Where Does the Buck Stop Today?

Massillon's Mayor for Life, Frank Cicchinelli, has been able to remain mayor for life, because he absolutely never takes responsibility for the tough decisions.

When it was time to raise sewer rates, rookie councilman David "Taxman" Hersher pushed to raise them, just months into his first term on council.

When it was time to negotiate higher water rates with Aqua Ohio, that was rookie councilman Gary Anderson's job.

New "storm water utility fees," that was once again the work of Taxman Hersher.

Problems with the AT&T contract, blame the secretary.

Fail to legally provide public records and lose a $12,000 court judgment as a result, call the Law Director.

Annexation gone awry, it was council's fault, because the mayor was only doing what council wanted.

Parks are a mess, blame the "Park Vandals."

Now there is a proposal to raise building permit and inspection fees in the city. This was, of course, as one would naturally suspect, proposed by one of our Mayor for Life's subordinates, and not the mayor himself.

Roger Houpt, an employee of the city's building department, wrote a letter blasting city council for not properly discussing, and presumably enacting, these fee increases.

As an aside, for today's civics lesson, a "fee increase" is another term for a "tax increase."

Where was the mayor? He is, in theory, leader of the city. However, whenever there is something unpopular to do, like proposing a fee increase, this unhappy task always becomes someone else's responsibility. Someone else falls on their sword, and takes a hit for the team, because the most critical function of the Cicchinelli administration is to keep Cicchinelli mayor for life.

The buck never, and we mean never, stops at Frank Cicchinelli's desk.