Council, mayor clash over panel appointments
A number of Warren city board and commission appointments are still unfilled as a result of a stalemate between Mayor Jim Fouts and City Council.
Council held a committee of the whole meeting last week to discuss a list of proposed appointees forwarded by administration to various city boards and commissions.
Approval of the appointments was tabled at the March 9 regular meeting of the city council amid questions surrounding interpretation of the City Charter; the application forms used; and how the current emergency COVID order relates to the appointment procedure.
“I am just very confused,” said Council Secretary Mindy Moore. “I just do not know how we are going to approve these people without more information.”
In question are prospective appointees for the Board of Review; the Brownfield Development Authority; the Downtown Development Authority; the Senior Health Care Commission; the Tree and Sidewalk Board of Review; and the Tax Increment Finance Authority.
Mayor James Fouts said there is no reason to delay the appointments and that he feels doing so has left prospective appointees in limbo. He said he has been focused on addressing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic including bringing vaccine clinics to City Hall.
Special legal counsel to the city council, Jeffrey Schroder of Plunkett Cooney, cited chapter seven, section six of the City Charter when he told the council it does have the ability to disapprove a mayoral appointment, but that a reason for disapproval must be clearly stated and must be specific to the individual appointee.
The Charter states mayoral appointments to boards and commissions are to be announced to the city council at the next regular meeting following the date of appointment. The council can disapprove appointments at that juncture, but must “state the rea
sons for such disapproval.”
The mayor can then reappoint the person disapproved, but if the council votes to disapprove them a second time, “the mayor may not make such an appointment in the calendar year in which the disapproval occurred.” The charter also states that mayoral appointees to boards and commissions serve at the discretion of the mayor.
“This is all based on vendetta, antagonism, pettiness and mean spiritedness,” said Fouts. “You see that there is a pattern; this council is not interested in serving the citizens, they are interested in serving the interests of Plunkett Cooney. This is a Plunkett Cooney council.”
Members of council said contact information for appointees has been redacted from some applications and that the official application form itself does not ask enough questions of potential appointees. Councilwoman Angela Rogensues suggested asking for a resume or bio to be submitted with applications.
“Granted, the mayor is fully capable and his authority gives him power to appoint,” said Rogensues. “But I like to make sure we are putting the best people in these positions.”
Moore noted many of the applications are not dated, making her unsure if applications for people being reappointed are current or if they are the same applications submitted when those people were first appointed to their positions.
The official application posted on the City of Warren website for interested parties to download and submit states that a background investigation will be conducted for all applicants and that applicants must be current on water bills, taxes, permit fees and special assessments. Moore said she would like for the administration to submit the findings of those background checks to the city council. The City Charter does not require background checks to be conducted.
Fouts said he submitted the notifications of appointments to council pursuant to the City Charter.
During the March 30 meeting, Rogensues brought up the emergency order that is in place and was extended by city council on March 23, 2021 pointing specifically to line 44 of the document included in the e-packet for that meeting stating the mayor has the right to make appointments without approval from city council. Schroder said that in his opinion, the emergency order would not supersede the Charter and that the appointments would still be required to come before council.
The council is expected to disapprove the appointments at its next regular meeting scheduled for April 13.