Council overrides county executive budget vetoes
By Kathleen Folkerth
DOWNTOWN AKRON — Summit County Council voted to override line item vetoes from County Executive James McCarthy at a special meeting Dec. 28.
McCarthy exercised his authority under the county’s charter to veto the 2007 budgets for County Council and the Office of Consumer Affairs, which were approved by Council as part of legislation adopted Dec. 18.
In a letter to Council dated Dec. 28, McCarthy said Council’s budget request of $360,800 for salaries was excessive. He noted that between 2001 and 2007, Council requested increases totaling 75 percent for employee salaries and was granted increases totaling 61 percent.
“During this same period of time, Council has reviewed legislation requesting salary increases for deserving employees in other offices,” McCarthy wrote. “While Council has approved most requests, in many instances it has subjected those employees to a public examination of their County careers and qualifications.”
McCarthy questioned Council’s recent decision to create a chief of staff position, which is filled by former Council Clerk David Hannon, and approve a pay raise in the process.
“Council’s largess
in its own budget comes at the expense
of other County offices,” McCarthy wrote.
McCarthy also said Council’s
decision to approve full budgets for itself and the
Consumer Affairs Office was unfair because other county
offices were funded at one-quarter of the year’s
budget.
During the brief meeting, there
was no discussion on the budget as Council moved to
override the veto. The override was approved by a vote
of 9-1, with Councilman
Tim Crawford (D-District 7) voting against it. Councilwoman
Louise Heydorn (R-District 3) was absent.
Crawford said after the meeting
that his “no” vote Dec. 28 was “a
protest.” He said he voted for the budget appropriations
Dec. 18 because time was running out.
“When I left there [Dec.
18], I felt nobody on Council knew what we’d done
budget-wise,” Crawford
said. “It has been so screwed up this year because
of our fight with the executive.”
Councilman Pete Crossland (D-District
4) said McCarthy’s letter was argumentative but
not a surprise.
“He’s implied that
we’re boosting salaries, and that’s not
the case,” Crossland said. “We’ve
budgeted for an additional person, but I’m not
sure we’ll do that.”
McCarthy’s letter said
he disagreed with Council’s
approval of a budget increase for the Consumer Affairs
Office because he was assured when the office was created
that it could be run on $150,000 a year. Council approved
$202,600 for the office for 2007.
Councilman Tom Teodosio (D-District
2) said he thinks the office’s request to add
an additional staff member is worthy.
“I think it was reasonable,”
Teodosio said. “It’s
such an important office for the community. We want
to see that office grow.”
In his letter, McCarthy said
the office “serves a worthy purpose,” but
unlike other county offices, it has no state-mandated
functions.
“Most of its services are
available to consumers through the State of Ohio Attorney
General’s office and the local Better Business
Bureau,” McCarthy
wrote. “Accordingly, its budget should not be
given priority over the budgets of other county offices.”
According to Hannon, McCarthy
did not veto but also did not sign another piece of
budget legislation, one that gave temporary budgets
to the Children Services Board and the Department of
Job and Family Services. When the executive doesn’t
sign legislation, it goes into effect when he returns
it to Council, which was Dec. 28.
The next regular Council meeting
will take place Jan. 8 at 4:30 p.m. for caucus and 5
p.m. for the meeting in Council chambers on the seventh
floor of the Ohio Building, 175 S. Main St.
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