So very disappointing. Fitzgerald upon learning of a $110k/yr job given to his fiscal officer's friend/former colleague without the job ever being posted, Fitzgerald (who may or may not have known about the whole dirty business) chooses not to take action, rather saying we'll post the job in six months (while the guy collects a paycheck in the meantime). And no apparent reprimand for anyone. The fiscal officer who was filling the job claims he didn't know the job was posted.....did he think just one person--his old buddy--applied?

 

Looks like we're heading back to the good ol' days of Cuyahoga County government. And I thought Fitzgerald had higher political ambitions.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2011/10/cuyahoga_county_hires_finance_manager_without_posting_position.html

It's clearly a violation of the county's policy which is bad, but that's not the same as it being corrupt or cronyism or a return to the "old way."

 

Kind of ironic that, per the article, the person who made the hire in this case was a republican from Columbus, not part of the local Dem machine.

^If Fitzgerald wants to clean up the image of the county corruption, then he should have little tolerance for this type of thing. or at least pretend to. let's assume he knew nothing about the republican from Columbus who hired his friend. Upon learning about it, he should immediately require posting of the job, especially if he wants to let the guy to stay. why a random six months--so everyone can forget about it? And he doesn't "investigate" it or at least pretend to? And the HR rep assumes he's best candidate amongst a pool of one and he's not even from NE Ohio?

 

by the 'old way' i stated above, i was referring to shady county government and favors for friends, etc. at the public expense. None of this smells right and the new 'clean' government of Fitzpatrick looks the other way.

 

what's particularly frightening is the carefree (at best) or inappropriate way approach that Fitzpatrick is handling this--by doing nothing.

Agreed, this is very disappointing.  Also agreed about how it should be handled.

Public Official 14 at your service.

I agree that Fitz & Co. should had handled this better, I'm just not ready to say we're on the imminent path back to the old way.  But for sure, even if this was a good faith hiring decision (there's no indication otherwise yet), they need to be batting 1.000 with the optics and process to stamp out any actual corruption before it takes root.

So very disappointing. Fitzgerald upon learning of a $110k/yr job given to his fiscal officer's friend/former colleague without the job ever being posted, Fitzgerald (who may or may not have known about the whole dirty business) chooses not to take action, rather saying we'll post the job in six months (while the guy collects a paycheck in the meantime). And no apparent reprimand for anyone. The fiscal officer who was filling the job claims he didn't know the job was posted.....did he think just one person--his old buddy--applied?

 

Looks like we're heading back to the good ol' days of Cuyahoga County government. And I thought Fitzgerald had higher political ambitions.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2011/10/cuyahoga_county_hires_finance_manager_without_posting_position.html

 

I'm not sure how he "disappoints", since he wasn't the hiring manager.  Granted he is the one who is accountable, but there is more to this than meets the eye.  In this instance you have to look at the details and timeline.

 

People are upset that the person hired is being paid while on probation, why should he quit?  Would you?  I highly doubt it.

 

The hiring manager should fired to make an example that the new administration will not tolerate things like this.

 

Also we have a Cuyahoga County thread:  http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,19348.msg555228.html#msg555228

 

Said it then, I'll say it still.  It would have been better to elect only the county council, and have them appoint a County Executive who met certain educational/professional criteria.

Where's the conflict of interest?  Was anybody paid off?  Is there a "quid pro quo"?

There was no job posting.  It violated the law.

Quite frankly, after reading the article I really don't have a problem with much of it, especially Fitzgerald's role. 

Cleveland.com has this not-very-scandalous article posted about a couple double-dipping accountants still working for the county:  http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2012/01/double_dippers_remain_on_cuyahoga_county_payroll.html

 

Is anyone familiar enough with Ohio public employee pension law to explain the fiscal implications of double dipping?  I understand the gut-level outrage, but not sure how much there's really there to object to.  I actually think the PD is dropping the ball big time by whipping up the outrage machine without really digging into the topic.

 

Kind of ironic that, per the article, the person who made the hire in this case was a republican from Columbus, not part of the local Dem machine.

 

Shocking. A politician doing something in the interest of the few (who are paid-in-full) rather than the many? Shocking.

I'm actually warming up to FitzGerald a bit.  He did an interview with PBS a few weeks back and I was really impressed with the way he talked about regionalism.  Hopefully he follows through with his work there and then maybe in a few years runs against Kasich.  It would be nice to have one of "our guys" back in the governor's mansion. 

There is nothing illegal about double-dipping, just like there is nothing illegal about shift-trading within the Cleveland Fire Department.  But that never stopped the media from trying its best to plant that seed in the public's mind without actually saying it (knowing it would be false).  There has been all this uproar over double dipping for many years, yet the legislative reform needed to prevent it has never really been pushed by anyone (including the media).  On the other hand, limitations on shift-trading, which the City AGREED to remove from the contract years ago, will be reinstituted.  I guess it all depends on where the benefactors of bad policy are on a societal scale.

^I understand that double dipping is legal, I'm just trying to understand if it's in fact bad policy to allow it.  The alternatives are either (1) the employee retires without getting rehired, they get paid their benefits and the county hires a replacement that starts accruing benefits and needs to be trained, or (2) the person delays their retirement for X years but continues accruing service years and pension benefits and continues to be covered by the county health plan.  It would be really swell to see some data or an actuarial analysis to understand how much, if any, the costs of double dipping exceed these alternatives and who bears these additional costs.  I'm just skeptical it's nearly as simple (fiscally) as many critics casually make it out to be.

Fitzgerald has cut almost $20 million from the county payroll.  That is phenomenal.  This thread needs renamed.  I'm just hoping he sticks around and continues his work at the county for a while before launching his career to another level.

^Lol, I tried renaming it with my post, but it didn't stick.  I agree with all your of post.  Any chance a mod can rename this to make this a general Cuy County governance thread?

Didn't vote for him and feel a bit sheepish about it now. I've been impressed, mostly, by FitzGerald. I hope he continues to eliminate redundancies in the coming years and flexes the County's muscle effectively and wisely.

Seems to be on a pretty straight path - clearing out the corrupt political cronies, restoring trust, setting up the economic development fund, getting the county's finances in order and improving the bond rating

Does this title work?

^Can it be more general, to cover all of the county government? 

bah!

^Thanks! :)

Didn't vote for him and feel a bit sheepish about it now. I've been impressed, mostly, by FitzGerald. I hope he continues to eliminate redundancies in the coming years and flexes the County's muscle effectively and wisely.

 

Agreed.  FitzGerald has governed the county like I was hoping the guy I voted for (Lanci) would, so I can't complain much anymore.

In the Cleveland Public Radio interview, he noted that some county employees didn't have a job description and some had not had a performance evaluation in years. 

 

I liked when he mailed out absentee ballot applications to all the residents of the county in defiance of "Jim Crow" Kasich.  Fitzgerald rules!

A dumb idea IMO.  The majority of the funds should be used within downtown; Small Business loans, infrastructure improvements, etc.  But when a politician sees dollar signs I guess all bets are off.

 

Cuyahoga County Councilwoman wants half of casino taxes devoted to suburbs

 

Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 7:00 PM    Updated: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 2:38 AM

By Laura Johnston, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga Council Councilwoman Sunny Simon differs with Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald on how to spend the county's share of casino taxes: She wants to share half the with the suburbs.

 

Her proposal, submitted Tuesday to the Cuyahoga County council, opposes what FitzGerald has pushed since February, which is to use all the money for downtown development.

 

The suburbs have been hit the hardest by state cuts, so council must help them retain residents, Simon said before Tuesday's meeting.

I wish Sunny understood that the money can either (a) have an impactful effect on dowtown development which will hopefully cause a domino effect spreading towards the suburbs, or (b) be spread so thin among the many communities that each whale essentially gets one tic-tac for its bad breath

Truthfully I don't see how the suburbs have any legitimate claim to that money.  That being said, if it's going to the suburbs, the inner-rings should indeed be getting the largest chunk.

Wow, I hope she losses her battle.

 

 

And thank god she is a democrat or some people on here would be saying some nasty things...

^I think you might have been the only one who paid any attention to her party affiliation

^I think you might have been the only one who paid any attention to her party affiliation

 

I was just messing with you. Funny thing is that you were the first one to bite.

i don't agree with her stance, but she's representing the interests of her district, which is what they elected her to do

i don't agree with her stance, but she's representing the interests of her district, which is what they elected her to do

 

But like Hts121 said,

 

I wish Sunny understood that the money can either (a) have an impactful effect on dowtown development which will hopefully cause a domino effect spreading towards the suburbs, or (b) be spread so thin among the many communities that each whale essentially gets one tic-tac for its bad breath

 

^I think you might have been the only one who paid any attention to her party affiliation

 

I was just messing with you. Funny thing is that you were the first one to bite.

 

My fault.  Seems to be a developing theme for you Shy Torys..... errrrr, I mean "independents"..... around here.

A dumb idea IMO.  The majority of the funds should be used within downtown; Small Business loans, infrastructure improvements, etc.  But when a politician sees dollar signs I guess all bets are off.

 

Cuyahoga County Councilwoman wants half of casino taxes devoted to suburbs

 

Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 7:00 PM    Updated: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 2:38 AM

By Laura Johnston, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga Council Councilwoman Sunny Simon differs with Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald on how to spend the county's share of casino taxes: She wants to share half the with the suburbs.

 

Her proposal, submitted Tuesday to the Cuyahoga County council, opposes what FitzGerald has pushed since February, which is to use all the money for downtown development.

 

The suburbs have been hit the hardest by state cuts, so council must help them retain residents, Simon said before Tuesday's meeting.

 

Sorry, I just don't think of S. Euclid as a true inner ring suburb.  Setting that aside, what plagues S. Euclid is decades of poor development choices by the City, which continue to this day (e.g., Oakwood, Cedar Center, all of Mayfield Road, and pretty much every other major thoroughfare).  Giving S. Euclid a small chunk of the casino money isn't going to make a dent in the problems plaguing that city; nor is it going to do anything to attract jobs to S. Euclid.  We need to be doing things that will cause employers and people to be drawn to the region as a whole; the best way of accomplishing that is fixing up the core.  If the core is dead folks, the vultures will come swirling around the outer ring in short order.

^I think you might have been the only one who paid any attention to her party affiliation

 

A dumb idea IMO.  The majority of the funds should be used within downtown; Small Business loans, infrastructure improvements, etc.  But when a politician sees dollar signs I guess all bets are off.

 

Cuyahoga County Councilwoman wants half of casino taxes devoted to suburbs

 

Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 7:00 PM    Updated: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 2:38 AM

By Laura Johnston, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga Council Councilwoman Sunny Simon differs with Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald on how to spend the county's share of casino taxes: She wants to share half the with the suburbs.

 

Her proposal, submitted Tuesday to the Cuyahoga County council, opposes what FitzGerald has pushed since February, which is to use all the money for downtown development.

 

The suburbs have been hit the hardest by state cuts, so council must help them retain residents, Simon said before Tuesday's meeting.

 

Sorry, I just don't think of S. Euclid as a true inner ring suburb.  Setting that aside, what plagues S. Euclid is decades of poor development choices by the City, which continue to this day (e.g., Oakwood, Cedar Center, all of Mayfield Road, and pretty much every other major thoroughfare).  Giving S. Euclid a small chunk of the casino money isn't going to make a dent in the problems plaguing that city; nor is it going to do anything to attract jobs to S. Euclid.  We need to be doing things that will cause employers and people to be drawn to the region as a whole; the best way of accomplishing that is fixing up the core.  If the core is dead folks, the vultures will come swirling around the outer ring in short order.

 

I pretty much agree with this post, though I would argue that South Euclid is actually an inner-ring suburb. 

 

However that's not to ignore SE's self-inflicted wounds that apparently she thinks the rest of the county should also pay for, many of which Councilwoman Simon herself played an active role in creating.  If that's not reason enough to disqualify SE from funds, the fact that it's poached businesses from neighboring suburbs and played games with semantics to try excuse this behavior should be.  In fact, it would be nice if this money were used to put some actual teeth into the anti-poaching agreements, and South Euclid should be the first to be made an example of for its recent anti-progressive (small "p") actions.

 

And if Sunny is trying to get funds for some of her other constituents, particularly those in Beachwood or even Lyndhurst, pffffff.  Get real.  That would be a terrible waste. 

No more South Euclid.  Problem solved.  Suburbs should not have suburbs.  Welcome to Cleveland, Sunny.

i don't agree with her stance, but she's representing the interests of her district, which is what they elected her to do

 

This is the problem with having council districts, rather than at-large representation.

No more South Euclid.  Problem solved.  Suburbs should not have suburbs.  Welcome to Cleveland, Sunny.

 

Hmm... Interesting. Using Columbus' "You want water, you have to annex" policy towards Casino funds. You want Funding you must annex... And South Euclid does share a border with Cleveland so theoretically it could happen.

may not be relevant to this thread, but Cuyahoga County has a job listing for the position of Executive Director of Cuyahoga Planning Commission.  Must have experience & focus in shared services & sustainability.  Perhaps some of the members of this board should apply...

 

http://www.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/employment.aspx

Democratic Party, not voters, could select replacement for County Councilman Julian Rogers

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio --  About 100 Democratic committee members rather than primary voters should select someone to serve the final two years of outgoing Cuyahoga County Councilman Julian Rogers' term, according to a legal opinion from county Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty.

 

On Friday, McGinty concluded that state elections law calls for no primary to pick a replacement unless Rogers resigns before this Sunday -- which Rogers said he won't do.

 

“Naturally, there is no election scheduled for a councilman who was just elected to a four-year term," McGinty said in an email. 'If that councilman waits until after the 115 days before the primary to quit (Jan. 12, 2014), then that councilman has prevented a primary election from being scheduled.”

 

McGinty's opinion contradicts a Dec. 17 opinion from County Executive Ed FitzGerald's law department (see document below), which determined the primary election would still happen if Rogers were to resign on Jan. 31.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2014/01/primary_election_to_replace_county_councilman_julian_rogers_likely_off.html

Kinda sad how little attention the county exec race is getting. Armond Budish is basically being handed the Democratic nomination even though his plans are extremely vague. So far, the only things he's come out for specifically are almost all state issues, not county ones. Among his few public comments are that he wants the Cuyahoga Land Bank to focus on rehab, instead of demolition and he was to spread casino money around the county as Sunny Simon once proposed. Of course, that's  the exact opposite of Fitzgerald. Oddly, his Republican opponent, Jack Schron doesn't favor distributing the casino money or changing the land bank's focus. I doubt Schron has much of a shot but it's beyond ridiculous to see Budish being fawned upon just because he can raise loads of cash. His viewpoints don't seem to follow what Fitz started when it comes to urban development.

His viewpoints don't seem to follow what Fitz started when it comes to urban development.

 

Unfortunately, they're probably pretty mainstream for Cuyahoga County :-/

Kinda sad how little attention the county exec race is getting. Armond Budish is basically being handed the Democratic nomination even though his plans are extremely vague. So far, the only things he's come out for specifically are almost all state issues, not county ones. Among his few public comments are that he wants the Cuyahoga Land Bank to focus on rehab, instead of demolition and he was to spread casino money around the county as Sunny Simon once proposed. Of course, that's  the exact opposite of Fitzgerald. Oddly, his Republican opponent, Jack Schron doesn't favor distributing the casino money or changing the land bank's focus. I doubt Schron has much of a shot but it's beyond ridiculous to see Budish being fawned upon just because he can raise loads of cash. His viewpoints don't seem to follow what Fitz started when it comes to urban development.

 

He's a veteran legislator and that doesn't really qualify him for this position at all.  The skill sets are completely different.  Bob Reid is very qualified, he did a good job as Bedford's City Manager.  Just more evidence that when they changed the charter, they should have had the Exec appointed by the County Council.

so does anyone know what Ed Fitzgerald is up to these days?  I feel like he had such a bright future as the first County Exec, he accomplished a lot in his first term, could have stayed in that position for at least another term before going for another position like US Rep or State Senate perhaps.

Probably no one knows, and no one cares to know. He may still have a career somewhere waiting for him, but it likely won't be in Ohio politics.

Probably no one knows, and no one cares to know. He may still have a career somewhere waiting for him, but it likely won't be in Ohio politics.

 

Fixed, because anywhere he tries to make a comeback his record will follow him.

Probably no one knows, and no one cares to know. He may still have a career somewhere waiting for him, but it likely won't be in Ohio politics.

 

Fixed, because anywhere he tries to make a comeback his record will follow him.

 

I'm trying to think about anything distinctive that he's accomplished. Nothing really coming to mind.

 

Come to think of it, he's perfect for Congress.

Worth a read, whether you're a fan of Fitz or not

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2014/12/11_things_ed_fitzgerald_will_be_remembered_for_in_cuyahoga_county.html