Papers say Carson quit over Heltzel

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Commissioner Paul Heltzel said he has no comment on the documents.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — Trumbull County Administrator Tony Carson Jr. quit his job July 26 because of harassment from Commissioner Paul Heltzel over a three-week period in July, and Carson notified the two other commissioners about the problem about 10 days before he resigned.

This is according to documents the county prosecutor's office received last week from the Ohio Unemployment Compensation Review Commission after the office made a public records request.

In his application for benefits, Carson said Heltzel began harassing him at the beginning of July and the episodes increased daily.

"The profane language the screaming the unrealistic demands and the humiliation was to a point that I felt my continued employment could be viewed as an endorsement and I could be held liable for these conditions since I am the supervisor," Carson said.

Carson said he met with Commissioners James Tsagaris on July 14 and Dan Polivka on July 17, "but no action was taken to eliminate the conduct."

Asked about that meeting Tuesday, Tsagaris said he can't remember such a meeting very well. "I think he did call me and say, 'I can't take this anymore.'"

Embarrassment

Tsagaris added that continued news coverage of the unemployment benefits request has become an embarrassment to the commissioners' office. He wishes the matter would have been handled privately by James Keating, county human resources director, as in most unemployment applications in the past.

Polivka said he would not comment on anything related to the documents until he looked at a copy for himself.

Heltzel said he has no comment on the content of the documents.

Also contained in the packet was a letter dated Aug. 18 and signed by Tsagaris and Polivka, giving Carson a personal recommendation for future jobs.

Tsagaris said the letter, addressed "To whom it may concern," was written to Carson, not the state employment board. In it, the two commissioners wrote that Carson had managed his staff "in a very caring and professional manner" and was a "very efficient and effective employee."

No other complaints

Jason Earnhart, assistant county prosecutor and adviser to the commissioners, said that he is not surprised by any of the details contained in Carson's unemployment claim and that he is not aware of anyone from the commissioners office complaining that Heltzel had mistreated them — other than Carson.

Keating said he had not received any complaints about Heltzel, either.

Tom Elder, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2493, the union that covers most county employees, also said he hadn't received any complaints about Heltzel.

Paulette Godfrey, interim county administrator and the commissioners' clerk, said she saw Heltzel upset twice in July — once the day Carson resigned, and once before that when Heltzel complained to her and Carson about a task that was not completed on time — but not any other time.

"If he didn't like it, too bad," Heltzel said of Carson's complaints about the way he treated him. Heltzel said he has been approached by dozens of county workers during his tenure as commissioner thanking him for demanding that county employees perform their duties professionally.

Meanwhile, Atty. Jeffrey Goodman of Warren wrote a letter to Prosecutor Dennis Watkins on Oct. 5 saying various statements Heltzel has made about his client, Carson, since the resignation have been maliciously published. The letter said the prosecutor's office should cause Heltzel to cease making such remarks in the future and cause Heltzel to issue a public retraction of previous comments.

runyan@vindy.com

Wednesday, October 11, 2006