Parts is parts

Rethinking local government structure

by Johnny Hildo

published June 27th 2007

Lloyd Jacobs, President of the University of Toledo, has responded to allegations of scandalous behavior in the U’s athletics department by calling for a significant restructuring of its activities. Like, for instance, placing its fiscal compliance under the control of the fiscal compliance office. Who would ever have thought of that?

Jacobs’ actions got us thinking about other types of restructuring we’d like to see around T-Town. We offer the following ideas.

Reboot the City of Toledo economic development office. Carty continues to serve as his own development director. He’s pulled off such coups as filling One Seagate by emptying the Fifth Third Building, attempting a one-time sell-off of city assets as a long-term budget fix, and giving Larry Dillin free rein to woo business suitors to any vacant commercial land in the region.

Gaze out over the waterfront expanse of the Marina District, or the Interstate-accessible site of the former Jeep plant. Why aren’t investors lining up for the potential these and other such sites provide? Instead of complaining about the Hotel Seagate, a functioning development office would be working with owners or other investors to improve it, especially as the revitalization of Downtown continues apace.

Alas, Carty would rather grandstand and bluster. His old-style ideas for attracting development include shouting, fingerpointing, and helicopter rides. While the Fink thus fiddles, the regional economy continues to burn.

Carty, please, for once get over yourself and get someone working with vision and brains. Then try not to hound them out of office.

Here’s another restructuring idea. Combine school districts into a county-wide school system. The redundancy inherent in every little township having its own schools, with its own transportation, cafeteria, and administrative systems boggles the mind. Lots of other states have streamlined their systems county by county.

Cost savings would be automatic, as would a leveling of educational options for kids. Turf protection is the only reason we can fathom for not supporting this idea.

While we’re at it, let’s reorganize city and county offices. Why are so many city and county offices redundant? Why not pool resources and combine our efforts? Are the townships and ‘burbs that worried about their little fiefdoms? Is the city that protective of its autonomy? Can we continue to bicker and fritter away opportunities?

And just what does the County Recorder do, anyway? Besides provide a posh retirement gig for Janine Perry, that is. Can’t we get out of the 1850s and figure out a way to keep county records without a ledger book?

Seriously, folks, most of these offices were created for an age of fountain pens and muddy horse-trodden roads, when it took days to get to the state capital. The budget crunch is on. Let’s do some crunching of our own.

A whiff of mothballs

We have previously called for school board elections to receive closer attention. We had no idea folks actually paid attention to our fertile ideas.

As J Fo settles into his new gig as short-term appointee, rumblings abound that he is being encouraged from all sides to actually run for the seat. He has swatted back accusations that he doesn’t live in his Shenandoah Road residence. And he has artfully dodged questions about his long-term ambitions for the position.

If he does decide to run, and our sources indicate it’s a done deal, he’s a shoe-in. Last week we neglected to mention Richard Brown, current school board candidate and young black professional dipping his toes into electoral waters for the first time. If Ford runs, Brown’s chances run somewhere between slim and none.

Then there’s the other endorsed D, Lisa Sobecki. Her signs tout her as a “mom on a mission.” Doesn’t the school board already have one of those? And how’s that working out so far?

We got bad news, Lisa. Carty wasn’t just whistling in the dark when he touted Ford and Peter Silverman as his candidates. We hear Pete’s mulling a run, too. Another shoo-in.

If this all pans out, Chris Myers can take down his multiple redundant Web sites and his mentor Steve Flaggs can stay off the radio. The “Urban” “Coalition” can move on to the next axes they have to grind. Other lesser-known candidates can crawl back into the woodwork. The election’s already over.

What irony. Carty got re-re-elected by splintering the Ds and getting his cronies in at 1817 Mad Ave. Now he’s thumbing his nose at the very folks who returned him to the 22nd Floor by rejecting their endorsements. Which will again splinter the Ds and create separate slates of candidates. Including recycled moldy oldies like him.

What part of Carty’s total self-absorption didn’t these people recall?