BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Robert Fredericks must have a knack for crisis.
He was elected Silverton's Clerk of Council two years ago when the city was $400,000 in debt.
As chief financial officer, he worked to get the city on sound footing with a projected $75,000 surplus the end of this year.
He resigned unexpectedly Thursday night, forcing city officials to begin searching for a replacement.
"He was a character and his resignation was a total shock to me," said Michael Morthorst, law committee chairman. "On the whole I think Silverton was better off with him being there because he worked hard to get the finances straightened out, although there was criticism the way he went about it."
Finding a replacement is not going to be easy, said Mr. Morthorst. The new charter, approved in the last election, gives the Central Committee, made up of precinct executives of Mr. Fredericks' party, the authority to appoint his replacement.
Mr. Fredericks is a Republican.
"The problem is that under the new charter the clerk's job is virtually eliminated as it is now," Mr. Morthorst said.
The new charter provides for appointing a municipal administrator July 1 who will become the chief financial officer. The job of clerk will be combined with that of the treasurer.
"It will be hard to find someone to take the clerk's job for six months," Mr. Morthorst said. The job pays $4,500 a year.
Mr. Fredericks, who is administrative aide to Hamilton County Commissioner John Dowlin, said it was time for him to move on.
"The city will show a budget surplus for the first time in six years which makes me feel that my job is done," Mr. Fredericks said. He said he felt obligated to stay on after discovering the deficit. "We still have some bills to pay in December, but with the budget cuts, a reduction in employees and billing for ambulance services we are in better shape."
In his two years as chief financial officer, Mr. Fredericks was often at odds with council members, Democrats and Republicans. He was open and vocal in his criticism.
Councilman Michael Hagen, finance committee chairman, said he often disagreed with Mr. Fredericks, but said he did what he needed to do.
Mr. Fredericks often didn't get minutes of meetings to council members on time.
"I think he might have taken on too much," Mr. Hagen said. "We had more than the usual meetings trying to develop our budget last year and he fell behind."
Mr. Hagen led the budget-cutting efforts through a series of 20 meetings before presenting a plan to shave $350,000 from the budget, which was passed in March last year.
Silverton is still under a fiscal watch by the state auditor's office and will be reviewed at the end of this year.
Mr. Fredericks, 37, is not eligible for the municipal administrator's job because the charter stipulates that an elected official cannot take the job within a year after the charter goes into effect.
"I wouldn't take it," Mr. Fredericks said. "I would rather dig holes."
He thinks the municipal administrator's role will be easier than his was because department heads will report to him.
"Nobody reported to me," Mr. Fredericks said. "I would suggest something for them to do and they would ignore me. I had to fight it out with council."
Mr. Fredericks "is going to be hard to replace," said a Silverton resident, Dottie Schwartz.
