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What Summit teaches about charter government
By Michael Douglas
Beacon Journal editorial page editor
Published on Sunday, Nov 08, 2009
In 2000, John Ong offered this assessment of charter government in Summit County: ''I hate to say this, but I think we've wasted 20 years.'' The former chief executive at B.F. Goodrich and soon-to-be American ambassador to Norway explained that ''we've neither improved efficiency . . . nor did we really improve accountability.''
Ong was frustrated, and understandably so. He and other business leaders had spent much time in the 1990s assessing the charter experiment, Summit County in 1979 becoming the first and until last week the only county in Ohio to adopt a charter government. They proposed major advances for the charter, and then watched their brightest ideas lose steam, political types, mostly, gumming the works.
Actually, Summit County has benefited significantly from its charter. If occasional scandals have surfaced, even ending in jail time, county government is more open. Lines of authority are more transparent. The public more easily can hold officials accountable.
No surprise that Cuyahoga leaders, of all shapes, sizes and views, would be placing calls to the south, looking for insights into how this charter thing precisely works. What Cuyahoga callers should know first is how far they have come — beyond the gratifying majorities across the county in favor of charter government, or the history made in Tuesday's vote.
Be thrilled. Cuyahoga already has escaped the trouble that has slowed the evolution of charter government in Summit County.
The point should be stressed: Issue 6 represents a clean break from the commissioner model, establishing an executive, council and prosecutor.
Summit hasn't been so fortunate. A messy hybrid exists here. There is an executive and an 11-member council — plus holdovers from the commissioner days. Voters eliminated the elected recorder. They did the same with the coroner. The offices of the treasurer and auditor have been consolidated in an elected fiscal officer. Practically every step of the way, pols have resisted. They sought (unsuccessfully) to repeal the charter. In the most recent election, the engineer led the way in defeating a proposed charter amendment that would have turned his elected office into an appointed position.
This is what burned John Ong, unnecessary layers of government, officeholders devoted to preserving their fiefdoms. Word in these parts is that Cuyahoga pols know all about misfeasance, malfeasance and worse. Scandals will brew. Errors will be made. What the new charter discourages is refighting the original battle.
Cuyahoga is free to move ahead, and in that way, the Summit experience offers some helpful lessons in governing.
Take the County Council. The image of the council has suffered, partly because of the antics of a few members, mostly because the holdover offices diminish its role as a check and balance on the executive. Again, Cuyahoga avoids the clutter. Still, the county would do well to emphasize the importance of the position with the goal of attracting new, strong candidates.
Part of achieving that objective involves ensuring that council members have sufficient resources to do their jobs. In many ways, they will rely on the executive for information and analyses. They also must cultivate a degree of independence, in other words, enough staff members for council members to think clearly on their own. Clashes will follow, no doubt, but that is part of what voters have embraced.
The late William Becker, an Akron attorney, law professor and one of those present at the creation of the Summit County charter, often counseled patience. He argued the charter, flaws and all, would develop in the right way. What he had in mind wasn't simply shining a brighter and broader light on government, or even discouraging public misbehavior. He highlighted that under a charter, the county is a different animal, far more than a mere extension of the state. It now has ''all powers not forbidden to it.''
Put another way, a charter county has wide berth to address problems and priorities. It isn't limited to the structure provided by the state. It can deploy resources with greater flexibility and responsiveness.
Consider the foreclosure crisis, for instance. A charter county can adapt, performing the mandated state functions yet mobilizing to meet the immediate need, directing attention, tools, money toward what matters most in the quality of the county's life. The same thinking could apply to easing the strain on children services and other social agencies. Or in promoting economic development, Russ Pry, the Summit County executive recently playing a leading role in the projects involving Goodyear and Bridgestone.
The lesson is: Use your imagination. Take full advantage of the authority the charter provides.
Look at such steps as including county boards and commissions, seeking to streamline or revamp, all with the purpose of meeting more effectively the county's needs.
There is a final lesson: View the authority of the charter as a magnet. Set high standards for the county work force. Act boldly not merely as a way to improve the performance of government but to attract talented people, the public sector contributing to a spirit of innovation, Cuyahoga County becoming a destination for those eager to experiment and achieve in public life.
I know, that sounds ridiculously far-fetched, especially in the shadows of the Jimmy Dimoras, Frank Russos and the rest. Yet that is the rich promise of charter government. Learn from Summit County. Don't make the mistake of failing to do enough.
Douglas is the Beacon Journal editorial page editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3514, or e-mailed at mdouglas@thebeaconjournal.com.
In 2000, John Ong offered this assessment of charter government in Summit County: ''I hate to say this, but I think we've wasted 20 years.'' The former chief executive at B.F. Goodrich and soon-to-be American ambassador to Norway explained that ''we've neither improved efficiency . . . nor did we really improve accountability.''
Ong was frustrated, and understandably so. He and other business leaders had spent much time in the 1990s assessing the charter experiment, Summit County in 1979 becoming the first and until last week the only county in Ohio to adopt a charter government. They proposed major advances for the charter, and then watched their brightest ideas lose steam, political types, mostly, gumming the works.
Actually, Summit County has benefited significantly from its charter. If occasional scandals have surfaced, even ending in jail time, county government is more open. Lines of authority are more transparent. The public more easily can hold officials accountable.
No surprise that Cuyahoga leaders, of all shapes, sizes and views, would be placing calls to the south, looking for insights into how this charter thing precisely works. What Cuyahoga callers should know first is how far they have come — beyond the gratifying majorities across the county in favor of charter government, or the history made in Tuesday's vote.
Be thrilled. Cuyahoga already has escaped the trouble that has slowed the evolution of charter government in Summit County.
The point should be stressed: Issue 6 represents a clean break from the commissioner model, establishing an executive, council and prosecutor.
Summit hasn't been so fortunate. A messy hybrid exists here. There is an executive and an 11-member council — plus holdovers from the commissioner days. Voters eliminated the elected recorder. They did the same with the coroner. The offices of the treasurer and auditor have been consolidated in an elected fiscal officer. Practically every step of the way, pols have resisted. They sought (unsuccessfully) to repeal the charter. In the most recent election, the engineer led the way in defeating a proposed charter amendment that would have turned his elected office into an appointed position.
This is what burned John Ong, unnecessary layers of government, officeholders devoted to preserving their fiefdoms. Word in these parts is that Cuyahoga pols know all about misfeasance, malfeasance and worse. Scandals will brew. Errors will be made. What the new charter discourages is refighting the original battle.
Cuyahoga is free to move ahead, and in that way, the Summit experience offers some helpful lessons in governing.
Take the County Council. The image of the council has suffered, partly because of the antics of a few members, mostly because the holdover offices diminish its role as a check and balance on the executive. Again, Cuyahoga avoids the clutter. Still, the county would do well to emphasize the importance of the position with the goal of attracting new, strong candidates.
Part of achieving that objective involves ensuring that council members have sufficient resources to do their jobs. In many ways, they will rely on the executive for information and analyses. They also must cultivate a degree of independence, in other words, enough staff members for council members to think clearly on their own. Clashes will follow, no doubt, but that is part of what voters have embraced.
The late William Becker, an Akron attorney, law professor and one of those present at the creation of the Summit County charter, often counseled patience. He argued the charter, flaws and all, would develop in the right way. What he had in mind wasn't simply shining a brighter and broader light on government, or even discouraging public misbehavior. He highlighted that under a charter, the county is a different animal, far more than a mere extension of the state. It now has ''all powers not forbidden to it.''
Put another way, a charter county has wide berth to address problems and priorities. It isn't limited to the structure provided by the state. It can deploy resources with greater flexibility and responsiveness.
Consider the foreclosure crisis, for instance. A charter county can adapt, performing the mandated state functions yet mobilizing to meet the immediate need, directing attention, tools, money toward what matters most in the quality of the county's life. The same thinking could apply to easing the strain on children services and other social agencies. Or in promoting economic development, Russ Pry, the Summit County executive recently playing a leading role in the projects involving Goodyear and Bridgestone.
The lesson is: Use your imagination. Take full advantage of the authority the charter provides.
Look at such steps as including county boards and commissions, seeking to streamline or revamp, all with the purpose of meeting more effectively the county's needs.
There is a final lesson: View the authority of the charter as a magnet. Set high standards for the county work force. Act boldly not merely as a way to improve the performance of government but to attract talented people, the public sector contributing to a spirit of innovation, Cuyahoga County becoming a destination for those eager to experiment and achieve in public life.
I know, that sounds ridiculously far-fetched, especially in the shadows of the Jimmy Dimoras, Frank Russos and the rest. Yet that is the rich promise of charter government. Learn from Summit County. Don't make the mistake of failing to do enough.
Douglas is the Beacon Journal editorial page editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3514, or e-mailed at mdouglas@thebeaconjournal.com.
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