Saturday, August 22, 2009

Belinky Plans To Cut Staff

Judge Mark Belinky says all that will be left to staff Mahoning County's Probate Court as of September 19th will be "myself, one magistrate and two clerks," when he says he'll be forced to lay-off most of his employees to get through the rest of the year.

Belinky says he sent a letter to County Commissioners notifying them of the layoffs -- at about the same time they and Administrator George Tablack were warning sales tax revenues were declining -- complaining other office holders weren't getting the message.

Belinky sued Commissioners earlier this year -- after the Board appropriated about $200,000 dollars less for Probate Court than the Judge had requested.

A hearing on Belinky's lawsuit is set for late next month in Canton. The Judge claims if he wins the case -- and Commissioners are ordered to fully fund his budget -- he will bring his laid-off workers back.

Full Article and Source:
Probate Judge Threatens To Cut Staff

See also:
Date Set in Mandamus Lawsuit Case

Judge Files Suit Over Budget

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is Belinky paying the legal fees for this suit or are the taxpayers picking up the tab?

Perhaps if he cut his own salary, he would have at least another employee.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps if Belinky had cut expenses (instead of people) and tried to save the county money, drastic steps wouldn't have had to be taken.

Anonymous said...

How many staffers is Belinky talking about will lose their jobs?

He doesn't say --- it's important.

Was he overstaffed? Should he have compromised?

And as Anon 1 said, what cost is it to the county for his lawsuit? Won't that further impact his budget?

It should.

Anonymous said...

Gee! Guess they won't be able to make as much money as before!

Anonymous said...

I think Belinky is doing the right thing - he's trying to protect his staff's jobs. In this troubled economy, it's the right thing to do.

Anonymous said...

We don't really have enough information to know if Belinky is doing right or not.

Did all the courts get cut too? Or just his? And what was the reasoning?

"They" spin it their way - Belnky spins it his. The truth is probably in the middle.

Anonymous said...

If he wins the case, where will the money come from to fund his budget?

If there's no money left to fund his budget, is he planning on funding with Monopoly money or something?

Anonymous said...

Belinky likes the press coverage.

Anonymous said...

How many cases actually belong in the probate system, and how many were wrongfully brought there by headhunters.