The Cost of County Government

You may have read an interesting set of articles in today's PD regarding Democrat Auditor Frank Russo's office and Democrat Prosecutor Bill Mason's office.

The compelling facts are not that people with political connections have county jobs; rather, they are the abuse and disregard of the public trust and the waste of taxpayer dollars.  Buried within today's main article is the fact that the Cuyahoga County Auditor's office is twice as large as it needs to be, and that it has grown 7% over the last 10 years.  That growth is in the face of a declining county population and is further in spite of a massively expensive (and generous) County buyout in 2001. 

According to the PD, the Auditor's office bills $1.2 Billion in taxes each year.   We are the highest taxed County in the state, chasing business and investment away.  Yet while our region is bleeding jobs, the Auditor's payroll, and that of other Democrat County offices keeps growing.  What it means to you: higher prices at the stores and higher taxes.  A cruel one-two punch.

It is not the people whose photos are plastered on the front page who are to blame.  Many County employees are hard working and capable.  Some have to be in order to make up for and cover for those whose only qualification for hire was their political activity.  The fat contained in Frank Russo's payroll is unfair not only to the taxpayers by its sheer cost, but to the good employees trying to serve the public trust who see politics rewarded rather than hard work. 

No, the blame for the situation our County is in rests with the elected Democrats who control our County - and certain people - with an iron fist.  These corrupt elected Democrats will toss a subordinate under the proverbial bus at the first sign of trouble.

Look no further that Democrat Prosecutor Bill Mason's excuse for his office's misconduct in an ongoing death penalty case. When the Court of Appeals recently reprimanded Mason and ordered his office to turn over complete files to the defense, Mason claimed "that Assistant Prosecutor Eleanor Hilow was unprepared."  Way to take responsiblity, Bill Mason.  That shows the real character of the man, throwing the employee, who is hired and trained to do things his way, into the line of fire when his office's methods are found improper.

Our County government is broken. We have elected Democrats who consider themselves unaccountable, not only to the voters and taxpayers, but also to the very employees who serve in their offices. 

Comments

[Steven M. Backiel]

The latest articles involving the County Recorder and Auditor offices have been elightening to say the least. We all knew these problems existed in some sense but the level to which this problem has escalated is alarming and should in fact be the discussion of every concerned voter this election cycle. The rise in patronage positions, taxes and spending while the county population continues to decline and more businesses abandon Cleveland is staggering. It's the non-connected that are harmed most by these corrupt county government practices and the people have the means to self-correct the problem come November! Instead of voting for the known name they should "buck the trend" and vote for new leadership with innovative ideas on how to best turn Cuyahoga County around. A vote for Bill Mason or Peter Lawson Jones is a vote for conformity and acceptance of the continued standard practices that have landed us in the mess we are in now.

[Josh Vaughan]

Its a good thing the PD has finally started to shed light on some of the things going on with Cuyahoga County leadership, especially on the front page of the Sunday paper. Hopefully the voters remember stories like this when they go to vote.

[Dave Harbarger]

Government is the most wasteful enterprise known to man. Republicans should continue to be dedicated to smaller, more efficient and more effective government. All government can be made more efficient and cost effective.

But in the case of Cuyahoga County Government major surgery is required. There is no excuse for the continual rise in spending with a declining population, reduction in services and vanishing economic base. If they were spending the money on business development or infrastructure it'd be one thing but that's not where the growth in spending is.

Perhaps one should start with a simple reduction in force of about 1 in 3 of county employees. I doubt any citizen would even notice the difference.