Mayor vetoes hiring protocol ordinance

Willoughby Hills Mayor Robert Weger has vetoed the ordinance regarding the hiring of city department heads.

In a five-page letter to City Council, the mayor outlined his reasons for vetoing the ordinance, which council approved with a 4-3 vote on March 9.

Weger who did not attend the March 9 meeting, said in the letter he appreciated council’s desire to create a protocol for confirmation of his department director appointments. He then stated he must veto the ordinance and listed multiple reasons why.

The mayor said council displayed a disregard for the city law director’s opinion regarding council meeting with the Civil Service Commission.

Weger also noted in the letter to council that he agrees with comments made by Charter Review Chairman Andy Gardner through discussions with Councilwoman Jennifer Greer. These comments, which Greer relayed to council, claimed that the ordinance would do more harm than good.

Some of Gardner’s concerns, as stated by Greer and in the mayor’s veto, were possible Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violations, allegedly leaving the city open for a lawsuit. Gardner also alleged through Greer that many of the policies in the new charter would be based on Ohio Revised Code, which is continuously updating, and that the city is notorious for not amending ordinances.

In addition, Weger said in the letter that Greer and Gardner are both licensed attorneys in the state of Ohio with a keen knowledge of the charter and urges council to respect their knowledge and experience.

Although Weger stated Greer is a licensed attorney, the Ohio Supreme Court lists her as inactive.

The mayor also stated in his letter that legal and practical concerns were raised and that council was presented with final documents for the hiring proposal submitted by the Civil Service Commission on the same date as the meeting during which the vote took place. Therefore, he feels that council could not have had adequate time to review the documents and questions why if Law Director Tom Lobe and Councilwoman Janet Majka had the information, wasn’t it presented to council sooner.

Much of the information in question on the ordinance pertained to the medical and psychological evaluations.

Council requested in the ordinance that they be provided with a report on each candidate and that each candidate be thoroughly vetted prior to an offer of hire, including medical and psychological exams along with drug testing. It was noted that anything violating HIPAA laws could be redacted prior to council viewing the report.

When questioned about the veto, Weger responded he didn’t want to test everyone, just the one who would be hired, and then referred to the veto for additional answers.

The ordinance stemmed from the hiring and resignation of former Fire Chief Bobby DiSanto after it came to light he did not actually qualify for the positions and had falsified information on his application.

Council, in order to avoid another instance like that, is looking for a system of checks and balances that will ensure the person put in place as a department head is qualified for the position, according to Council Vice President John Plecnik.

Plecnik stated that council could vote to override the veto, but isn’t sure if that will happen. It would require a 5-2 vote by council to override and the ordinance narrowly passed with a 4-3 vote. If council chooses to try to override the veto, members would have to do that at the next meeting scheduled for March 23.