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Michael D. Pitman reports about Butler County, Ohio, politics, county government, countywide issues and Butler County people just like you for Cox Ohio Publishing (including the Hamilton JournalNews, Middletown Journal and several weekly papers in Butler County). He wants your suggestions and questions for more news stories. Leave a comment for him here or e-mail Michael at Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2009 > June
June 2009
County commissioners to meet in New Miami
Press release from Butler County:
The Butler County Board of Commissioners will hold a commission meeting at the New Miami Village Hall on July 2 at 7:00 P.M.
To encourage citizen participation, the Board of Commissioners will hold one nightly meeting each month in a different city, village or township located in the county. The Board will announce future meeting dates and locations prior to each meeting.
Meeting agendas are available on the web at www.butlercountyohio.org/commissioner under “commission meetings.” The agenda will be available by July 1.
The New Miami Village Hall is located at 268 Whitaker Avenue, Hamilton, Ohio 45011.
Directions to Village Hall:
- From 75 S or N
- Merge onto OH-129 toward Hamilton
- Turn RIGHT onto S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd./US-127
- Turn LEFT onto Whitaker Avenue
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TweetBecker bumped from EMA list
The Butler County Emergency Management Agency has narrowed down the list of applicants for agency director to two — both from outside Ohio.
The finalists are Jeff Galloway, emergency management director in Fentress County, Tennessee; and Joey Henderson, emergency management specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Washington D.C. region.
“We’re looking for someone who has the experience, someone who has an impeccable record, impeccable background, someone who showed leadership skills and experience writing grants,” said Ronald D’Epifanio, Fairfield mayor and member of the EMA governing board.
EMA Interim Director Sue Isaacs said the board hopes to have a final pick within a couple weeks.
The job comes with a salary of at least $60,000 per year. It has been vacant since former EMA Director William Turner resigned amid pressure in March after criticism of his handling of windstorms in September.
One suspected favorite for the job was Bill Becker, Middletown city councilman and former police chief and city manager.
D’Epifanio said Becker was a “fine, fine man,” but that “there were just other people who had more qualifications.”
Prior to heading emergency management in Fentress County, Galloway’s resume says he was a lieutenant in the Palm Beach County fire department in Florida, where he worked since 1984. He has extensive training in firefighting and emergency response.
Henderson’s resume says he was responsible for two training exercises before Pres. Barack Obama’s inauguration. Before that, he was also training and exercise administrator for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency.
Henderson’s resume says he is an Ohio native. The former Baltimore firefighter holds a master’s degree in management from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in fire science from University of Maryland.
D’Epifanio said the board was not intentionally trying to hire someone from outside Butler County. It just turned out that way. “I think everybody was given an equal chance,” he said.
The job will come with some immediate challenges, such as repairing relations with local police chiefs, which cost the previous director his job, and finding local funds to build a new emergency operations center before federal grants for the facility expire.
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TweetResolutions part 12 - County auditor responds
Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds has some major concerns with the amount of work done without a contract, and architectural work that apparently was finished months before it was bid out.
This was all uncovered in an ongoing investigation of the county’s relationship with Resolutions, Community Solutions and the renovation of the Court Street jail.
“It’s loose, it’s sloppy, it goes against the Ohio Revised Code,” Reynolds said.
“Butler County can’t just come to you and say I’d like you to be the go between and I’d like you to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in rehabilitating this facility,” Reynolds said. “What I’m going to continue to look into is why isn’t there a contract between Resolutions and the county to perform the rehabilitation work.”
It’s unclear why Resolutions did the work. None of the invoices passed along to the county bills for profit or administrative fees.
Resolutions stood to gain if the county took in more prisoners. But that was the case regardless of who actually renovated the jail. It’s unclear whether the agency kept the tools that it bought and billed the county for.
“Those are items that are defined in a contract. That’s why you have a contract. You define the terms of the construction ahead of time,” Reynolds said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that if Resolutions was doing the oversight on the jail, somewhere they were being compensated for it.”
Reynolds said he is compiling records to send to the county prosecutor’s office to determine if any laws were broken. County Administrator Tim Williams said the same. Roger Gates, assistant county prosecutor, wouldn’t comment on the issue, citing closed door negotiations with Resolutions.
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TweetChildren services names new director, possibly new program
Several developments today from Butler County commissioners regarding Butler County Children Services.
First, they picked a new director (read the full story here):
Butler County commissioners named Jeff Centers as director of Children Services today, June 25.
Centers has served as interim director since former director Michael Fox retired in March. Before that, Centers was agency finance director since 2006.
He also is the former executive director of the Warren County Children Services board, where he worked since 1987.
Centers was selected from a pool of 57 applicants for the job of steering the agency, which has 176 employees, a roughly $29 million budget and has been under the microscope since the death of Marcus Fiesel in foster care three years ago.
Centers said he is going to look at the agency’s organizational structure and programs to “review what we’ve got and make sure we’re headed down the right path with it.”
He plans on keeping some of the former director’s policies in place, such as a criminal background unit to screen foster placements and an expansion of the family preservation program, which provides funds and services to keep at-risk families intact.
Other more controversial policies are suspended indefinitely, he said. This includes a “common sense policy” allowing employees to violate agency rules if they deem it in the best interest of a child, and a policy giving preference in adoption placement to traditional married families over single people or same-sex couples.
And they’re considering a new program for at-risk families (Read the full story here):
A local non-profit says it can keep families together and save Butler County money by offering a residential treatment center for families at risk of losing their children to foster care.
The Talbert House made its presentation this morning, June 25, asking county commissioners to spend roughly $700,000 a year to run the facility.
It will provide a home for roughly six families at a time for three months at a stint, giving them wraparound services and training as a last ditch effort to keep them together.
“We want to be on site…24-7 with the families and see what’s going on and intervene when it’s needed,” said Talbert House President Neil Tilow. “We want to be there when the real problems are emerging.”
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TweetResolutions part 11 - The sheriff’s office responds
As I said in yesterday’s post, Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones was unavailable for in-depth questions about the county’s relationship with Resolutions, Community Solutions.
But here is a synopsis of what his second in command said:
It’s misleading to refer to Resolutions as a drug and alcohol treatment agency, because their responsibilities include food service, laundry and maintenance at all county jails, according to Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer.
And this is why it made sense for the agency to oversee the renovation, he said.
“The fact that they assisted down at the Court Street facility was not completely out of character for what they do on a day to day basis here,” he said. “It would make sense that the people that are already providing a maintenance service for you be involved in renovating a building that you own.”
Dwyer said sheriff’s deputies were on hand to oversee the inmates, which were put to work on manual labor such as removing bars from cells to create an open bay layout, and grinding off paint, under the watch of Resolutions.
“I think what was being expended was proper, from what I’ve seen,” he said. “Everything that I saw that was occurring during the operating phases was appropriate.”
Dwyer said he wasn’t aware of the specific agreements between Resolutions and the county and doesn’t know why there was no contract.
“I think the decision was appropriate, but how it gets done and making sure you have the checks and balances is the question,” he said.
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TweetIRS calls tax rules ‘obsolete,’ still charging county $400,000
Despite calling the rule “burdensome” and “obsolete,” Internal Revenue Service officials don’t appear to be letting Butler County officials off the hook for employee back-taxes for personal use of county equipment.
The county has set aside $400,000 to pay this bill. This is roughly $100,000 less than the IRS initially requested after an audit found the county spent about $1.5 million in fringe benefits over three years that should have been reported on employee taxes.
Commissioners called the finding “crazy”, because in part it taxes employees for personal use of cell phones, uniforms and cars that aren’t allowed under county policy.
And IRS officials agree. In a statement earlier this month, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said he’s asking Congress to make clear there will be no tax consequences for personal use of work-related devices such as cell phones.
Shulman’s comments:
“This month, the Internal Revenue Service asked for comments on ways to simplify compliance with rules related to employer-provided cellular telephones. The current law, which has been on the books for many years, is burdensome, poorly understood by taxpayers, and difficult for the IRS to administer consistently. Some have incorrectly implied that the IRS is ‘cracking down’ on employee use of employer-provided cell phones. To the contrary, the IRS is attempting to simplify the rules and eliminate uncertainty for businesses and individuals. Although some of the proposed changes would add clarity, the current law will inevitably leave widespread confusion among employees and businesses. Therefore, Secretary Geithner and I ask that Congress act to make clear that there will be no tax consequence to employers or employees for personal use of work-related devices such as cell phones provided by employers. The passage of time, advances in technology, and the nature of communication in the modern workplace have rendered this law obsolete.”
What this means: little
Williams said Butler County’s back taxes are still being negotiated, and the penalties may be reduced further, but he is not optimistic that it will help the county’s cause. “Whenever a tax item is changed, they seldom go retroactively back into the past in order to adjust it.”
“If this law change would have happened 12 months earlier, perhaps it would be a completely different story,” he said.
With the county’s general fund running roughly $6 million in the red, Williams said the county will have to rely on its dwindling reserves to pay off the taxes. The costs will be spread around the funds and departments that accrued them, not just the general fund, he said.
“We’re not asking for funds to cut in order to pay the IRS,” he said.
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TweetResolutions part 10 - No comment
Throughout the process of investigating Butler County’s relationship with the nonprofit Resolutions, Community Solutions, I put in several phone calls to Steve Best, vice president of Resolutions.
Best oversaw renovation of the county’s Court Street jail with little county oversight, and no bid or contract, spending roughly $600,000.
Early on, I had a brief interview with him, where he said he was only doing what the county asked of him:
“(We’ve) always done that,” he said. “We were asked if we could do that and we said yes.”
Since then, the company has granted no further interviews. When I went out to their office unannounced, I was told Best, Resolutions President Jean Glowka and the president of Fort Hamilton Healthcare Corporation are all out of town. The company issued this statement:
“Our organization has a long-standing history of providing services to Butler County and due to negotiations, we are unable to respond to questions or comment at this time.”
At the same time, Derek Conklin wasn’t calling me back. The former county administrator oversaw the deal, according to the current county administrator. And commissioners were saying there were things Conklin was doing that they weren’t aware of.
So I drove to Conklin’s house. He answered the door politely, but would make only this statement:
“I’m not saying anything,” he said.
Finally, I had a brief talk with Sheriff Richard K. Jones about this deal, in which he said he suggested Best contact the county about the work, but that contracts and buildings were the commissioners’ responsibility. But the sheriff is now on vacation, so unable to answer follow-up questions. I did talk to Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer, though, and will write up his comments soon.
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TweetAuthor advocates community involvement in foster care on Fiesel’s birthday
From this story:
Marcus Fiesel would be 6 years old Wednesday, June 24, had he lived.
Instead, the young Middletown boy died in a closet where his foster parents left him bound in the August heat while they attended a family reunion. That was three years ago.
While many changes have since been made to the system that failed Fiesel — increased screening of foster parents, decreased workloads for caseworkers, increased home visits — one woman says a key component has been overlooked: the community.
Holly Schlaack, a program supervisor for a court appointed special advocate program in Hamilton County, outlines in a new book 12 things common people can do to help protect foster children.
The book, “Invisible Kids, Marcus Fiesel’s Legacy,” is part novel, part call to action. It tells the personal stories of the children she has met through her 15 years as an advocate. And it urges the community to not leave it up to government alone to keep these children safe.
Despite sweeping overhauls to children services, Schlaack said the need is even more now than when Fiesel died because a state budget crunch is causing drastic cuts to programs meant to protect children. “If we thought things were bad in 2006, they’re much worse today, three years later,” she said.
“The government or system can only do so much for kids,” she said. “We can’t assume that because a child is placed in foster care, they are automatically saved, protected and loved.”
There are also numerous ways to donate time, she says, from raising money to benefit foster children and families to becoming a foster or adoptive parent. If they don’t have time, she says residents should at least educate themselves about child abuse.
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TweetLibraries warn of steep cuts
Notice from Lane Public Library in Hamilton:
Proposed Cuts to State Funding for Libraries
Your Library needs your help! Governor Strickland has proposed a 50 percent reduction in state funding for Ohio’s public libraries. This drastic proposal, if adopted by the state legislature, will devastate public library service in Ohio.
The Governor’s proposed funding cuts come at a time when Ohio’s public libraries are experiencing unprecedented increases in demand for services. In our communities, library users are turning to their public libraries for free high speed Internet access and help with employment searches; children and teens are beginning summer reading programs; and people of all ages are turning to the library as a lifeline during these difficult economic times.
Please contact your state legislators today and tell them how much your local library means to you, your family and friends.
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TweetResolutions part 9 - The Kimball invoice
In the process of reviewing expenditures for renovations at Butler County’s Court Street jail —Â which was done by Resolutions, Community Solutions without a bid or contract —Â I came across this invoice:
It makes more sense if you read it back to front.
Here’s what I’ve been able to piece together:
In April 2007, Butler County commissioners accepted three bids for architectural work for renovation of the county’s Court Street jail. They selected Kimball Associates to do the work at a cost of $45,000.
But Kimball had done the work the year before, and already sent the county a bill.
“In response to your request for our firm to assess the feasibility of renovations to the Court Street Jail, members of our staff made site visits on May 3, June 15 and June 20, 2006,” says a letter from the firm to Steve Best, vice president of Resolutions, Community Solutions.
It would cost roughly $800,000 to renovate the building, the firm estimated.
“Our proposed fee for the above is a lump sum of $45,000 plus $1,750 per trip as requested by Butler County during the construction phase of the project,” the letter reads. The first bill for that amount arrived at the county in October.
All three county commissioners from the time claimed no knowledge that the work was done before the bid.
“I don’t have an answer for that,” said Commissioner Gregory Jolivette.
County Administrator Tim Williams said the same, though his initials appear on the invoices with the words “OK to pay” and “OK per Derek Conklin.”
Wiliams was assistant county administrator at the time and said he was following the direction of then-administrator Derek Conklin. He was unaware, he said, that the work had not yet been bid out when the authorized the payment.
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TweetResolutions part 8 - Political contributions
Rumor was that Jean Glowka and Steve Best, president and vice president, respectively of Resolutions, Community Solutions, were big campaign contributors to local Butler County commissioners.
This would be necessary to determine in the context of an investigation I’m working on studying the county’s relationship with the Hamilton-baed nonprofit.
So I reviewed campaign finance forms for all four commissioners who were in office going back to the beginning of 2007, as well as the sheriff. What I determined was Glowka and Best are small but regular contributors to Sheriff Richard K. Jones political war chest, as well as all commissioners except for Furmon.
Here are the totals:
- Commissioner Donald Dixon: $50 from Glowka
- Commissioner Gregory Jolivette: $250 from Glowka
- Commissioner Michael Fox: $40 from each
- Commissioner Charles Furmon: No contribution from either
- Sheriff Richard K. Jones: $310 from Glowka, $125 from Best.
But more than that, said former county commissioner Michael Fox:
“They organized every commissioner’s golf outing in the history of commissioner’s golf outing.”
But, added Fox, “as unbelievable as this may be to you or the average person, particularly with county government, nobody got any special treatment because of contributions.”
Fox said Resolutions and Fort Hamilton Healthcare got special treatment mostly because they were the “hometown team,” with a history of working closely with the sheriff, whose background is in prison administration.
Dixon suggests that Resolutions got no special treatment; that these are just examples of sloppy oversight with little respect for openness that has been rampant in county government.
And everyone has accolades for Resolutions and Fort Hamilton Healthcare Corporation.
“I’ve always found them good to work with, and I’ve always had confidence in Resolutions, and I’ve always felt they have integrity,” Furmon said.
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TweetBloody GOP battle averted
By announcing this week he will not run for U.S. Congress, Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones averted an epic political battle some worried would have split GOP ranks.
Butler County Republican Party Chairman Tom Ellis breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the news. The last thing he wanted was for the Republican sheriff to face off in a primary against U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp.
“We simply didn’t want to alienate any members of our party and I was concerned that anything of this level, of this magnitude…would have long lasting effects of divisiveness and alienation at a time when we need to be working together as a team and coming together for the party,” Ellis said.
The timing of Jones’ announcement surprised many party insiders. The sheriff pulled petitions to run in April and was saying only a week ago he wouldn’t decide whether to file for months.
He was making the rounds on the radio talk show circuit. “If I become a candidate, I will be a contender in this race,” he told 700 WLW host Bill Cunningham earlier this month.
The announcement itself came via the social networking Web site Twitter, followed by a press release saying the county needed him as sheriff and this was not the time to run. Jones then went on vacation and was unavailable for comment.
Boehner’s office did not release a statement on Jones bowing out.
But political analysts had noted that a contentious race in his district would have distracted him from leading his party to take back the U.S. House. That is now no longer an issue.
“We are just relieved and we respect (Jones’) decision,” Ellis said.
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TweetCounty interviewing for Children Services post
UPDATE: The finalists for director of Butler County Children Services, according to county officials:
- Jeff Centers
- Bill Morrison
- Darlene Campbell
- Charles Lindeman
- Peter Samples
- Shana Trent
ORIGINAL POST:
Looks like Butler County commissioners have narrowed down the list of candidates for Children Services director, and are holding interviews Monday. Agenda for Monday’s closed door meeting:
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TweetBoehner fights House battle, quiet about sheriff bowing out
U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner was silent yesterday about news that Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones will not challenge him for his job.
Here’s what he was up to yesterday:
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TweetSheriff Jones not running for Congress
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones announced today, June 18, that he will not challenge U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., for congress.
He made the announcement via Twitter at 10:50 a.m.
“I have decided not to turn in my petitions for congress. This is not the time. Congressmans office has been notified this date. Sheriff Jones,” reads the sheriff’s post on the Web site.
Jones pulled petitions April 28 to run in the 2010 Republican primary, but said he would decide within three months whether to actually file.
This set the stage for an epic political showdown between Jones — a media-savvy lawman who is popular in the most populous county in Boehner’s district — and one of the most powerful Republicans in the country.
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TweetResolutions Part 7 - A lucrative lease
As part of an ongoing series detailing an investigation into Butler County’s dealings with the non-profit Resolutions, Community Solutions, I listed all existing contracts between the county and Resolutions.
One, you may remember, is for an office lease for the county’s adult probation department.
Here is the county’s invitation to bid on the 14,700 square feet of office space. Note that the bid was advertised April 23 and closed May 8.
Here is the resolution accepting the only bid, from Resolutions for $1.9 million over 5 years:
Here is a photocopy of the bottom corner of the architectural drawing that accompanied Resolutions’ bid. Note that the architectural drawing was done Feb. 2, more than two months before the bids were advertised:
Clearly, Resolutions was working on their bid before it was advertised. County officials say it was no secret the county was looking for this office space and Resolutions just got an early start, and that they would have extended the deadline if another bidder had come forward and asked for more time.
What do you think?
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TweetResolutions Part 6 - More than $1 million spent with no contract?
As we established in a former post, Resolutions, Community Solutions did not have a contract with Butler County for renovating the old Court Street jail.
So how much did the jail rehab cost? And how much did the county pay Resolutions?
Here is a breakdown of the construction costs and who was paid, courtesy of a public records request I had put in:
So were there any contracts for the renovation, which the above document says cost nearly $1.2 million? Just this one, according to county commission staff:
Court Jail Fire Suppression CONTRACT
How does the county spend more than $1 million without a contract or a bid, when state law requires bidding on any project costing more than $25,000? Why is Resolutions, a non-profit specializing in drug and alcohol treatment, overseeing a construction management project?
Questions abound. And this isn’t all there is. I’ll have more tomorrow, once I check a few facts.
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TweetResolutions Part 5 - The contracts
The first stories about Butler County’s dealings with Resolutions, Community Solutions broke on Tuesday. They were about $1.4 million in utility payments commissioners say they don’t remember approving, a cost savings deal that ended up costing nearly $400,000.
You can see the stories here and here.
In the wake of Sheriff Richard K. Jones closing the jail, we rushed to get this story out. But there were still numerous unanswered questions about Resolutions. Most of all, there was a shortage of contracts with the company, even though they had done millions of dollars of work for the county.
And documentation had begun to emerge, pursuant to a public records request I had put in with the county before. This included the county’s contract with Resolutions for the minimum security jail, which dated back to 1989. Here they are:
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
and
and
And here is the county’s only other contract with Resolutions, for a court diversion program that ended in 2004:
This is it, according to the county. Note that there are no contracts for the renovation of the Court Street jail, which Resolutions oversaw.
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TweetResolutions part 4 - The sheriff makes his move, the first story breaks
In the middle of an investigation into Butler County’s dealings with Resolutions, Community Solutions —Â indeed, in the middle of the night — Sheriff Richard K. Jones abruptly closed the minimum security jail.
Here is the story about that, in which the sheriff said he closed the jail and relocated roughly 300 prisoners to give county commissioners more leeway in their negotiations with Resolutions.
I didn’t ask in the following press conference whether the utility payments and other issues were part of his decision, because I didn’t want to tip off the half-dozen other media outlets there. But I asked the sheriff’s office chief deputy later, and he said it was one of the many factors.
I didn’t mention it in the story that ran the next day, either, because there were still some pieces missing. I only had a couple of the pieces of the sizable public records request I had put in with the county.
But now the cat was out of the bag. We had to act on what we had before other media caught wind of it.
Up until this point, I have been bringing you up to speed on where we’re at now. The story behind the story, as I said in my original post on this issue.
Tomorrow, I’ll start posting the other information we have received as part of this public records request.
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TweetCounty hires new finance director to ease fiscal turmoil
Butler County commissioners have high hopes for a new finance director they hired this morning, June 11, to help guide then out of a $6 million budget hole and bridle budget growth in recent years.
Pete Landrum, currently finance officer for Montgomery County Juvenile Court, will start the new job Monday, June 15.
But Landrum also comes with a price tag of $83,131 a year while commissioners are looking to furloughs, pay cuts and possibly another round of layoffs to heal their hemorrhaging budget.
Commission President Donald Dixon justified the hire, saying it will ultimately save the county money.
“In the private sector, we’d say this guy will pay for himself many, many times,” Dixon said. “It’s going to give us oversight and control of our spending programs.”
This payoff will be immediate, Dixon said, as Landrum will be involved in union contract renegotiations and bidding out a multi-million dollar contract for services at the county jails.
Commissioners say Landrum fills the position left vacant when former finance director Tim Williams stepped up to become county administrator and is lower than Williams’ former salary.
Landrum said he is familiar with Butler County’s precarious position, as Montgomery County just this week announced 2.5 percent across the board cuts aimed at filling a $7.6 million hole after a 3 percent budget cut at the beginning of the year.
“Every county around is dealing with the same thing,” he said.
But as for how he can reign in spending that some say has gotten out of hand in recent years, “Until I get diving into each individual budget, and what I can see and what I can recommend, that’s kind of hard to do from the outside,” he said.
Landrum has managed the Montgomery County Juvenile Court’s $30 million budget since 2007, his resume says. Before that, he was a budget liaison in that county’s office of budget and management, where he helped craft the county’s criminal justice budgets, including courts and the sheriff’s office, totaling more than $100 million.
Landrum holds a Master’s of Public Administration from Wright State University.
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TweetResolutions part 3 - More information needed
After catching wind of something going on between Butler County and Resolutions, Community Solutions, I put in some phone calls to a few local officials.
Here’s what they told me:
- The county is not planning to terminate the Resolutions contract. They are merely exploring their options.
- There were changes made in the county’s deal with Resolutions that were never voted on by commissioners. This includes an agreement for the county to take over utility payments at the jail in exchange for lowered prisoner boarding rates. The deal was struck by the former county administrator. (This has since been reported)
- There is still an outstanding invoice for roughly $180,000 for renovations to the Court Street jail done by Resolutions.
This raised more questions than it answered. What all does Resolutions do for the county? How does it get those contracts?
I put in another public records request:
I would like copies of the following documents and information. Please let me know how long you expect this to take and how much you expect it to cost. If any of this information exists in digital format, I would be happy to accept it that way.
A list of all contracts currently held between Butler County and Resolutions Inc.
Copies of the most recent rfp’s for these contracts, and all the bids received.
A copy of the contract for the renovation of the Court Street Jail, I believe that was with Resolutions. Please let me know if there were other parties involved.
A copy of any rfp or bids received for renovation of the Court Street Jail.
The total cost of renovation at the Court Street jail.
The date when utilities were switched to the county’s name at Resolutions. The total amount spent on utilities after that point.
Copies of the prisoner boarding agreements where rates the county pays Resolutions are spelled out. Copies of invoices for prisoner boarding over the past two years (I gather these are billed monthly).
Copies of all e-mails to and from all three county commissioners dating back to April 1, 2009.
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TweetCombs: State budget short $1 billion, maybe more
Press release from state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton:
COLUMBUS - State Representative Courtney Combs (R- Hamilton) today announced that House Bill 1, the state operating budget, will move to conference committee for further deliberations and the final step of the budget process.
“The Senate has restored a sense of fiscal reasonability back into the budget,” Combs said. “Ohio’s families have had to curtail their spending so why shouldn’t the State do the same?”
The bill was sent back to the House after changes were made by the Ohio Senate. The Senate faced a budget gap of nearly $1 billion after the Strickland Administration’s revenue estimates were once again off target. In addition, the House Democrats had increased government spending by more than $1 billion. In the end, the Senate was able to reduce spending by $1 billion overall.
Issues still in the budget that remain a concern for House Republicans include nearly $1 billion in fee increases, the over reliance of federal stimulus funds for ongoing programs and the continued growth of state government. House Republicans offered cost-savings amendments to the House-version of the budget which would have streamlined state government saving taxpayers approximately $1 billion annually and reformed Medicaid to make the system more efficient.
“The budget proposed by Governor Strickland and the House Democrats is simply irresponsible in this economic climate,” Combs said. “The Governor has set Ohio up for massive tax increases with this unbalanced budget.”
The Legislature is currently awaiting revised revenue projections. Some have estimated that the new projections will be $2 to $3 billion lower than the Strickland Administration’s previous estimates. This estimated shortfall will need to be addressed in conference committee.
By a vote of 1-97, the Ohio House voted to not concur with the Senate changes and recommended the bill move to conference committee, where a compromise measure must be crafted by July 1st. The committee will consist of three members each from the House and Senate.
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TweetResolutions part 2 - A taste of a story
As I said in a previous post, I am detailing an investigation into Butler County’s dealings with Resolutions, Community Solutions, the company that runs the county’s jails.
On May 27, I sent a public a records request for all e-mails between commissioners and the county administrator regarding Resolutions, this is what I received:
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
This tells me several things:
Something is going on, and it is of serious concern to the county. The redacted messages include communication between Roger Gates, an assistant county prosecutor and county officials. And it appears the Millikin and Fitton Law Firm is representing Resolutions. Attorneys don’t get involved in trifling matters.
The e-mail from Tim Williams, county administrator, is a fascinating half of a conversation. It tells me the county is considering terminating its contract with Resolutions, and possibly closing the two jail buildings. There are outstanding invoices, concerns over prisoner boarding rates and a problem with the county’s utility payments at Resolutions.
Some of these questions, such as the closing of the jail and the utility issue, have already come to light in the past week. Others are still a mystery.
It’s worth noting that there may be more smoke here than fire. We can’t assume that anyone is doing anything wrong just because there are lawyers meeting behind closed doors. We could end up finding nothing more than a major misunderstanding.
In other words, there may not be much more of a story here. But there are certainly unanswered questions.
One way or another, it was time for a phone call.
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TweetResolutions part 1 - It starts with a tip
This is the story behind the story, a rare glimpse into how a newspaper investigation unfolds.
The story is this one, about $1.4 million that Butler County spent on utility payments at the county’s Resolutions minimum security jail without a vote from commissioners, and reportedly without commissioners’ knowledge. It was a deal to save the county money that ended up costing it dearly.
In the days, and possibly weeks, that follow, I will walk you through the process of this newspaper investigation, how it got here and where it’s going from here. So far, it has led to some interesting revelations. And I think there will be more to this story before we’re done.
I also don’t know if this has ever been done before. Newspapers are generally pretty guarded about their investigations. We don’t want our competition to know what we are working on, lest they swoop in and try to break the story first. We don’t usually want all our sources to know what we’re looking into, lest they start formulating a response.
So needless to say, I’m taking a chance here. But I think the payoff to our readers is worth it.
I plan to give you the information as I receive it, take you with me as I craft the story. And you may possibly even play a part.
It starts with a tip.
In this case, it was an anonymous tip. A former editor of mine used to say, “A reporter is only as good as his sources.” I have lots of them. Some work for the county. Some don’t. Some of them, I don’t even know who they are; I just get the occasionally phone call or letter with no return address nudging me in some direction.
The tip was that there was something funky going on between the county and Resolutions, Community Solutions, the company that manages the county’s jails. There weren’t a lot of details, but enough to capture my interest.
So the first step was to find out what county leaders were talking about. I put in a public records request for all e-mails to and from all three county commissioners and County Administrator Tim Williams regarding Resolutions.
Tomorrow, I will let you know what I received.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County, Butler County Sheriff's Department, Butler County blog, County Commission, Resolutions
TweetBotched jail savings deal cost nearly $400,000
First, this story:
Butler County commissioners say an unapproved deal struck by the former county administrator to pay for utilities at a now-closed jail in exchange for lower prisoner-boarding rates backfired, costing taxpayers more than $380,000.
Former county administrator Derek Conklin — who resigned last year amid questions about raises given to his wife — struck the deal in October 2007, which commissioners say they never approved.
It called for the county to take over utility payments at the minimum-security jail from Resolutions, Community Solutions, in exchange for lower rates to house prisoners. The county paid $1.4 million before commissioners realized the county was making the payments.
After the savings from the rate change are subtracted, it still cost the county roughly $382,385, according to current County Administrator Tim Williams.
Resolutions runs the 200-plus-bed jail and provides services at all the county jails.
Williams was finance director then, but said he played no part in the deal — “I don’t recall being involved at all,” he said — but he has since reviewed the numbers and said they didn’t add up.
“When I look at the history prior to the change in the rates, it doesn’t bear out,” he said. “We were probably at a loss at the get-go.”
Commissioners say they approved the rate change, but were unaware of the utility change. It only came to light during budget meetings in the fall, they said.
“It was agreed to by the administration and Resolutions, but never came to the commission for discussion or analysis,” said Commissioner Gregory Jolivette.
Resolutions officials said they sent a letter to the county requesting the change, and that commissioners agreed to it. They can’t vouch for what was communicated to whom in the county.
“Everything we’ve ever done in 20 years has been submitted up there and they either act on it or don’t,’ said Resolutions Vice President Steve Best. “As far as we were concerned, everything was OK.”
Then, this story:
With Butler County’s budget roughly $7 million in the red, county officials are trying to figure out if they can get back any of the roughly $382,285 lost in a 2007 deal that was supposed to save money.
This is just one issue being hashed out in closed-door negotiations between the county prosecutor’s office and the Millikin and Fitton Law Firm, which is representing Resolutions, Community Solutions.
In the 2007 deal, then-county administrator Derek Conklin agreed for the county to take over utility payments at the Resolutions minimum-security jail in exchange for Resolutions dropping their per-prisoner boarding rate. Commissioners say they were never apprised of the full deal, which cost roughly $1.4 million in utilities and lost the county money.
It’s still unclear who is responsible for the utility payments. County officials say Resolutions put the utilities back in their name in April, then switched it back to the county this month. Resolutions officials say the utilities are currently in both entities’ names. Hamilton utilities would not release the billing details Monday, June 8, citing privacy concerns. Conklin could not be reached for comment.
This is also just one factor in the county’s decision to re-bid the contract with Resolutions, which is worth more than $5 million a year.
Sheriff Richard K. Jones made the surprise decision to close the Resolutions jail Thursday, June 4, to give commissioners more leeway in their negotiations, he said. This caused the night-time relocation of roughly 300 prisoners, and the opening of the county-owned Court Street jail, which had been closed for more than a year.
Jones did not cite the utilities as an issue, but Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer said it was part of the sheriff’s calculation along with all other parts of the Resolutions contract.
In addition to owning part of the jail, Hamilton-based Resolutions provides services at all the county jails such as food service, maintenance, counseling, supplies and running the commissary.
“We provide everything in the jails except security and medical,” said Resolutions Vice President Steve Best. The company employs roughly 150 people in the county, he said.
In exchange, they are paid $14.41 for every county prisoner up to 500, $13.21 for the next 400 prisoners and $12.79 each for every inmate over 900. With 1,040 inmates in the county’s jails in April, the county’s May bill for Resolutions was $428,490.
Commission President Donald Dixon said the present contract with Resolutions is nearly 20 years old and has ballooned from the original plan to provide a 70-bed drug and alcohol treatment program.
“It’s clear that we should be doing competitive bidding. It’s clear we should know what we’re paying for each service they’re providing,” Dixon said. “The goal is to get the best, lowest price for our taxpayers to provide those services.”
The contract may yet go to Resolutions, he and other commissioners said. “At no time is anyone dissatisfied with the work Resolutions has done,” said Commissioner Gregory Jolivette.
“We’ve had a great, 20-year relationship with Butler County,” said Resolutions President Jean Glowka. But she wouldn’t comment on whether that means they will lower their rates or take over utilities.
“I can’t answer any of that. Right now we’re in negotiations with the county,” she said.
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TweetDerickson to hold community conversation on faith-based and community initiatives
Press release from state Rep. Tim Derickson, R-Hanover Twp.:
State Representative Tim Derickson (R- Oxford) announced today that he will be holding an open forum with Greg Landsman, director of the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives on Friday, June 12 at 1 p.m.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for constituents to take part in a Community Conversation with Rep. Derickson and Director Landsman. The event will be held at the Middletown Library. The library is located at 125 South Broad Street in Middletown, Ohio.
“As chairman of the Governor’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives Advisory Board, I encourage our local churches, non-profits and community leaders to attend this informational meeting,” Derickson said. “Grant opportunities are available through this office, as they promote cooperation and volunteerism throughout our communities.”
Participants are encouraged to reserve their seat online via the attached flyer, as seating will be limited to room capacity. For more information please direct questions to the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at (614) 466-3398 or by e-mail at FBCIOHIO@governor.ohio.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Statewide issues
TweetCounty budget ballooned $20 M since 2002
Butler County spent $62.4 million in general fund money in 2002. This year, their budget is $84.4 million, and they’re struggling to cut it by $7 million.
So where did all this growth come from. Here are the five Butler County agencies with the most growth from 2002-2009:
Department/ 2002 expenditures/ 2009 budget/ Increase
- Sheriff’s office/ $17.9 million / $28.4 million/ $10.5 million
- Board of Election/ $1.5 million/ $2.8 million/ $1.3 million
- Juvenile court/ $3.3 million/ $4.4 million/ $1.1 million
- Prosecutor/ $3.3 million/ $4.2 million/ $1 million
- Veterans Services/ $714,658/ $1.6 million/ $890,179
- Numbers are adjusted to subtract revenues generated by departments.
- Source: Butler County
Here is a story with some analysis of the growth in the sheriff’s budget.
Here is a story with suggestions from a couple elected officials about how the county can cut its budget to fill a $6 million hole.
What do you think?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County
TweetSheriff on jail closure, Twitter, lack of trust in Jolivette
In this story, Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones elaborates on why he closed the Resolutions minimum security jail late yesterday evening. He did it to save money, he said.
So why didn’t he tell commissioners? He said it was a safety issue, and he has since discussed it with commissioners Donald Dixon and Charles Furmon. But not Commissioner Gregory Jolivette.
“I don’t have much trust for him,” Jones said of Jolivette.
Instead, he tweeted about it. Why?
“I just wanted to see if you guys are watching those (tweets)” he said. “The sheriff does tweet.”
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TweetCommissioner Furmon helps nab paper thief
From this story:
A stakeout that led to a car chase, a car crash and one arrest — all over a 50-cent copy of the Hamilton JournalNews — made for an interesting morning for Butler County Commissioner Charles Furmon.
Police said newspapers may stop disappearing from driveways on Schultz Drive now that Terrell Wayne Shields, 25, was arrested at his work Thursday morning, June 4, and charged with criminal trespassing and theft.
The arrest followed a series of events that started with Furmon, a retired police officer who lives in the 600 block of Schultz, hiding in his truck and staking out his own driveway at around 5:30 a.m.
The 68-year-old commissioner said he saw the suspect pull up, exit his vehicle and casually take a newspaper from Furmon’s driveway. Furmon said he called police and followed the suspect, eventually writing down his license plate number and flashing his lights at him to get him to pull over on NW Washington Boulevard near Berkley Square.
Furmon said he walked up and confronted Shields, who replied, “What are you doing, man?”
Police said Shields — who lives in the 700 block of Schultz Drive — pulled away after Furmon’s next-door neighbor, Morris E. Shelly, pulled up behind Shields’ vehicle.
Shelley gave chase but ended up wrecking his fairly new Cadillac into a utility pole at the corner of West Elkton Road and NW Washington Boulevard, police said.
Shields had in his possession a copy of Furmon’s newspaper when he was arrested at his workplace in Enterprise Park, said Hamilton police Lt. Scott Scrimizzi. According to JournalNews circulation records, Shields had canceled his subscription the previous day.
Furmon said he wrote his initials on the front page of his paper so police could identify it, adding that he had to buy another copy.
“We told Chuck he’s getting too old to do this stuff,” Scrimizzi said.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission
TweetSheriff to close county jails? This date?
UPDATE: Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones closed the county’s minimum security Resolutions jail Thursday evening, June 4, and moved roughly 200 inmates to the county jail on Court Street in Hamilton.
The move took place shortly after 7:30 p.m. and caused the opening of the formerly closed Court Street jail, according to sheriff’s deputies.
The sheriff gave no reason for closing Resolutions, and deputies and dispatchers would only say a release would be available Friday morning, June 5.
The lights were still on at the Resolutions jail on Second Street in Hamilton Thursday night, and a sign on the door stated that visitations were canceled Thursday.
The only announcement from the sheriff Thursday came via the Web site Twitter, where he posted, “I will be closing two of Butler County’s jails this date. Sheriff Jones.”
Original post:
This mysterious tweet just popped up on Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones’ Twitter account:
I will be closing 2 of butler county’s jails this date. Sheriff jones
I have no idea what this means and why the sheriff posted it at 11 p.m. Is he planning on closing county jails?
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County Sheriff's Department
TweetThe other fiber optics debacle
It should be noted that Butler County Domestic Relations Judge Sharon Kennedy’s request to go after the money from a defunct fiber optics contract has nothing to do with Dynus Corp.
Butler County’s problems with fiber optics started years before Dynus Corp. made headlines, sparked an FBI investigation and tumbled a county auditor.
All that began in 2005. But the county’s fiber optics headache stretches back to when the system’s backbone was being built in 2001.
That year, the county entered into a $2.75 million contract with the company NORMAP to build the county’s fiber optic backbone and paid them $1.37 million up front. The contract required a performance bond that the company never obtained.
Soon after, the company was going bust and appeared unable to pay Cincinnati Bell, which it had actually subcontracted to do the work. So former commissioner Michael Fox said he arranged for Columbus attorney Robert Schuler to purchase NORMAP to keep the deal alive.
Schuler, son of a state senator by the same name, had just closed a multi-million dollar deal and needed something to invest in as a tax shelter, Fox said.
County officials say Schuler renegotiated the contract to have Cincinnati Bell build the system and lowered the maintenance cost on the system by roughly $200,000 a year, potentially saving the county $4 million over 20 years.
Schuler received the remainder of the original NORMAP contract, more than $1.3 million. He later sold the company to then-Middletown councilman Perry Thatcher.
Cincinnati Bell then built the system for $2.5 million and now maintains it.
Butler County Domestic Relations Judge Sharon Kennedy told the county prosecutor’s office Thursday, June 4, that the county should go after that original $1.37 million in court, suing former NORMAP president Ron Lutwen for breach of contract.
But the county didn’t lose any money, argues Fox, who spearheaded the fiber optics initiative.
What Schuler did, he said, was negotiate down a contract that has such astronomical profits built in that he could complete it without the original $1.37 million.
“We basically cut a bad deal (with the original NORMAP contract),” Fox said. “You may not like the deal, and you may look back in retrospect and say they could’ve done a lot better, but to say that the county lost money or is missing money is objectively false.”
Commissioner Gregory Jolivette, who joined the commission in 2004, said he asked about going after the money when he first joined the dais.
“I asked how come they didn’t go after NORMAP for the money criminally, they said there wasn’t support on the commission to do that,” he said.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Dynus
TweetBudget, union contracts, fiber optics lawsuits aboil at commission meeting
This morning’s Butler County commission meeting was a doozy. Just two issues that came up:
Judge asks for lawsuit to pursue fiber optics funds (Story will be updated here):
A lawsuit to pursue the $1.37 million Butler County lost in a fiber optics contract eight years ago should be part of the county’s efforts to fill a $ 6 million budget hole, Domestic Relations Judge Sharon Kennedy told commissioners this morning, June 4.
In a letter to Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper delivered today, Kennedy asks the prosecutor to “pursue legal redress” for the company NORMAP taking $1.37 million for construction of the fiber optics system without a performance bond.
When the company went bankrupt, the county’s money disappeared. And no one went after it.
“I am asking you to pursue legal redress for (former NORMAP president Ron) Lutwen’s breach of contract and obtain judgement against NORMAP and Mr. Lutwen, personally, of the loss of funds to the taxpayers,” Kennedy’s letter says.
The NORMAP contract was in 2001, long before the Dynus Corp. debacle put a company out of business and led to the county auditor pleading guilty to bank fraud.
County shoots down MRDD union contract, commissioners split (Story to be updated here):
After signaling they would take a tougher stance with unions, Butler County Commissioners voted down a proposed contract with the Professionals Guild of Ohio this morning, June 4.
The union represents roughly 80 employees in Butler County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
The proposed 3-year contract included a 2 percent wage increase for MRDD staff every year, as well as 2.5 percent increases after a probationary period, and after three years employment. It also includes lump sum longevity bonuses every five years after 10 years employment.
MRDD Superintendent Chrisina Hurr pointed out her department is funded through a levy and state and federal grants, not through the county’s general fund that is facing a $6 million shortfall.
“If we did operate with county general funds, we would not be here today asking for this contract to be approved,” she said.
She said the agency has cut its staff 27 percent since 2005 and decreased its budget $3.9 million this year compared to last year.
Commissioner Gregory Jolivette made a motion to approve the contract, but it died without a second.
Commission President Donald Dixon said it would be unfair to give pay hikes to the agancy’s employees while it seeks furloughs, pay cuts and layoffs from general fund departments.
“There really shouldn’t be any reason why part of our team has to suffer, while the others prosper,” he said. “I think it does send a message, and we have to be consistent.”
Jolivette argued the county wouldn’t be withholding pay raises for general fund departments if the general fund were in the black and MRDD were in the red.
“We shouldn’t be painting the fund that are different with the same brush,” Jolivette said. “Other funds that have absolutely nothing to do with the general fund should be looked at separately.”
Commissioner Charles Furmon did not comment on his reason for not supporting the contract.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission
TweetCounty commission agenda
Below is the agenda for Thursday’s Butler County commission meeting.
Anything look interesting to you?
(Click on the top right corner to enlarge)
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission
Tweet24 more vying for Children Services post
With 24 new resumes in hand for a new director of Butler County Children Services, county leaders say they’re ready to make a selection.
This brings the grand total of applicants to 57, which county Administrator Tim Williams said will be narrowed down to maybe five finalists within a week. They will then be called in for interviews.
“There’s a number of them that can do the job, I just don’t know which one it will be yet,” said Commission President Donald Dixon. “I think it will move fairly quickly now. I’d say in three or four weeks we’ll have somebody selected.”
The second wave of applicants after commissioners extended the deadline last month includes Darlene Campbell, the agency’s current intake director.
In her cover letter, Campbell said she was reluctant to apply for the position because she was under the impression that Interim Director Jeff Centers was guaranteed the job. But she changed her mind when commissioners extended the deadline.
“Over my thirty-plus years working at this agency I have seen the good and the bad,” she wrote. “Given the history of this agency, I understand the importance of striking the right balance between positive change and stability.”
The second wave of applicants also included Michael Rench, deputy director of community services for the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities; Sarah Hay, director of Butler County Help Me Grow; and James Leisring, principal of St. Aloysius Gonzaga School in Cincinnati.
Former agency director Michael Fox, who retired March 31, said Campbell, Centers and agency Ombudsman William Morrison, all of whom have applied, are all qualified for the job.
The important thing, he said, is that commissioners give clear guidance as to what they expect from the new director.
“The commissioners have never met and said these are the expectations we have, performance expectations, philosophical expectations, as to how it should be run,” he said.
And he said those expectations must include making the tracking of children, costs and other information a top priority, as it was during his 20 months leading the agency.
“It’s not self evident to most people in child protection, you have to argue with them to show them there’s a connection between information…and keeping children safe,’ he said.
The job carries a salary of up to $99,000 and the task of leading what has become the county’s most scrutinized public agency since the 2006 death of a child in foster care.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Children Services
TweetCounty, unions prepare to face off without Duckett
Butler County leaders say they can’t let the loss of their personnel director slow them down as they prepare to cut labor costs to address a $6 million budget shortfall.
“I don’t think we can afford to delay it,” said County Administrator Tim Williams, saying he hopes to pull from the county prosecutor’s office and other personnel offices in the county to get the job done.
Once Personnel Director Douglas Duckett’s resignation becomes effective in August, they’ll already be more than $100,000 closer to their goal. But the other $5.9 million will require someone to handle labor negotiations and, under the worse case scenario, draft a massive layoff plan.
“I don’t’ think any one person, including me, is indispensable,” Duckett said, adding, “There was not time I could leave that would not potentially be a bad time. I was aware of that. It weighed on me.”
Duckett said he doesn’t have another job lined up, and would not elaborate on his reason for leaving, saying only it was “a personal decision based on what’s best for me in my life and my career.”
Contracts with seven of the county’s 12 unions — representing 40 percent of county employees — expire this year, and the county is seeking to reopen talks with all of them.
And if they do, these could be tougher negotiations than Duckett has overseen in recent years. Commissioners have made no secret about seeking concession, including furloughs, pay cuts and freezes, or they may resort to layoffs.
“A lot of guys live paycheck to paycheck, and you want them to go without a paycheck?” said Butler County Sheriff’s Deputy Brett Casteel. “You’re going to see more homes in foreclosure and things like that if you start taking more pay away from people.”
Casteel is president of the county’s largest union, Fraternal Order of Police, representing roughly 170 sheriff’s deputies.
The FOP was preparing to start negotiations in the fall in hopes of having a new three-year contract in February. “With the recent news of Duckett leaving, I don’t know that will happen that way,” Casteel said.
But Casteel said he’s open to starting talks early, and hinted — but did not say — that he may be willing to talk concessions. “We want to try to save people’s jobs, too,” he said.
Casteel said some deputies may be willing to take voluntary furloughs, but mandatory leave without pay would be devastating. “You get paid twice a month. You take one of those away, and which one is that, your house payment or your car payment?” he said.
But if it comes to layoffs, Casteel said the contract should be changed to allow the county to lay off people who are collecting both a pension and a payckeck first. The current language cuts staff by seniority, which would cut the “double dippers” last.
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TweetWill Jolivette face a race?
Butler County Commissioner Gregory Jolivette kicked off his re-election campaign last week.
So who will he be running against next year (or later this year, if a challenge comes from within the local GOP, which endorses candidates in the fall)?
So far, nobody else has pulled a petition in the race.
Some say Christine Matacic, Liberty Twp. trustee, may make a run for it. She sits on numerous regional boards, and has lots of name recognition. But she has her own re-election campaign this year, and it would be tricky to run for both seats at once.
Others say Sheriff Richard K. Jones is shopping around for a candidate to put up against Jolivette, who he has had his share of public differences with. No word on who that candidate would be, if this is even true.
Who do you think will make a run, if anyone? Who should?
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission
TweetCounty personnel director to step down
Butler County commissioners accepted the resignation of county Personnel Director Douglas Duckett this evening, June 1.
Commissioners said Duckett has worked for the county for 23 years. His resignation is effective Aug. 3.
Duckett’s resignation comes as the county struggles to cut its labor costs in the face of a projected $6 million budget deficit. This has included more than 60 layoffs over the past year, freezing pay raises for many employees, pay cuts for administrators and toughening the county’s stance in union negotiations.
Commissioners praised Duckett’s role in keeping the county’s healthcare costs down in recent years.
“It is with regrets that we accept the resignation of Doug Duckett,” said Commissioner Charles Furmon. “He is renowned throughout the state and in my view does an outstanding job.”
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