$65 Dollars And What Do You Get?

As the City of Massillon struggles with a million dollar budget shortfall for this year, and a million and a half dollar shortfall for next year, we are confident our Mayor for Life, his rubber stamps on council, and his lackeys throughout city government are working hard to keep expenses down, right?

On August 2, City Council managed to break away from its Summer Vacation schedule and have a meeting to conduct city business. One interesting piece of legislation was brought forward by City Council Finance Chair Paul Manson to amend Ordinance Number 20, passed earlier this year.

What is Ordinance Number 20? Ordinance Number 20 allowed Massillon City Auditor Jayne Ferrero to hire a woman named Dianne Oliver as a grant writer for the city. Apparently Oliver is no longer writing grants for the city, as the amendments struck her name from the ordinance. Councilman Manson proposed, and council approved, amendments which removed the name Dianne Oliver, and replaced it with "whatever unnamed persons that may fill this position" (Massillon City Council Minutes, August 2, 2010), and an additional change relating to salary. That the salary "not exceed $65.00 an hour." $65 dollars an hour? A nice chunk of change.

Nobody actually believes these amendments were Councilman Paul Manson's ideas. He is the penultimate rubber stamp for our Mayor for Life. He had help. These amendments allow Auditor Ferrero to hire whoever she wants to hire as a grant writer, and pay that person "up to $65.00 an hour." One would expect that Ferrero would start interviewing people and hire someone, as the ordinance allows "whatever unnamed persons that may fill this position." One would assume that she did not have someone in mind already for the job, because if she did, one would assume she would present council with a name for the position, not "whatever unnamed persons that may fill this position."

One would be wrong.

It appears this job was filled before the Mayor's signature was dry on the legislation. Word on the street is that this position is going to former Massillon Museum Director Christine Shearer. Shearer, as we read in the Independent, resigned from the museum for "personal reasons." $65 dollars an hour would seem to be one heck of a personal reason. The Massillon Review is curious as to why Mayor Cicchinelli and Auditor Ferrero did not want to share this bit of info with the public?

As the Mayor and his administration strive to protect our tax dollars, we are confident they will set benchmarks, goals, and expectations for our "up to $65.00 an hour grant writer." We would assume our new grant writer will be submitting regular written reports to council so that they may determine that the tax payers are getting their money's worth, and that there is some accountability.

We would hope this does not devolve into a Dennis Harwig type debacle, where Harwig was hired to be the income tax inspector, so that Glenn Gamber could stay in city politics, and replace Harwig as Council President.

www.massillonreview.blogspot.com/2010/03/glenn-gamber-councils-boss.html

What was Harwig's job? Making sure employees of outside contractors who did construction work in the city paid city income taxes. Harwig, who was supposed to submit a written report to council every month documenting his progress, submitted one report in four years, and was caught sleeping on more than one occasion in a city hall office. He quietly "retired" during last year's Annual Financial Crisis. Surely the Mayor and Auditor Ferrero will have learned from past mistakes so that the taxpayers of a financially strapped city will not be hoodwinked by someone billing at "up to $65 dollars an hour" who shows very little work product.

Our crack Massillon Review research team has concluded that $65 dollars an hour for 40 hours work per week is $135,200 a year. Our hunch is that Shearer will make $65 an hour, and that the language stating "up to $65 dollars an hour" means $65 dollars an hour. If Shearer were making $50 dollars an hour, the ordinance would have stated "up to $50 dollars an hour." The grant money better be rolling in, and if it isn't, the grant writer better be terminated.

$65 an hour. This better not be yet another city hall scam. Mayor Cicchinelli and Auditor Ferrero better be making damn sure $65 an hour of grant writing is happening. If it is not, they must be held to account.