Commissioners Seek to Oust Mental Health Board Members
The Geauga County Board of Commissioners is seeking advice from county Prosecutor Jim Flaiz in removing the members of the Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services.
Commissioners are also looking at possibly giving the responsibilities of that board to the Geauga County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
Commissioners Ralph Spidalieri and Blake Rear voted at Thursday’s meeting to ask for the prosecutor’s legal opinion and procedural advice on ousting the board in accordance with the Ohio Revised Code 340.02.
Rear and Spidalieri also voted to request the prosecutor’s opinion on having the GCBDD assume the role and responsibilities of the GCBMHRS until a new mental health board could be appointed.
Commissioner Mary Samide did not attend the meeting.
Spidalieri brought the motions to the table in the wake of decisions by the mental health board to grant pay raises to staff, including Director Jim Adams, which Spidalieri said would have increased Adams’ salary to about $250,000, including his retire/rehire status.
Spidalieri said the mental health board members showed “arrogance” at their Wednesday board meeting and “should have resigned.”
“The last thing we want is to hurt members of the county that need these services because of the board’s inability to responsibly manage their funds with these outrageous salary increases,” Spidalieri said. “At their meeting last night, the board displayed disbelief that anything was wrong.”
Spidalieri introduced a third motion and asked that it be tabled until all three commissioners were present to vote on it.
That motion was to request the prosecutor’s office review taking action to rescind all appropriations toward the mental health board funded through the county’s general fund.
In the motion, he asked that these general fund monies “be directed to another agency that would oversee the use of the funds in a fiscally responsible manner so that services that those funds support are not affected in any way.”
He further stipulated these funds would be re-allocated to the mental health board “when there is a new CEO and board in place to responsibly handle the spending of these funds.”
“Our hands are tied with their levied money,” Spidalieri said.
Rear asked Spidalieri if he had another agency in mind, to which Spidalieri answered, “Juvenile court comes first to my mind.”
The commissioners’ next meeting will be held 10 a.m. April 29 at 470 Center Street in Chardon.
