Fun with Frank and Jayne

Monday was the last scheduled work session for Massillon City Council before it votes on the Mayor for Life's unbalanced 2011 budget.

Our Mayor for Life must have led council through a line item by line item discussion of his budget. Our Mayor for Life must have explained to council how he planned to make up the grand canyonesque shortfall in police and fire salaries. He must have stayed at council for hours answering question after question about the his proposed budget.

Nope.

"Cicchinelli was not at council's work session, the final meeting before council votes on the proposed budget" (The Independent, December 14, 2010).

He must have been busy.

Of course, in the buck always stops somewhere else world of Frank Cicchinelli, the auditor is responsible for making cuts and suggesting ways to raise revenue. Unfortunately, it appears that City Auditor Jayne Ferrero is finally beginning to tire of her beloved Mayor for Life constantly throwing her under the bus.

According to Ohio law, it is the job of the city auditor to "keep the books of the city and exhibit accurate statements of all moneys received and expended, of all property owned by the city and the income tax derived therefrom, and all of the taxes and assessments."

The auditor, in simple terms, is the city's bookkeeper. The job of the city auditor is not a policy making position. The job of the city auditor is not to make cuts to, and raise revenue for the city's budget. That would be the job of the city's Chief Executive. In our case that should be the job of the mayor for life.

Mayor Frank Cicchinelli has successfully unloaded this job on to Auditor Jayne Ferrero in the past. Jayne Ferrero, a well known mayoral loyalist, has cheerfully taken the hits for her beloved mayor.

Until now.

"She (Ferrero) said it was not up to her to propose cuts or revenue increases" (The Independent, December 14, 2010)

It appears that after three years as auditor, Ferrero may finally understand her job. Or she is finally tired of being the mayor's scapegoat.

Now, she wouldn't go so far as asking the mayor to accept the responsibility that is rightfully his, after all, she is still part of the ruling junta. She passed the buck off to city council;

"Ferrero insisted council needs to increase revenue or resort to massive layoffs to make actual expenses meet revenue" (The Independent, December 14, 2010).

Fortunately for the good citizens of our fair city, the financial point man on Massillon City Council is the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Lap Dog of the Treasury, Paul Manson.

Responsibility for the city's budget now rests in the capable hands of municipal finance guru Paul Manson.

What could possibly go wrong?