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Plan would change county government

Officials would have more options in attempt to save money.

Clark County Treasurer Stephen Metzger and treasurer employee Denise Garrett sit in a large safe as they work on a daily budget at the treasurer's office Monday. Staff photo by Bill Lackey

Bill Lackey Clark County Treasurer Stephen Metzger and treasurer employee Denise Garrett sit in a large safe as they work on a daily budget at the treasurer's office Monday. Staff photo by Bill Lackey

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By Laura Bischoff and Brandon Smith-Hebson, Staff Writers Updated 7:36 AM Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Making government more efficient and cost-effective is behind a new effort to change how county governments operate in Ohio.

Two bills being pitched by the County Commissioners Association of Ohio give counties more options to consolidate government functions, including reducing the number of elected offices.

However, local elected officials from both parties have concerns about the potential problems these bills could cause — from the loss of proper checks and balances to concerns over whether the moves would actually save taxpayers money.

One of the bills, still in draft form, would allow commissioners to contract for coroner services, which would eliminate the need for an elected county coroner in some counties.

“If they can show us true cost savings and better service, please, we’re open to that,” said David P. Corey, executive director of the Ohio State Coroners Association.

But Corey questioned how much savings would result, particularly since there is already a regional system for autopsies, the most expensive part of a death investigation. The Montgomery County coroner, for example, conducts autopsies for 21 counties.

“You can’t get a better price than what you have now,” Corey said.

Ohio law requires elected county coroners to be physicians and the pay varies between $22,090 to $121,323, depending on population.

The second bill is more expansive, allowing for an alternative form of government. The most controversial part of the bill would give counties the authority to merge offices on a grand scale. A county executive or fiscal officer could replace the offices of county treasurer and auditor, for example, or a clerk of courts and recorder could be combined.

“There will be a lively debate around these bills,” said Larry Long, executive director of the commissioners association. He acknowledged that his briefing to representatives from the county officeholder groups got a frosty reception.

Long said the association believes the changes would save money. By giving counties the option to merge offices, he said, they could eliminate some duplicative costs, such as having two human resources or information technology departments.

But each county would have to decide what makes the best sense, said Long. “Bigger is not always better. This is an empowerment tool for local government to see if there are cost savings.”

The bills are expected to be introduced in the Ohio House in the coming weeks. From there, they will likely be assigned to committees and debated and possibly amended. If they make it out of committee, the bills need to clear the full House before being sent to the Ohio Senate for consideration.

Clark County Treasurer Stephen Metzger, a Democrat, said the alternative government proposal lacks the checks and balances needed for good government. Each day, county treasurers around Ohio tally balances in county accounts, while county auditors separately determine how much should be in the bank. The balances are compared.

“When they’re different, there’s an investigation,” Metzger said. “There’s always been a good system of checks and balances in county government. If you eliminate those, there’s (going to be) a lot more fraud and you’ll have a lot more problems than you have today.

“To get somebody to do the treasury for what I make ... you’d have to pay them a lot more money. I make $61,000.”

Metzger points to Summit and Cuyahoga counties as his evidence that extreme care is needed when combining offices to save money.

“They didn’t end up spending any less than they did before,” he said. “And I think it cost them extra in the long term.”

Joshua Richards, the Republican coroner of Champaign County, objects to the bill because he thinks the cost-saving goal is a pretense. Travelling from adjacent counties every time someone dies just wouldn’t be efficient, he said.

“If they go to a medical examiner system, then you’d still have to have somebody at the local level to determine what is a coroner’s case and what is not a coroner’s case,” Richards said. “Previously, the county commissioners had put something through the legislature trying to make a lot of county elected positions more appointed positions because they wanted more power. ... Maybe this is a different way of attacking the same problem.”

Richard Gould, Greene County treasurer, believes the bill has hidden costs that would exceed what counties spend now. For example, in addition to adding a county executive, the number of county commissioners could rise from the current three to as many as nine.

The public would have to vote on whether to adopt the changes. But a majority of the county commission — or as few as two members — could vote to put the issue on the ballot.

Citizens, too, could push the issue before voters by gathering petitions from 3 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election.

Clark County’s commissioners are for the bill in principle, and generally want to see what kinds of cost savings are possible.

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