County Responds to Appointments Controversy

June 23, 2022 by Amy Patterson

A day after Geauga County Commissioners’ May 24 decision to re-appoint four incumbents to the Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services, the League of Women Voters – Geauga released a statement criticizing the move.

“By re-appointing previous board members without even considering new applicants, the commissioners have denied Geauga County citizens the opportunity to serve an important role and to bring needed skills and expertise to a critical government body, one that impacts many of our residents,” the LWVG statement said.

The statement closed by urging commissioners to adopt and follow a formal policy regarding appointments to public boards in Geauga County.

In the weeks since, both commissioners and members of the public have continued to respond to the LWVG critique.

In a statement June 10, County Administrator Gerry Morgan said the Ohio Revised Code grants commissioners the authority to make appointments, and that there is no specific process set by state law. To his knowledge, Morgan said the county has never had an established procedure for appointing board members.

“Given that there are no set standards on choosing board members, the commissioners are given a wide latitude on who and how to choose those appointments,” he said.

Over the years, appointments have occurred in multiple ways, Morgan said, adding in some instances, the board has placed notices in the papers and on the county website requesting those interested to apply.

“Sometimes, a commissioner has someone in mind for a board position and places a nomination before the entire board of commissioners for appointment,” he said. “Occasionally, the current board member whose position is coming due is reappointed, boards can recommend an appointment or reappointment of individuals and directors have come before the commissioners with a list of requested board appointments.”

The last option usually occurs when board positions must be filled by those representing certain organizations or sectors of society, Morgan said.

“All board appointments are discussed and made by the commissioners in their regular public meetings,” Morgan said.

Applications are not accepted for positions that are not open, he added, which follows the same standard as applications for employment with the county. That means someone interested in being on a specific board cannot submit an application to be considered if or when a position might become available.

The Issue Of Transparency

Chris Goodall, a Geauga County resident and licensed social worker, told the Geauga County Maple Leaf she had considered applying to a position on the mental health board, but did not know how to find out if one was available.

The last time she heard about an open position, it was word-of-mouth from someone who was a board member at the time, Goodall said.

“Maybe I’m not ready to apply tomorrow for (an open seat), but maybe there’s one that comes open next year, and I am. So how do I know it’s open,” Goodall said in a phone interview.

Goodall, who has two decades of experience in mental health, a master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University, and experience in community-based mental health services, as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said she wondered how people appointed to the board of mental health are connected to the mental health system.

“As a community member, I want people with expertise sitting on all the boards,” she said, including — for the mental health board — those who either have experience with mental health services or have family that does.

While Goodall acknowledged a balance of community members and experts is important to give needed perspective to boards, what she wants to see is transparency in the application process.

“There are many people who would be interested in getting more involved in the county government if they understood how it works and how to apply,” she said.

In an interview, Geauga County Commissioner Tim Lennon said the county has historically not done a good enough job with communication.

However, the county has begun the process of bringing its technology and its website, into the 21st century.

A county-wide web update project is currently underway and being led by the county’s information technology department, of which Geauga County Auditor Chuck Walder is the chief administrator.

Lennon said while the county could likely do better at providing links to information on boards and agencies, their functions and how they operate, commissioners have no control over what agencies or their boards decide to post on their own pages.

“We’re not the majority appointing authority for (all boards),” Lennon said. “It’s not that the commissioners can snap their fingers and say, ‘Hey, mental health, by the way, we need you to post (open) appointments and term limits.’ We don’t have control.”

Each board is unique in its appointment process, he said. For example, the Geauga County Public Library Board of Trustees will often submit requests for appointments.

“We don’t have to do it, but usually, unless there is an issue, we’ll honor that request because it’s unique to the library because they have special things that they do,” Lennon said. “And also, because the commissioners’ appointing authority is in the minority. We don’t appoint the whole board, we just appoint a few people.”

Under Ohio Revised Code, commissioners appoint only three of seven seats on GCPL board. The remainder are appointed by the judges of the court of common pleas.

Lennon said the county airport board and planning commission operate in a similar manner. But what people are talking about right now is the mental health board, he said.

The ORC provides commissioners the opportunity to appoint only six of the 14 members of the mental health board. The other eight are appointed by the director following various requirements set by state law.

“There’s some kind of an issue going on there that they can’t really divulge why (Executive Director Jim Adams) is on administrative leave,” he said. “I don’t know and nobody is supposed to know. I think that’s the whole point.”

Lennon said some board members appointed under the recommendation of the director have strong personalities and strong thoughts that don’t necessarily jive with what commissioners see as priorities. The board appeared to commissioners to not be holding Adams accountable on the return on investment for some programs and initiatives, he said.

“Some of these topics that they’re getting into are very controversial today. So, I think if there’s not going to be any pushback or anybody to (argue) the other side – if there’s just going to be a blank check … I think that’s what it’s been for decades over there,” he said.

But once an appointment is made, commissioners are not “rolling up their sleeves” and telling the board how to operate, Lennon said., adding commissioners let boards operate freely.

“We’ve got some really, really good people on that board — doctors, lawyers. For them to volunteer to do this I’m really thankful,” he said.

Public Questions Recent Appointees

Since the mental health board reappointments, residents have also expressed to the Maple Leaf disapproval over the appointment of certain individuals who had lost previous elections, with one person saying election losses mean Geauga citizens don’t want those people having power in the county, while another accused commissioners of “cronyism”

Morgan said the fact an individual might have run for an elective office and lost does not preclude the individual from being appointed to a board.

“The argument that somehow because a person loses an election means the Geauga County voters do not want to place that person in a position of political power is a very simplistic mindset,” he said. “At best, you can say that the voters did not want that person in the position they were running for. However, even that is a guess, as the voters may have simply decided the other person running was a better choice for that position.”

Lennon said there is no conspiracy or cronyism involved. But certain appointees are selected because, unlike some appointees on boards across the county, they consistently show up for the job.

The ORC states the requirements for mental health board appointees chosen by the director, rather than commissioners.

“The director of mental health and addiction services shall ensure that at least one member of the board is a clinician with experience in the delivery of mental health services, at least one member of the board is a person who has received or is receiving mental health services, at least one member of the board is a parent or other relative of such a person, at least one member of the board is a clinician with experience in the delivery of addiction services, at least one member of the board is a person who has received or is receiving addiction services, and at least one member of the board is a parent or other relative of such a person,” the law reads.

Lennon said the lack of public accountability for those appointments should be a bigger concern than appointments made by him and his colleagues.

Votes on appointments made by commissioners occur in open session, he added.

“You’re going to accuse the commissioners of cronyism — at least you need two out of three (votes) to make the thing happen,” he said. “(Mental health board appointees have) been sitting in those seats forever, as long as they want. They’ve just been getting reappointed by (Adams), by the state.”

Over the years he’s been a commissioner, Lennon said he’s nominated and voted on dozens of appointments to multiple boards.

Some appointments must be made in a timely fashion to not disrupt board business, he said, adding occasionally, commissioners have advertised for those board openings or simply reappointed members for another term to maintain a quorum.

“I think it is important to know that these positions are volunteer and not paid positions. These are people taking time and effort out of their livelihoods to contribute,” Lennon said. “Finding dedicated individuals that are willing to regularly attend and at times having to demand accountability from its directors is not always an easy task for any appointing authority. At the end of the day, I’m going to continue to operate the way I see fit.”