County caves to Judge Belinky

By Peter H. Milliken

Probate court gets an extra $200,000

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Mark A. Belinky of Mahoning County Probate Court has canceled the layoffs of 13 of his 17 staffers, which had been set for Sept. 19, and said court operations will not be curtailed now that the commissioners have added $200,000 to his general-fund budget this year.

After a 10-minute executive session, the commissioners voted 2-1 Thursday, with Commissioner John A. McNally IV casting the dissenting vote, to transfer $200,000 from their general-fund administration category to the probate court to bring the probate court’s general-fund budget to $894,833 for this year.

The commissioners earlier had allocated $694,833 from the general fund to the probate court for this year.

The judge then filed a mandamus lawsuit in the 7th District Court of Appeals to enforce his demand for the $915,715 he said was necessary for proper operation of his court.

The judge said Thursday the extra $200,000 allocation has settled that lawsuit and that he’ll make up for the $20,882 shortfall by deferring office-equipment purchases. “We’ll do without it because we understand the county is having financial difficulties,” the judge said.

Commissioner David N. Ludt said he voted for the settlement because probate-court layoffs would be devastating to those served by the court and because of the high cost of litigation and the possibility that the appellate court might order the commissioners to provide the full $915,715.

“Why make an attorney rich for a dispute that we should be settling?” he asked. “I think it’s prudent for the county to settle it, and that’s why I did it. The higher courts usually rule for the judges.”

“To carry this fight, which more than likely would have required litigation all the way to the [Ohio] Supreme Court, may have cost an additional $100,000 in legal fees,” said county Administrator George J. Tablack. When they approved hiring lawyers for each side at county expense, the commissioners capped legal fees at $10,000 for each side.

“I thought that the litigation should have proceeded so a court could determine whether the judge’s actions are reasonable,” McNally said, explaining his dissenting vote.

“The commissioners just capitulating like this sends a message, quite frankly, to the other courts that you should get what you asked for,” he said. “None of the courts got what they originally asked for. They all took severe cuts” in their budgets for this year, McNally noted.

The settlement gives the probate court a general-fund budget lower than the $922,000 it had six years ago, Judge Belinky said, adding that his court operates in a fiscally responsible manner.

He added his court has a smaller budget and fewer employees than probate courts in similarly sized counties, even though his court’s caseload is larger than that of the other probate courts.

“He needs to start [making cuts] at the beginning of the year so he doesn’t have to wait until the end of the year to lay everybody off,” Ludt said of Judge Belinky.

When asked why he didn’t institute unpaid floating holidays for his staff earlier this year as other county departments had done, Judge Belinky said, “We can’t operate that way.”

“We announced the layoffs because we are simply running out of money, and I just thought it was better to keep the staff intact. I thought we could serve the public better” by doing so, he said, adding that he had hoped the dispute would be resolved before Sept. 19.

For example, he said handling an emergency hospitalization for a mentally ill person would be difficult if a specialist in mental-health hearings was taking an unpaid day off on the day that matter needed attention.

The probate court has spent $536,613 from the general fund so far this year, of which $509,469 went for salaries and benefits and the rest for office-operating expenses, according to figures the court released Thursday.

milliken@vindy.com

Other business

The Mahoning County commissioners also handled these matters at their Thursday meeting:

Approved the transfer of attorney Kevin M. Kralj from assistant county prosecutor to acting human resources administrator at the Department of Job and Family Services.

Approved the closing of Gault Road between Palmyra and Kirk roads in Ellsworth and Jackson Townships from this past Monday until Oct. 8 for replacement of three culverts, each 10 feet in diameter and 80 feet long. Traffic is being detoured along Palmyra Road, state Route 45 and Kirk Road.

Voted to advertise for bids for demolition of 12 structures in Campbell using federal neighborhood stabilization money.