County Commissioners Consider Appointment Process
Although Geauga County Commis-sioners may not have the power to remove Jim Adams from office, they may have another way of influencing the appointment procedure…
Although Geauga County Commis-sioners may not have the power to remove Jim Adams from office, they may have another way of influencing the appointment procedure for the Geauga CountyBoard of Mental Health and Recovery Services.
Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri said Tuesday the Ohio Revised Code allows the commissioners to call for the removal of board members from the GCBMHRS based on negligence.
Adams, director of the mental health board, is hired by and reports to the 14-member board. Commissioners appoint eight of the members and the other six are appointed by the State Board of Mental Health.
The department has its own funding stream, and therefore, does not fall under the commissioners’ control.
Spidalieri has objected to the content of two student surveys distributed by the GCBMHRS to all the public school districts in Geauga County.
The surveys, given every three years to students starting in grade four, asks numerous questions regarding students’ familiarity with and opinions about a variety of social and family situations, focusing on illegal drug use.
Spidalieri has appealed to the Geauga County Department of Job and Family Services to stop the surveys, but they have reportedly been given in most districts.
Spidalieri said Tuesday public record requests of the GCBMHRS have yet to be fulfilled.
“The county administrator has asked for public information, which he is not receiving,” the commissioner said, adding the meeting Adams promised would occur in early January has not been planned.
County Administrator David Lair said after the meeting he had requested any correspondence or emails the GCBMHRS had regarding the communities where the survey had been distributed, but was told the request was too broad.
He amended his request to cover the last 60 days and believes the mental health board is working to get him that information by the end of this week, Lair said.
However, removing any health board members would require the commissioners to prove negligence.
During the meeting, Spidalieri said the commissioners really need to look at the eight board members they appointed.
“There’s no point in having a board if the board is not being adhered to,” Spidalieri said.
Commissioner Walter “Skip” Clay-pool said Adams works for the GCBMHRS and it is up to the commissioners to set the standard the board members need to meet.
Also, the public needs to be confident the commissioners aren’t choosing the board members randomly, but are following policy and procedures when making those choices, he said.
Commissioner Blake Rear said there may be a template in place for choosing members that would aid commissioners.
Rather than reinventing the wheel, he said commissioners should look for one that already exists and review it.
A job description of applicants for positions on the mental health board might be appropriate, Rear said.
Claypool said the commissioners could have an interview process for applicants for the board and could require resumes, so the best candidates can be picked.
“We need to know who we’re appointing,” he said, noting due diligence should be followed for any appointments they make.
