Kaczala begins drive for Lucas County auditor

Ms. Lopez responded with attacks of her own, promising a spirited and possibly muddy political contest before the Nov. 2 election.

Mrs. Kaczala, widow of the late Larry Kaczala who was county auditor from 1993 to 2007, accused Ms. Lopez of replacing experienced and credentialed employees in favor of unqualified political friends and supporters - and giving them raises.

"Basically, Anita Lopez has treated the auditor's office as her own personal checking account, spending money with no regard to the taxpayers of Lucas County. That's nepotism and cronyism at its worst," Mrs. Kaczala said.

But Ms. Lopez defended her first term in office, saying her staff works harder than Mr. Kaczala's did, and that her administration spends less taxpayer money and has set fairer property values than did her predecessor.

"The bottom line is that there are two different results. Their results [are] higher spending, higher [property] values, and higher taxes. My administration has focused on less spending, fair values, and lower taxes for citizens," Ms. Lopez said.

Mrs. Kaczala cited eight people in management positions under Mr. Lopez who she claimed were replaced by less qualified people.

One example she cited was Jerome German, who retired as director of real estate when Mr. Kaczala left office.

Mr. German had professional designations in real estate appraisal, while his replacement, Cynthia Geronimo, does not have a real estate designation.

Ms. Lopez said Ms. Geronimo's experience and college degrees in law and finance are appropriate to the work she does administering the office. She said Ms. Geronimo, who was her chief deputy when she was Lucas County recorder, is taking classes to get a professional designation.

Mr. German said he held certifications from the American Society of Appraisers and the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers when he became director in 1983.

"We really pushed professionalism in the office," Mr. German said. "I directed a staff of appraisers. Unless the director has a pretty good idea of what an appraisal is, you're blind to that part of the office."

As an example of excessive pay increases, Mrs. Kaczala compared the salary of Mr. Kaczala's appraisal director, Brian Jones, who had a commercial real estate license, with that of his replacement, Emmanuel Yakumithis, whose real estate license lapsed and was denied when he tried to have it reinstated, according to the Web site of the Ohio secretary of state. Mr. Jones was paid $65,232. Mr. Yakumithis is paid $71,391 as director of education and outreach, which oversees the appraisers.

Mrs. Kaczala accused Ms. Lopez of creating the department, Education and Outreach, so she could give jobs to friends and political allies. The nine people in the division have a total payroll of $321,727, according to Mrs. Kaczala's information.

Ms. Lopez said she reorganized the auditor's staff to establish the outreach department to improve communication with the public.

"The key thing that was missing was a lack of connectivity with citizens who were paying higher taxes due to erroneous valuations," Ms. Lopez said. She had accused the prior administration of overvaluing properties by not doing their jobs right.

Mr. German, in a telephone interview, defended the accuracy of Mr. Kaczala's outreach and valuation.

"That comes pretty close to an outright falsehood. We had one of the most intensive outreaches anywhere in the state of Ohio," Mr. German said. He said Mr. Kaczala's office received numerous awards, and said employees who had acquired training and experience under Mr. Kaczala were forced out by Ms. Lopez.

In her response, Ms. Lopez said she is proud of the qualifications of her staff and their dedication to their jobs. She said she has reduced the staffing in the auditor's office from 117 at the end of 2006 to 92 today, and the payroll from $4,354,065 in 2006 to $3,921,993 today.

Contact Tom Troy at:

tomtroy@theblade.com

or 419-724-6058.