Cuyahoga County government had become so ripe with corruption, that voters decided to completely overhaul the system of government for the county. No longer would there be 3 commissioners, but a county council and a County Executive.
Even though Ed Fitsjerald opposed the new county government, he ran for the County Executive post, promising to bring reform to the county and regain trust with the voters. However, we’ve shown you that he has fallen short of that goal.
Ed Fitzgerald claims he cleaned up Cuyahoga County
A year ago, we shared that Fitz cancelled a new kitchen project for the county jail, saying that the bid was too high.
County Council took no action on a resolution for a $5.5 million contract with Cleveland-based Infinity Construction Co. to do the entire project because county Executive Ed FitzGerald thinks the work can be done for less.
Instead of saving money, Fitzgerald went ahead with a bid that cost $1 million more, so that the work could be given to a union shop. Some reform. Charging the taxpayers more to shore up his union support.
Also, just months ago, we shared with you how even Northeast Ohio Democrats have accused Ed FitzGerald of pay-to-play tactics while he was the mayor of Lakewood.
Now comes the latest news of the “reform” Ed Fitzgerald is bringing to Cuyahoga County.
First off, they filed their paperwork an entire year late, just like in years past.
The county didn’t file the paperwork for the report, though, until June of this year. The state due date was last summer.
There’s more:
The first state audit of Cuyahoga County’s charter government showed that the county spent more money than it had in several funds…
The audit showed the county spending for the Human Services Fund was $15 million higher than the estimated income. For the Workforce Investment Act Operating Fund, appropriations exceeded total income by more than $9 million.
Half of the eight issues outlined by the auditor deal with funding for federal programs. In one instance, the expenditure amount reported for Adoption Assistance was $18 million less than the correct expenditure total. For the Foster Care program, the discrepancy was more than $22 million.
The audit revealed 14 contractors were paid more than $25,000 in Adoption Assistance federal program funds and there were no verifications in place to determine whether these contractors were eligible to receive these funds.In another instance, 40 case files audited at random showed electronic case files for applications for Prevention, Retention and Contingency personal benefits were not maintained in three cases, meaning ineligible applicants could receive federal money through the county.
Questionable contracts, late filings, mismanaged funds. Not to mention playing on Facebook during council meetings.
Same old Cuyahoga County.
This is not the work of a reformer. This is not the work of a leader. This is Ed Fitzgerald.
