...and the Gloves are Off

It was the longest County Commission meeting in history.

OK, maybe not, but it sure seemed like it. Almost four hours with very little accomplished other than the commissioners yelling at or about each other. As usual, it was Todd Portune and David Pepper (both Democrats) against Pat DeWine (the lone Republican.)

Think I'm exaggerating? It was so bad that during a break, staffers joked they need some girls with "Round One," "Round Two" signs!

Commissioner Pat DeWine had an especially rough day. He was blasted left and right about everything from the sales tax to budget cuts. He was also blamed for spreading malicious misinformation about his colleagues on a hot-button issue -- abortion.
Here's how it played out.


ROUND ONE:

The day started with a nasty exchange between DeWine and Sheriff Simon Leis on DeWine's opposition to Commissioners David Pepper and Todd Portune's sales tax increase. See the previous blog for more details on that.

ROUND TWO:
Then, drama unfolded over the indigent care levy, which passed last November. Apparently a clause was left out of during contract negotiations effectively allowing levy dollars to fund abortions.

DeWine discovered the problem Monday and asked his colleagues what happened. They said they didn't know, but that the clause should be put back in. Several hours later C.O.A.S.T. issued this statement blaming Portune and Pepper.

So Wednesday, it was on. Portune and Pepper spent probably the better part of an hour blaming DeWine for spreading false rumors. (They spent all day Tuesday fielding angry e-mails and phone calls)

"It seems clear that the source of COAST information came from this floor," Portune accused.

Added Pepper: "This is frankly in my five years one of the most dishonest things I’ve ever seen."

DeWine refused to take blame. They interrupted each other, talked over each other and Portune called DeWine "out of order" several times.

Finally, to stop all the fuss, Portune and Pepper passed a resolution putting the clause back in.

DeWine introduced his own solution: a blanket resolution that says Hamilton County can never spend tax dollars on abortions, period. His colleagues want it reviewed by legal staff.
UPDATE: This whole segment of this blog caused a stir, and may require further clarification. Please note, although the levy passed last year, the contract remains in negotiation. All references above involve the draft document or negotiations on it. During the discussions this week, the Health Alliance offered its take on the issue and some background on exactly how this occurred.

ROUND THREE:
DeWine also got heat Wednesday for proposing several 2007 budget cuts. This was in response to discussions about where to put 300 overflow inmates (and how to pay for it) when a housing contract with the Butler County jail runs out in October (read the Enquirer story here).

Portune and Pepper first blasted DeWine for not coming up with cuts sooner (Portune had presented his list in a letter last week.) Then they criticized the cuts as not feasible. Even Administrator Pat Thompson got a word in.

"You’re talking about (cutting) infrastructure to run this organization in a lot of instances," Thompson said. "I would never recommend some of the things on this list."

Hopefully budget meetings next week will be more civil.

BudgetReductions.doc
healthalliance.doc