The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Officials respond to scathing letter
Veterans letter “pure politics,” county officials say
Lorain County officials are responding to a scathing letter released by the Lorain County Veterans Service Commission, calling it “pure politics” and a “political hit job” meant to paint Lorain County commissioners as anti-veteran.
On April 9, Lorain County Administrator Tom Williams dismissed the six-page letter penned by Lorain County Veterans Services President Steven W. Bansek and Executive Director Jacob D. Smith as inaccurate and politically motivated.
In the letter, the Veterans Service Commission leaders heavily criticized Lorain County Commissioner Michelle Hung and David J. Moore for rescinding a $300,000 fund created by the previous board in December to assist with veterans issues, and for having an “open door” to hear their concerns.
When it comes to taking care of the Lorain County veterans, Moore and Hung seem to believe they can decide what’s best for the veterans without consulting the Lorain County Veteran Service Commission and all community partners, the letter said.
Lorain County Administrator Tom Williams dismissed the six-page letter penned by Lorain County Veterans Services President Steven W. Bansek and Executive Director Jacob D. Smith as inaccurate and politically motivated.
It also stated Moore and Hung don’t do the needed homework that is expected from people charged with being county commissioners.
Williams said the county wants to work with the veterans.
If the veterans group exceeds needed funding in excess of their $2.8 million budget for 2021, they are can request up to an additional $1 million per regulations under Ohio Revised Code, he said.
“The commissioners are the budgetary authority, that’s what they’re required to do by state statute,” Williams said. “So, put it this way, they have $2.8 million in their budget, right?
“They can go up to $3.8 million this year. If they followed all this spending and did everything that they could for veterans, based on the Ohio Revised Code, and they get the $2.8 million, and in September, they said, ‘hey we need another million dollars,’ we would give them another million dollars, because that’s what the state statute says.”
Ohio Revised Code does not allow the Veterans Service Commission to be moved into a separate fund without oversight from the commissions, noting that in recent years, the veterans typically have returned between $300,000 and $500,000 each year of unspent funding, Williams said.
“What it (Ohio Revised Code) doesn’t state is, if they don’t spend the money on veteran services, that they then should have a another account that they can then spend on veteran organizations like AmVets and things like that sort,” he said. “The money is supposed to be spent for individual veterans that’s going to benefit them.
“And this board has come up short, every time.”
The letter
Williams said he nor the commissioners received the letter until the afternoon of April 9 and does not believe it was an honest attempt to facilitate a conversation.
“Last year’s budget was $2.5 million, they gave back $300,000,” he said. “They asked for $2.8 million (2021), we gave them the $2.8 million.
“If they don’t spend that on Veterans Services, it comes back to the general fund that we use for the rest of the county. So, that’s why I said the whole thing, everything they did, it’s nothing but political nonsense they want to use and try to paint the county commissioners as anti-veteran.”
It’s an assertion Williams said could not be further from the truth, noting that Lorain County has made an effort to listen to their concerns and have made hiring veterans a priority.
In an email to The Morning Journal, Michelle Hung also disputed Bansek and Smith’s characterization of the Veterans Service Fund.
“We certainly know how the ‘special revenue fund’ works,” she wrote. “Don’t try to polish a turd for the tax payers.
“It is a fund that the Veterans can keep money in that they don’t spend at the end of the year. These funds are required to go back to the general fund. Here’s the difference, this board of commissioners gave the funds right back to them.
“It seems they are trying to rewrite history to grab taxpayer dollars and stash them away for themselves. The Executive Director (Smith) certainly needs to be put in check by his Veterans Commissioners that make $1,200 each. Five of them. They need to do their jobs.”
Hung also pushed back against claims that the move stripped $200,000 in aid to county veterans service organizations.
“That was CARES ACT money pulled by (former county administrator) Jim Cordes that I found and insisted they receive. I have the check in my administrator’s office, however Jacob Smith has not returned calls to schedule an appointment to pick up.”
Bansek and Smith characterized the decisionmaking process behind the move to rescind the service funds on March 17 in the letter released April 8 as a “kangaroo court” and that while it is perhaps an uncommon practice, it is legal and questioned whether the commissioners had a firm grasp on how the Veterans Service Commission received their funding.
The fund was instituted to help veterans, their families and veteran service organizations in ways not currently available to the Veteran Service Commission.
Some examples could be reimbursing color guard expenses for uniforms and gasoline when they travel to provide graveside honors for deceased veterans, Smith said.