Thud

The sound you just heard was Massillon's Mayor for Life throwing City Auditor Jayne Ferrero under the proverbial bus. Frank Cicchinelli, never one to let the buck stop at his desk, immediately put the kibosh on Jayne Ferrero's plan to pursue a tax levy to help pay for police and fire protection. The City of Massillon is one million dollars short of making budget this year, and one and a half million short of making budget next year, because the mayor doled out half a million dollars in pay raises for the various city unions in 2011. It is an election year, after all, and the Mayor certainly wants the city employees to bask in the warmth of his generosity. He just can't pay for it. Cicchinelli's solution to the budget shortfall is the hope and pray plan.

"We'll be able to pay for these increases," Cicchinelli said. "I'm not concerned about it. We will be there. 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." (The Independent, July 6, 2010).

Problem solved. Don't worry, be happy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9K4BKkLaCI

It is the job of the mayor, with approval from city council, to pass a budget. Not the auditor. The mayor is responsible for overseeing most of the department heads, and most of the city's day to day operations. Not the auditor. If there are cuts to be made in spending, it should come from the mayor, not the auditor. If there are tax levies to propose, they should come from the mayor, not the auditor. Massillon's Mayor for Life has Auditor Ferrero believing it is her job to cut spending, and her job to increase revenues.

The crack Massillon Review legal team dug deep into Ohio Law to find the job description for city auditor. "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 tax derived therefrom, and of all taxes and assessments."

The job of city auditor is not a policy making position. It is the city's bookkeper.

Whenever the girl scouts have a cookie drive, Mayor Cicchinelli is there to take credit for the economic activity generated. When there is a problem, like a budget shortfall because city council passed the mayor's unbalanced budget, that is someone else's problem. Under the Cicchinelli regime, the auditor is responsible for making cuts and raising revenue. Why? Because it is unpopular to cut services, or raise taxes, and you don't get to be Mayor for Life by doing either.

Auditor Jayne Ferrero is a Cicchinelli loyalist. She is part of our Mayor for Life's ruling junta. She takes the hits for the boss. She believes Cicchinelli when he tells her that she is responsible for the city's fiscal problems. She does the dirty work, and he keeps his hands clean. A cynic might argue that while Cicchinelli slams Auditor Ferrero for proposing a tax increase, he might actually want council to put it on the ballot, while he maintains a safe distance from the fallout.

So now, our Mayor for Life, master politician, is on record as being opposed to higher taxes. Auditor Jayne Ferrero now wears the black hat, as she wants to raise taxes on the cash strapped citizenry of Massillon. Frank Cicchinelli made the mess, and Jayne Ferrero thinks she has to clean it up.