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County-office closings raise questions
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Mahoning County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti
Mahoning County Commissioner John A. McNally IV
YOUNGSTOWN
Two of the three Mahoning County commissioners said they should have been consulted about the decision to close county facilities Tuesday.
“I just take offense to the fact that I found out the courthouse was closed through a group of employees that called me,” Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti said Tuesday afternoon.
“The commissioners should have been called,” said Righetti, who took office a month ago. “With cell phones the way they are today, they could plug us in for a conference call.”
Had she been consulted, Righetti said her preference would have been a two-hour delay to give road crews time to salt the roads after the early morning ice storm.
Righetti said she learned of the closing early Tuesday morning from various county employees, then called to inquire of John A. McNally IV, who is chairman of the commissioners.
McNally told her he wasn’t aware of the closing and would get back to her.
McNally then called her back and told her county Administrator George J. Tablack and Clark Jones, county emergency management director, had decided to close county offices and buildings.
McNally said Tablack and Jones made that decision after they learned Youngstown State University would be closed.
“We’ve sort of used YSU as a benchmark” to decide whether county offices and buildings should close, McNally said, noting the university rarely closes.
While Trumbull, Columbiana and Stark county governments remained open for business, McNally said he believes YSU provides a better benchmark because of its proximity to county offices.
McNally said Tablack and Jones did not consult with him concerning the closing decision.
“I think that, as chairman of the board, I should have been consulted,” McNally said, adding that the commissioners should soon meet with Tablack, Jones and Probate Judge Mark Belinky, presiding common pleas judge, to review closing and closing-notification procedures.
Judge Belinky said he called Jones at 5:15 a.m., and Jones told him then he believed the courts should stay open. Between 5:30 and 6 a.m., Judge Belinky called Jones again and informed him YSU would be closed, and Jones then said the courts should close, Judge Belinky recalled.
Judge Belinky said he relies on Jones because Jones is in regular contact with area road departments and the Ohio State Highway Patrol concerning road conditions.
The judge said he and his colleagues will discuss weather-related closing and notifications when they meet Monday.
“I think there needs to be a little better communication among all of us,” in county government and the courts on this issue, Judge Belinky added.
Comments
this is confusing
what are the commissioners complaining about
their employee tablack decided the county offices should be closed
does not tablack work for them
did they give him the power to make the call to close
what is their complaint
Politcians should not be mcromanagng operatios in ths way. Most of the public wold agree the closure was warranted . Poliicans should concentrate on stategy .
The closure was not warranted at all. If the public county employee could not make it to work because of the weather he or she could just call off and use one of their many personal/sick days. Those that did make it in would then do their regular jobs as best they can. That's how it's handled in the private sector - business goes on short staffed. Once again the taxpayers got handled out of their tax money by politicians.
oh everybody just get the heck over it, go to work today. For crying out loud, GEEZ
Judge Belinky went outside to check the progress that his crack chief investigator Don Gaudio Jr. was making on cleaning the ice from the Judge's car. Gaudio was having a real tough time and thus Presiding Judge Mark Belinky thought ALL government workers were having a rough go of it. He gave them the day off WITH PAY!
Wonder what this cost the taxpayers?
I am surprised that there isn't a federal Department of Calamitous Weather and Safety. Said department would decide which schools, colleges, governmental offices, etc. throughout all of the US close and which do not. I expect the DCWS to be created by 2014.
TABLACK SHOULD NOT MAKE THE CALL. WHO IS HE ? There are to many chiefs and not enough indians in mahoning county. No one knows who to go to on any issue and I think they like it that way so they can each blame thee other and no one really knows who is to blame for things. why have three commissioners if they are not the ones who states what goes. please figure this out ........for more then just the weather.
It sounds like the County Administrator's decision-making responsibilities in situations like this are being questioned, or are not clearly defined. Or perhaps this was within the scope of his authority and now it's being challenged because someone got embarrassed? We'll probably never know.
Oh why oh , oh why oh, am I still in Ohio?
If the private sector wishes to close their business because there is bad weather, everyone says oh that was a good idea because they dont want people out on the roads or their employees getting into an accident trying to get to work. SO WHY ARE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ANY DIFFERENT ????? Does anyone give a damn about how they get to work when the weather is as bad as it was yesterday ?? For once I must say that Tablack made a good judgment call. What if something terrible would have happened to any of the county employees while driving on a sheet of ice ? Then the county STILL would have gotten a bad rap for not closing down & not caring about their employees. While the order of authority & communication may need to be a little better between those who make these decisions, I am happy that I didn't have to risk my life trying to get to the courthouse.
As far as what this cost the taxpayers ? I too am a taxpayer AND a county employee, and is there a price you can put on people's safety & lives ?? If there is please let me know what it is.
For those of you who came down to the courthouse for hearings or whatever other business you may have had, YOU SHOULD HAVE PICKED UP THE TELEPHONE & CALLED FIRST TO SEE IF THE COURTHOUSE WAS OPEN BEFORE COMING DOWN HERE ! YOU ALSO SHOULD HAVE TURNED ON YOUR TV OR RADIO & YOU WOULD OF HEARD THAT ALL COUNTY GOVERNMENT OFFICES WERE CLOSED !! For those of you who called the courthouse today screaming at us, GET OVER IT !
In the 18 years I have worked here I can count on one hand the number of times we have closed due to bad weather. So for those of you who think we have sit on our butts all day long jobs & get paid big bucks to do it, THINK AGAIN !!! Haven't seen a pay raise in almost 5 years. We have bills to pay just like everyone else.
foxy glo you said it best !! Everyone just get OVER it !!!
The real question is how does a county employee know the difference from working and being called off work?
county workers get abused by everyone who is in private sector or who is laid-off, but let me tell you we work very hard and have to hear about lay offs on a daily basis. we have not had a raise in so long. we are told be glad you still have a job. well we are but don't ever get thanked for the extra mile we go.
Sorry Madashell, but I left the house at 4:45am that morning during the brunt of the storm. I had to first pour buckets of hot water on my windsheild to get the ice off, but once on the road I never thought that my life was in DANGER!!!
I even stopped on my way to work and got my morning coffee at DD (which was open) and drove carefully to work like 99% of all other working class folks in this northern town.
I have no animosity towards the county workers for getting a day off but most folks would be in danger of loosing their jobs if they didn't show up for work. Perhaps that is why they feel agitated enough to take their frustrations out on the people who got to stay home that morning.
Your over reaction to the situation of being in imminent danger of DEATH just to drive to work probably won't help the publics opinion in regard to this matter. Perhaps you should get "OVER it".
I checked to see if anybody died that morning on the way to work and fortunately nobody did. Also, there were no sign of plagues, and the world did not end.