Trumbull County commissioners obligate ARPA funds for several projects, debate coroner renovation and budget transfers

The Board of Trumbull County Commissioners met Nov. 20 and approved several spending items drawn from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds while debating procurement practices, a coroner‑office renovation and a large sheriff payroll request.

The board approved an ARPA obligation for improvements to the Trumbull County Planning Commission building, a $1 million memorandum of understanding for a county mobile command post, an $850,000 replacement for a 4‑H building and a $50,000 grant to the nonprofit Best Purpose Inc. Most of those items passed on routine roll calls after staff read the resolutions into the record.

Commissioners spent significant time on two contentious procurement matters. For the Trumbull County coroner’s office, the board voted to accept a $29,136 modification to architectural services for a project that raises the contract total to $78,636. One commissioner criticized the practice of approving change orders after work is completed, saying contractors “should get a change order approved by the board of commissioners before they proceed with the work.” Supporters of the modification said the architectural drawings already created will reduce future design costs and improve working conditions.

On a separate but related issue, the board approved the purchase of a new morgue cooler from Mobi Supply LLC for $28,258 after critics asked for documentation of competitive quotes. A commissioner who reviewed the vendor’s publicly posted prices said an apparently identical model was listed online for about $10,000 less with free delivery and asked staff to document why the county selected this vendor and price. The coroner and deputies argued the county needed a unit that could arrive within seven weeks because existing coolers had failed; the purchase motion carried.

A proposed transfer of $2.2 million to fund the sheriff’s payroll through the remainder of the year became a major point of dispute. County staff and the auditor said their review supported a lower figure — roughly $1.6 million — and asked for a more detailed breakdown of object codes (wages, Medicare, hospitalization, retro pay) before approving the transfer. Commissioners voted to table and then reframe the action, directing sheriff’s staff to work with the auditor to submit a corrected agenda item for the board’s Dec. 4 meeting.

The board also discussed an electric aggregation program and the county’s process for selecting a supplier. Commissioners agreed to schedule a public workshop on Dec. 3 at 10:30 a.m. to hear competing vendors — including Buckeye Energy and representatives of other aggregation programs — and to give the board time for an apples‑to‑apples comparison before any March implementation date.

Several agenda items drew brief public comments and internal disagreement over board transparency. A member of the public and several commissioners disputed whether workshops without a quorum should be posted and streamed, with the public speaker urging more readily available posting and one commissioner arguing non‑quorum gatherings are not official meetings.

The meeting featured a heated exchange during the “Good of the County” portion over a separate dispute involving the auditor’s office and a township. Commissioners and staff traded sharp criticisms while counsel advised against discussing ongoing litigation publicly.

What’s next: commissioners scheduled a Dec. 3 workshop on energy aggregation and set multiple ARPA MOUs and grant items for the Dec. 4 regular meeting. The sheriff’s payroll transfer will return only after the auditor and sheriff’s staff provide the requested fund‑by‑fund breakdown and supporting documentation.

Quotes: Several verbatim remarks from the meeting illustrate the tone of debate. On procurement and change orders, one commissioner said, “Any contractor that does business with the county should only be doing and performing services to the amount of what the contract says … if they exceed that, they need to get a change order approved by the board of commissioners before they proceed with the work.” During the morgue cooler discussion the coroner’s supporter said, “We got dead bodies in the cooler right now,” arguing for expedited purchase. On the sheriff payroll debate the auditor’s office recommended submitting a corrected item, saying, “We recommend that you don't pass that today…submit that in the Dec. 4 agenda.”

Votes at a glance (selected items and amounts recorded in the meeting): - Approve minutes (Nov. 14, 2024): motion carried (roll call recorded: Cantalamasa Yes; Malloy Yes; Frenchko No). - Planning Commission building improvements (ARPA): approved; funding per agenda ($27,000 design; construction amounts listed on agenda). - Mobile command post MOU (ARPA): $1,000,000; approved. - 4‑H building replacement (ARPA): up to $850,000; approved. - Best Purpose, Inc. grant (ARPA): $50,000; approved. - Morgue cooler purchase: $28,258 to Mobi Supply LLC; approved after procurement questions. - Sheriff payroll transfer: $2,200,000 request not approved on Nov. 20; board directed sheriff to work with auditor and resubmit a corrected item for Dec. 4.

Who said what (selection of attributions consistent with meeting record): - “Any contractor that does business with the county should only be doing and performing services to the amount of what the contract says … if they exceed that, they need to get a change order approved by the board of commissioners before they proceed with the work.” — Unidentified Speaker (commissioner questioning coroner contract change orders). - “We got dead bodies in the cooler right now.” — Unidentified Speaker (coroner’s office supporter urging expedited cooler purchase). - “We recommend that you don't pass that today…submit that in the Dec. 4 agenda.” — Martha Yoder, Trumbull County auditor, on the sheriff payroll transfer.

Context and limitations: this article summarizes actions and exchanges recorded in the Nov. 20, 2024 meeting transcript. It reports amounts and votes as read into the record during the meeting; where commissioners requested or provided further documentation, the board directed staff to return with clarifying materials at subsequent meetings. The article does not infer results beyond what the board recorded or what speakers explicitly stated.

Next procedural steps: the board set a workshop for Dec. 3, 2024 to review energy aggregation proposals and will revisit ARPA MOUs and the sheriff payroll transfer at its regular meeting on Dec. 4, 2024.