State leaders back oversight of Jobsohio
Asked Wednesday whether Jobsohio is working, House Speaker Larry Householder didn't offer a definitive answer.
“I don’t know,” the Glenford Republican said of the state’s quasi-private economic-development entity. “That’s part of our transparency problem.”
With Gov. John Kasich no longer around to protect his brainchild, which he designed as a way for
the state to more rapidly respond to business needs and improve job creation, Republican legislative leaders are gearing up to institute more supervision and transparency of Jobsohio.
Auditor Keith Faber and Attorney General Dave Yost, who also are Republicans, agree that the nonprofit needs more oversight.
“I still think it’s a fair question: Are we getting our money’s worth out of Jobsohio?” Yost tweeted last week in response to a Dispatch story about new data that showed Ohio’s job gains in 2018 were actually fewer than half what the state initially reported.
As auditor, Yost for years clashed with the Kasich administration over his role in reviewing the books of Jobsohio, where employee salaries and benefits increased an average of 18 percent last year, including an $87,000 jump for John Minor Jr., the outgoing president.
In June, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that was amended to permit the auditor’s office to play a role in outlining the scope of performance audits and give it access to the work papers produced by private accounting firms conducting audits of Jobsohio.
“Jobsohio is a quasi-public agency that exists to serve a public purpose for Ohioans. The people of Ohio deserve a seat at the table,” Yost said after the Senate vote.
But the bill never got a final House vote. Rep. Steve Arndt, R-port Clinton, who sponsored the original bill dealing with equity crowdfunding, said he supported the amendment, but “the administration said that if it remained in there, he (Kasich) would probably veto the bill.”
“I fail to understand, if Jobsohio is doing such a wonderful job, why we wouldn’t want to showcase that?” Arndt said.
Faber objected last week when Jobsohio refused to disclose the salary and benefits of its new president, J.P. Nauseef, until it files its required reports nearly a year from now. Prior to this year, Jobsohio was refusing to disclose the total compensation of its employees, instead reporting only taxable income.
Faber said he would happily add a public audit of Jobsohio to his office’s workload.
Senate President Larry Obhof, R-medina, said of the bill the chamber passed in June: “I anticipate us doing something like that again. I’ve had some long-term concerns about transparency issues there.”
Gov. Mike Dewine also has indicated support for more accountability from the nonprofit corporation.
Jobsohio officials have argued that, as a nonprofit corporation, it should not be subject to state audits, noting that it already completes an annual performance assessment.
Householder said he’s “always been concerned about the transparency, or lack thereof, of Jobsohio,” and he expects discussions on how to address it.
The nonprofit exists only through state law, gets its revenue from a long-term lease of the state’s liquor operation, and has a board of directors appointed by the governor.
“We fully recognize they’re an independent corporation, but they receive a lot of Ohio tax dollars,” Householder said. “It’s important for us to have discussions to see what’s on their mind and why things are the way they are.”