"I feel confident the dollars will be there to make it through this year and we'll have the dollars to make it through next year" (Frank Cicchinelli, The Independent, July 6, 2010).
The City is broke.
According to the Independent newspaper, "The city ran out of money to pay police officers and firefighters Friday and remains delinquent on thousands of dollars in bills dating as far back as May" (The Independent, August 20, 2011).
Of course our full-time mayor, with the full-time support staff, refuses to take responsibility for the city's finances.
His plan to deal with the city's monstrous budget shortfall in his final four and one half months as mayor is a closely held secret.
When the Independent queried him as to what his secret plan was, he must have been busy finalizing his budget fixes when they called him as "Cicchinelli did not immediately return a call placed to his office Friday" (The Independent, August 20, 2011).
He will probably call them back today, as he probably spent all weekend finishing his financial plan for the city.
Or not.
In the buck stops every where else world of Frank Cicchinelli, he has successfully dumped responsibility for the city's finances on Auditor Jayne Ferrero.
She, as usual, is happy to be tossed under the bus by our extraordinary Mayor for 132 Days, King Francis the Irresponsible.
Unfortunately, it isn't the auditor's job to budget the city's money.
According to our crack Massillon Review legal team, the city auditor is the city's bookkeeper, and has no responsibility under state law to determine the city's budgetary policy.
Ohio law states;
"The city auditor shall 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 derived therefrom, and of all taxes and assessments."
Since the mayor refuses to do his job, to clean up the city's finances from the messes he has created, this has now become the auditor's job.
Which is why when newspaper reporters want to know about the city's budget problems, they call the city auditor. It has become her job by default, and more importantly for the once and future king of the city, it has become her responsibility and problem.
This current budget was the mayor's budget.
He introduced it.
He pushed it.
He chastised members of council for wanting to cut it.
But now that the chickens have come home to roost, it isn't his problem.
The budget, by default, is the auditor's problem.
It is the auditor's shortfall.
And Auditor Ferrero is happy to once again take the fall for her extraordinary leader.
Who is unavailable to discuss city finances.
City finances he is responsible for.
That he created.
No matter how hard he tries to hide from them.
