Ah, patronage
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 By Mike Maurer
It’s their own little kitty, isn’t it? Kudos to the Vindicator.
A former township trustee can’t serve in a position he voted to create. . . .
He said that he and Brashen had no idea when they voted to create the position that Moracco would resign from his trustee job.
Brashen also could not be reached to comment.
Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains said trustees contacted his office Monday and “I have given them the law.”
He declined to discuss what he told trustees, citing attorney-client privilege.
According to Ohio Revised Code, during a public official’s term of office or within one year thereafter, the official is “prohibited from occupying any position of profit in the prosecution of a public contract authorized by the public official or by a legislative body, commission, or board of which the public official was a member at the time of authorization … .”
Finamore said that a former public official can be hired after resigning if certain criteria are met. The official can’t solicit the job, the official must resign before the job is created, the position must be advertised, an interview process followed, and the appointment must be based on who is the best and most qualified, he said.
Moracco, however, hadn’t resigned when the job was created, Finamore said.
C’mon, guys. Get your timing right. Line up the votes, then resign.
Tags: ethics, Local Government, public choice
