, with Ratican making $59,000 and Jiang making $36,000, the newspaper reported May 7.

Ratican is an assistant professor at the Geauga Campus of Kent State University, according to the university website.

On May 12, Ratican and Jiang met with the Orwell Village Council, the newspaper reported. Ratican is a full-time professor, and is allowed to do consulting work, the newspaper reported. Ratican said he is looking at the job as a consultancy.

The newspaper reported that Ratican told Orwell officials he has no specific work hours, and his plan is to be focused on helping the village make progress.

BAYUS

At the Aug. 18, Cortland City Council meeting, Bayus gave a history of ordinances related to Ratican and Jiang, saying Ratican was hired Jan. 22, as an independent contractor for almost five months until a permanent director could be hired by Cortland. Ratican was going to work remotely and make $8,668 monthly, the equivalent of $104,000 annually.

There was no mention of the position being full-time or part-time, Bayus said. The previous service director, Blasko, made $70,000 plus benefits and “worked every day in our building,” Bayus stated.

When Bayus brought up the issue of hiring a permanent service director, Council President Kevin Piros said the mayor had interviewed candidates for the permanent service director position, and each council member “independently ranked their top four” candidates and provided that to the mayor. Another council member said it was the top three.

Bayus said another resolution came before Council May 31 as emergency legislation, hiring Ratican to continue in the service director position for $9,580 per month or an annual equivalent of $115,000 but no benefits such as health care, as service director. Bayus said the contract did not require the service director to be an engineer, and “I don’t think his education falls under any of the aspects of the requirements to be a service director.” Council voted down the ordinance.

Bayus said Ratican “has no training related to engineering, let alone civil professional engineering” and no qualifications to “make recommendations about municipal zoning laws.” Bayus said Ratican’s training qualifies him to be a city manager, not a service director.

Councilman John Picuri, a licensed professional engineer and surveyor, said the salary range for Cortland service director was recommended to Petrosky at $75,000 to $115,000 per year.” Cortland Finance Director Patti Gibson said the $70,000 salary of the last service director brought her full compensation to $130,000 to $140,000 per year.

Jiang was first hired by the city as a part-time employee around May 2022 at $9.30 per hour, Bayus said. On April 3, 2023, council was asked to enter into an agreement with Lake Shore Strategic Consulting LLC to review, amend, and update the city’s zoning ordinances and provide economic development assistance for $40,000. Jiang’s professor at Kent State University, Ratican, created Lake Shore Strategic Consulting LLC two months earlier, Bayus said.

In January 2024, Lake Shore Consulting gave the city a book titled “New Program Development Rental Occupancy Permit / Vacant Property Registration” that the city paid $40,000 for, Bayus said.

Bayus said the book contains information about implementing a rental-property registration process. Bayus said he “threw this book into Chat GPT,” an artificial intelligence product. He asked Chat GPT to “search the internet to see if this book was copied. The answer was that “there are similar programs in place for the city of Cortland, New York, including rental registration and vacant building ordinances,” Bayus said.

Then Bayus asked Chat GPT, “Do the proposed zoning ordinances look copied from anywhere else in Ohio?” Bayus said the answer was that “similar cities include Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, North Canton, Youngstown and Columbus.” Bayus said those are “metropolitan cities with large areas of low income, dilapidated housing (and) vacant lots.” Cortland is one of Trumbull County’s most affluent communities.

Bayus suggested that a person could use Chat GPT to write such a book, “make blanket changes, create some cover letters, probably in a matter of hours. We paid $40,000. This is something that governments, as well as private individuals need to be aware of when they hire consultants,” he said.

Bayus also alleged that in August 2024, Jiang resigned as special projects coordinator for Cortland. And then Cortland entered into a contract with Fuji Lee Strategies LLC for consulting services. Petrosky told council she had researched consulting companies and done her “due diligence” regarding the hiring of professional grants consultants.

But Bayus alleged that due diligence did not happen.

“As far as I’m concerned that’s a lie,” he said, adding that council “better start looking closer.”

Piros responded that “Jeffrey (Jiang) and Fuji Lee has brought millions of dollars,” according to the meeting minutes.

Bayus then alleged that because the ordinance that city council approved hiring Ratican as interim service director was too vague, it was improper.

“This is an ordinance for an employee we want to employ as an independent contractor. This constitutes tax fraud, guys,” Bayus said.

Wilson, the city’s law director, said he disagreed with that statement, and Bayus continued, saying that the “No. 1 rule that the IRS, and … the state and so forth look at is who exerts control.” He said that under the contract for Ratican to be interim service director, Ratican was “still responsible to report to the mayor. That’s an employee.”

He gave a comparison of what a contractor does compared to the relationship between Ratican and the city. “If you want the walls painted, a contractor comes when they want to come; they bring their equipment; they paint the walls; they leave, they give you a bill. You have no control over what they do,” he said.

Bayus later talked about an ordinance council was asked to approve in August 2024 that created the position of economic community development manager and naming Jiang to the position. But Jiang was still under contract “as Fuji Lee through the end of June,” Bayus stated. Council did not approve the ordinance.

Wilson then agreed with Bayus “on that one. That would have been improper,” Wilson said, according to the Aug. 18, 2025, meeting minutes.

PETROSKY

Petrosky, who earned a law degree in 2013, is serving her second four-year term as mayor, which expires in two years. Before that, she served on Cortland City Council for 20 years, according to her biography on the city’s website. She is office manager at Petrosky Brothers Construction, Inc., it states.

On Aug. 22, 2025, Petrosky responded in a Facebook post to allegations that Bayus had raised at the Aug. 18 council meeting, saying there had been “a deliberate effort to mischaracterize decisions made by this administration and City Council. These, often presented without proper context, are causing unnecessary confusion among residents and undermining the constructive progress that has been achieved in recent years.”

She stated that Bayus’ remarks Aug. 18 were “not grounded in fact. Mr. Gerald Bayus presented a selective snapshot of city expenditures, accompanied by an inflammatory narrative designed to sensationalize routine financial decisions.”

She said Ratican’s “work with Cortland began in 2022 and has consistently met the city’s expectations. He was vetted and approved by council and agreed to serve as interim director during a transition period. His compensation was aligned with the cost of the previous service director. His role was never intended to be permanent, and he accepted the position as a favor to the city when we were in a time of need.”

Petrosky said Ratican’s “previous commitments and responsibilities were well known, and we asked him to assist us with the understanding that a substantial amount of his work would be done remotely so as not to conflict with his pre-existing professional and personal commitments.”

She stated that “In recent months, Council has chosen not to move forward with several key appointments recommended by this office. While these decisions are within their legislative authority, they have contributed to delays in staffing and operations.”

She stated that “Employees and contractors are held to clear standards and evaluated based on performance. Outside employment, where applicable, is allowed when it does not interfere with official responsibilities — a practice common throughout the public sector, including among members of council.”

She said, “Unsubstantiated claims that personnel decisions are politically motivated are not only incorrect but also harmful to the integrity of our workforce. Every decision made by this administration has been guided by the city’s best interest and compliance with all legal and ethical obligations.”

Petrosky stated that she respects the public’s right to “question and engage with their local government,” but recent allegations are “entirely without merit and are not supported by fact.”

“Recent meetings have unfortunately seen a decline in decorum, including instances of verbal hostility and inappropriate behavior directed at City staff and officials. Such conduct is unacceptable and counterproductive to civic engagement,” she stated.

She listed the ordinances that Bayus has questioned, such as hiring a special projects coordinator, authorizing an agreement with Lake Shore Strategic Consulting LLC and creating the interim service director position for Ratican, saying they were “approved either unanimously or with majority support.”

COMPLAINTS

In an email to the Tribune Chronicle, Bayus stated that during August and September, a “multitude of documented instances of misconduct constituting misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance by Cortland’s mayor as well as unethical and code of conduct examples have been presented to council.”

Bayus added that at the Aug. 18 meeting, “I exposed a two-year pattern of corruption costing Cortland taxpayers $255,000 paid to two people.”

He added, “The city has been without a legitimate service director since January 2025.” He stated that the city received about 15 resumes from people interested in becoming the next service director, but “only one was actually qualified. And that person was hired by another municipality. The rest of the resumes were for a manager’s position with no qualifications of a legitimate service director.”

He stated that “A detailed complaint with all supporting documentation was filed with the State Auditor, Special Investigations Unit.” On Sept. 23, Bayus received notice that the complaint was forwarded to the auditors’ East Region for further investigation, he stated.

A separate complaint was filed with the Supreme Court, Office of Disciplinary Council, making allegations against Wilson, Bayus stated.

Ohio Auditor of State Press Secretary David Roorbach confirmed Thursday that the state auditor’s office “received a complaint related to the City of Cortland’s payment of contractors. This matter has been referred to our regional office for follow up during the city’s next financial audit.”

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office also confirmed that Bayus made a complaint with that office Aug. 22, “alleging improper dealings by Cortland Mayor Diedre Petrosky involving Sean Ratican, who has worked as a contracted employee of the city in lieu of having a full time employee service director.”

The complaint was “closed” the same day, with “direction” being given to Bayus, the Attorney General’s Office stated.

DEBATE CONTINUES

Bayus continued to appear at Cortland City Council meetings Sept. 15 and Oct. 6, according to meeting minutes.

On Sept. 15, Petrosky addressed Bayus’ earlier allegation that Petrosky conspired with Jiang to make him an independent contractor to enable Jiang to “avoid paying payroll taxes.” She denied it, saying that in Ohio, “employees are subject to an employer’s direct control, while an independent contractor is free from direction or control over the service being performed. Jeffrey (Jiang) did not need control over the services he was performing,” she said.

She also said Bayus accused her of malfeasance or nonfeasance for not looking at the resumes that had been submitted for the service director position. “I did not say I did not look at the resumes. I said there were no qualified applicants,” she said.

She said Bayus accuses her of conspiring with Wilson to “twist” a provision of the city’s purchasing ordinance to justify trying to continue Ratican’s services as service director. But there was nothing illegal about using a purchase order to pay Ratican in that instance as long as the purchase was an emergency, which she and the law director felt there was, “because we are required (by state law) and regulations from the Ohio EPA to have a director of public service in place,” she stated.

Petrosky said that at the previous council meeting, she “refuted 17 untrue statements. At this meeting tonight, I have addressed and refused 13 more.” Petrosky left the meeting not long after making her remarks.

When it was time for public comment, Piros asked the audience to keep their remarks to five minutes and “not dissertations, but questions.”

When Bayus spoke, he acknowledged that council meetings had “gone long,” but said “there are some people who want to hear what’s going on. I’ve always been a person to conduct business in council meetings, not behind closed doors.”

Bayus then alleged that an email from “Christopher Smith” that sought text messages, emails, Facebook messages” and other types of messages involving several council members and several city officials, was not from “a real person.” The city officials who filled the records request said it took a great deal of time to compile. Bayus called it an effort to “potentially find dirt” on four members of council who voted against ordinances to hire Ratican and Jiang “to smear them publicly for voting against” the ordinances.

Bayus’ back-and-forth conversation with council members and others went on for a long time. Bayus said he still had not received the resumes for the candidates who applied for the service director position. He had requested them earlier.

As part of a discussion about $3,000 paid to Jiang that Bayus questioned, Bayus said it was an example of “the mayor’s continued ability to use the city checkbook as her own slush fund to enrich her two guys (Ratican and Jiang).” He added, “Finally it has come to an end. Why did it end? Because I came up here and took a lot of your time. This is cronyism.”

During the exchange, council member Kathy Fleischer said, “I think everybody agrees for the good of the city, that (Petrosky) should resign. I’m speaking for myself, but we can’t make her resign.”

Fleischer is one of three members of council who is not seeking reelection Tuesday. The others are Richard McLain and Don Moore. Three other council members still have two more years left on their term — Scott Rowley, Jim Bradley and John Picuri. Piros is on the ballot Tuesday running for reelection.

OCT. 6 MEETING

At the Oct 6 council meeting, Bayus said he had received the resumes for the individuals who applied to be Cortland service director, but only one of the candidates was qualified for the job, and he was later hired full-time in Broadview Heights. He and Petrosky debated whether Ratican met the qualifications for the job, with Bayus saying Ratican met the qualifications only because Ratican “wrote the job description.” Bayus also questioned whether the city got all of the resumes because the “recipient” of the resumes was Ratican, who Bayus said started working for the city in 2023.

When Bayus said the resumes were “absolute junk,” Piros said he agreed.

Minutes and video of the Oct. 20 council meeting are not yet available on the city’s website. Council meets again at 7 p.m. Monday.