YOUNGSTOWN — On Joyce Kale-Pesta’s last day as Mahoning County Board of Elections director, David Betras wanted his fellow board members to reward her 35 years of service by paying her for all 1,221 1/2 hours of unused sick time — but no one else supported his proposal.

That would have been a $47,685.48 payment based on Kale-Pesta’s $39.03 per hour salary. She was paid $81,200 annually.

After Betras’ motion failed to get a second, Kale-Pesta said Tuesday, her last day as director, “I would be willing to negotiate.”

But board Chairwoman Sandra Barger, a Republican, said the county’s policy is a maximum payment of 240 hours of unused sick time.

Betras, a Democrat, said: “It’s OK to have a policy, but we can take it on a case-by-case basis.”

Betras said when James Dellick retired as board director in 1999 he was given about $130,000 in severance.

Betras added that he’s seen Kale-Pesta, who also is the county Democratic Party chairwoman, work as much as 20 hours on days and that she returned to work early after a heart attack.

Betras then proposed paying for half of Kale-Pesta’s unused sick hours, but that was met with silence from the three other board members.

Visibly upset, Betras proposed paying her “everything she’s entitled to” for “the blood she spilled on the floor” of the board of elections.

That proposal passed 4-0 with Kale-Pesta getting $9,367.20 for 240 hours of unused sick time as well as $27,047.79 for unused vacation, accrued and personal time. Most of that was for 537 hours of unused vacation time.

After that vote, Kale-Pesta said: “I’ve given my life to the board of elections. I would have appreciated a little more respect than I was given. I’m saddened. It’s very hurtful.”

Barger said to pay Kale-Pesta more than the 240 hours of unused sick time that the county calls for would “set a precedent for future people. If we do it for one, we have to do it for others.”

Kale-Pesta said: “I’ll live with it. It should be on a case-by-case basis.”

Betras said it was wrong to not reward Kale-Pesta for her years of hard work and dedication.

“I’m saddened by this,” he said.

Thomas McCabe, the deputy director who will now be the director and also serves as chairman of the Mahoning County Republican Party, said the two Republicans on the board — Barger and Bob Aurandt — “should have recognized” Kale-Pesta’s time at the board.

“There should have been a compromise,” he said in an unprecedented public criticism of the Republican board members by McCabe.

While Kale-Pesta retired Tuesday as director, she will join the board as a member.

Betras is filling the term of Democrat Bob Wasko, who retired Tuesday after 20 years of service. That term expires in 2025.

Kale-Pesta will replace Betras and fill his term, which ends in 2023.

Board members make about $16,000 annually in salary.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR SEARCH

Kale-Pesta and Betras are heading up the search for a deputy director, who will be a Democrat by law.

The deadline to apply is Dec. 17.

Kale-Pesta said Rokey Suleman has already applied. Suleman currently works for an elections software company in St. Louis. He has served in top positions for a number of boards of elections including Trumbull County, where he was deputy director.

He resigned in February 2019 as the executive director of the Richland County Board of Voter Registration and Elections in Columbia, S.C., after a number of problems occurred with the county’s 2018 general election including 1,040 votes that weren’t counted, according to media reports from Columbia.

Also, Betras said Melissa Wasko, Bob Wasko’s wife and an administrator with the county Department of Job and Family Services, is going to apply for the deputy director job.

Betras, an attorney, said Melissa Wasko was once his client and he is seeking an opinion from the Ohio Ethics Commission on whether he could vote on hiring her if she is chosen.

Betras said he’s reviewed the law and believes it won’t be an issue, but he wants a formal opinion from the commission.

The deputy director is expected to be hired by Jan. 1, Kale-Pesta said.

Meanwhile, the board announced Tuesday that a recount was held for an additional 2-mill Sebring parks and recreation levy and the results haven’t changed — it’s a 355-355 tie. That means it was defeated as levies have to get a majority vote to be approved, Kale-Pesta said.

A recount of a Poland school board race also didn’t change those results either. Michelle Ella was elected to the seat, beating Allison Mattson by six votes.