Heads Up: Items of General Interest from the Jan 12 Council Meeting
- Fire Chief Bill Turner reported that the failure of a computer server in Atlanta caused problems with the city’s reverse-911 system in December. An audit is scheduled to be conducted in January, to confirm that the system is working properly. Residents will be receiving automated phone calls from the system this month-- maybe more than one—as part of that audit.
- Thom Evans, the head of the Service Department, recommended that council pay for an engineering study, as the first step in making decisions about the replacement of the 16” water main that is buried under Highland Road. The main was installed in 1955 and relined in 1992. It has connecting flanges and bolts every 21 feet along its length, and some of those have rusted, causing a significant number of water leaks over the last few years. Evans warned that replacing the main will be a costly (but necessary) expenditure for the city. Council is waiting to receive a memo, describing the work that would be provided for the proposed $ 20,000 fee.
The Mayor’s Appointments for 2010
The Building Commissioner Position
After the brouhaha last week (see my Jan. 7th blog), it was nice to see Council and Mayor Coleman on the same page with regard to the process and procedure to be used for filling the Building Commissioner vacancy. Everyone agreed that this important city position will be publicly posted and advertised and that the mayor will interview and select an appointee from the respondents.
Mayor Coleman even provided council with a copy of the advertisement that the city used three years ago, when Jim Austin’s predecessor was hired. The mayor solicited comments from council and stated that this time around, all candidates for the position would be required to hold state certifications as both a Class 1 Chief Building Official (CBO) and a Class 3 Electrical Inspector. (The CBO certification is necessary to keep our building department accredited by the state).
Mayor Coleman reported that Jim Austin had been unable to obtain CBO certification after spending two years as the city’s Assistant Building Commissioner and that he left that job on December 31st. The mayor also disclosed that he has already received inquiries from two qualified individuals who are interested in the Building Commissioner position.
The Recreation Director Reappointment
Anyone interested in witnessing local politics in action missed a fine opportunity last night. The council chamber was packed with friends and supporters of Highland Heights’ embattled Recreation Director, David Ianiro.
Council had some inkling of what was going on. Although the mayor had apparently told several council members that David Ianiro would address them at a January 19th meeting, word had leaked out that “rally the troops” text messages and emails had been sent to high school students and others associated with the recreation department, trying to get a good turnout for the January 12th council meeting.
A large crowd of both residents and nonresidents packed the council chamber. In addition to high school students, the attendees included two former mayors, a Willoughby Hills councilman, and several former council members and unsuccessful council candidates. Also attending was Marty Zucker, who, when not riding his bike around the city, spends a lot of time at the park. (There is a very nice profile of Mr. Zucker-- “Everyone knows Marty”-- in the city’s Fall 2007 newsletter: http://www.highlandhts.com/docs/newsletter/09-07_Highland_Heights_newsletter.pdf ).
Mayor Coleman seemed absolutely delighted by the turnout. An admitted personal friend of David Ianiro, the mayor went so far as to waive off a city administrator’s offer of assistance and took it upon himself to leave the Committee of the Whole meeting to make copies for David Ianiro, so his remarks could be distributed to council members. After the meeting ended, Mayor Coleman spent time traveling around the room, shaking hands, giving hugs and thanking the crowd for attending.
The Speakers
15 individuals spoke at the council meeting. Most of the speakers made clear that they were there as friends, to support David Ianiro personally, and that the controversy surrounding his fiscal management of the city’s recreation department was irrelevant to them. Here is a sample of their comments:
· “I respect him with all I have…He puts safety above worrying about how much it costs.” (High school student who was coached by David Ianiro).
· “I have difficulty accepting the Sun Messenger article (about the recreation department spending). It was disappointing and embarrassing to the city.” (Park & Recreation Commission Head)
· “My friend is in need. I am here…. (As for the 15 extra, unbudgeted-for pool employees) I want 150 lifeguards to make sure no one drowns. Should they have been approved? Whatever.” (Former mayor’s son-in-law)
· “I understand a balanced budget. ..There’s money you should be spending. Diamond 1 is a mess.” (Resident who lives adjacent to the park)
· “When you go over budget, (well) sometimes you have to do it.” (coach).
· “The programs we have improved under Dave have been invaluable…(As for) tightening our belt, that’s such a difficult thing.” (Park & Rec Commission member)
· “If Dave Ianiro doesn’t run the park, I won’t come back.” (baseball sponsor and coach)
Dave Ianiro’s Comments To Council
Although he was not listed on the agenda (and several council members had been told that the discussion would be held the following week), David Ianiro came prepared to address council during the Jan. 12th meeting. He started by saying, “I feel I am defending a program that I ran for the last 6 years.” Among the things he reported:
· Although the number of kids participating in the boys’ baseball program was about the same in 2008 and 2009, he decided to add more teams in 2009 (which meant additional equipment and umpire costs) “so more kids could play”.
· He is looking at the pricing and the format of the day camp. While Highland Heights charges approximately $ 2.50 an hour for camp, other cities have been charging camp fees in the area of $ 4- $5 and hour. He also reported that,“We had no broken bones for any of our campers this year.”
· He is considering freezing the wages of student summer recreation workers.
· He made some attempt to explain the hiring of the 15 un-budgeted for pool employees, but the explanation (in my mind at least) was pretty muddied and incomplete. He stated that 5 employees had left mid-season, that he put a life guard in the kiddie pool during swim lessons (rather than imposing a rule requiring parents and non-lesson taking children to remain outside of the pool area) and that he also put an extra life guard down at the pool’s deep end.
· With regard to costs, he said that a lot of that is dictated by other people (i.e., the cost for camp field trips and the fees charged by the boy’s pony baseball umpires). With regard to programs, his comment was that he “hates to limit the number of participants” and, “I don’t like to say no.” He also said, “If we made decisions, we made them on account of safety and fun and an enjoyable experience for residents and guests.”
· He also pitched, yet again, the idea of (spending $ 300,000 of general fund tax dollars to) renovate the old pool house building for use by the day camp. He told council that the Millridge gym is too small to hold 130 campers and that it costs “thousands of dollars” to use Millridge.
As for the first claim, any Millridge parent knows that the gym doubles as an auditorium and that the entire Millridge student body (far more than 130 kids) fits inside that space. As for the claim about cost, that assertion was refuted by Dave’s brother, Tony Ianiro, the city’s finance director. According to Tony Ianiro, the total cost to use Millridge as a rainy day camp locale is “a minimal amount,” “probably $ 100”. As for the janitors--who David Ianiro stated were paid “$ 60-$80 and hour”--well, the school district pays them because they are present and working at Millridge all summer anyway. The camp only has to pay if the presence of the campers requires the janitors to work overtime.
Is David Ianiro Really The Victim of a Mean And Inappropriate Council?
During his speech, David Ianiro worked pretty hard at presenting himself as the victim of unfair criticism and treatment by council.
He claimed that he had “come to every meeting that the mayor and (Council President) Scott Mills asked me to” and that he “wasn’t invited when you discussed it (the financial report showing the recreation department’s significant deficit spending in 2009).” “No one called or spoke to me.” ”No one asked me what happened.” “ No one reached out to me.” “I am upset and embarrassed for our community.”
David Ianiro essentially claimed he was completely unaware that council was questioning the recreation department’s spending and that he did not have an opportunity to discuss the matter with council.
But before anyone starts pulling out their hankies, here are a few things to consider:
- Each year, council designates a representative to serve as a link between council and the city’s Park & Recreation Commission. For the past two years, that representative was Ted Anderson--who served as a Commission member before he was elected to council. As his reports to council reflect, Anderson kept in close touch with David Ianiro and did a good job of keeping both Ianiro and members of the Commission informed about council concerns and issues—--which necessarily included concerns about the park & recreation department’s budget and deficit spending.
- At the end of the October 13th Committee of the Whole meeting, Councilwoman Cathy Murphy asked the mayor to invite David Ianiro to come to the October 20th Committee of the Whole meeting, to talk to council and to give them an “end of the summer follow-up”. At the October 20th Committee of the Whole meeting, however, Council President Scott Mills reported that “because Mayor Coleman was unable to be present (that) evening, he (Coleman) cancelled Mr. (David) Ianiro coming and will reschedule his report for a later date.” For whatever reason, the mayor never rescheduled that appearance.
- Tony Ianiro placed three ordinances on the agenda for the November 24th council meeting, one of which approved appropriating money to address the recreation department’s 2009 deficit spending. The agenda is posted online, at the city’s website. The agenda gave notice to David Ianiro, to council, and to the community at large that the recreation department’s budget and spending would be discussed at the November 24th council meeting.
Ted Anderson attended the November 24th council meeting. He was present when Tony Ianiro described the reasons for requesting a transfer of funds (i.e., the recreation department’s deficit spending) and when the ordinance (# 25-2009) was referred for discussion at an upcoming December 1st Legislative & Finance (L&F) Committee meeting. As council’s Park & Rec Commission representative, Anderson was responsible for letting David Ianiro and the Commission know about the discussion and that decision. - Tony Ianiro attended the Dec. 1st L&F meeting and spoke on his brother’s behalf. That was a familiar pattern. Tony Ianiro had also spoken for David Ianiro during the L&F budgeting process earlier in the year. According to my records, David Ianiro attended only one of the L&F meetings in which his proposed 2009 recreation department budget was discussed. Tony Ianiro spoke for his brother at the budget meetings that he did not attend.
- The transfer ordinance for the recreation department (# 25-2009) was listed for a second time on the agenda for the Dec. 8th council meeting. Once again, that agenda gave notice to David Ianiro, to council, and to the public that the recreation department budget was up for discussion at the December 8th council meeting. David Ianiro did not attend that meeting.
- Anyone can show up and attend council meetings. They are public meetings. No invitations are required. Council allows (and encourages) city administrators to speak during council meetings, on any agenda item.
It goes without saying that if I was responsible for a city department, and a discussion of my budget was listed on the agenda for a council meeting, I would make sure to attend that meeting---with or without a formal invitation. Wouldn’t you? - In fact, Highland Heights Ordinance 139.06 requires the Recreation Director to attend designated council meetings, for the purpose of reporting to council and providing an opportunity for communication and discussion between council and the Recreation Director. For whatever reason, David Ianiro has never complied with that ordinance during any of the six years that he has served as the city’s Recreation Director.
Ordinance 139.06 reads, in part: The (Recreation) Director shall attend the first regular Council meeting in February, April, June, July, October and November of each calendar year for the purpose of discussing the City park facilities and the park and recreation programs.
David Ianiro’s reappointment was unanimously approved by council on Tuesday night.
He now has the opportunity to demonstrate improved performance, both with regard to his fiscal management of the recreation department and with regard to his communication with council.
I look forward to hearing him speak at the upcoming Legislative & Finance Committee meetings discussing his 2010 budget.
He and council should have a lot to talk about.
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