Sudden firing of Susan Crotty at ODJFS shadows mysterious disappearance of Linda O'Connor in 2007

November 5, 4:19 PMColumbus Government ExaminerJohn Michael Spinelli

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Douglas E. Lumpkin, Director Dept of Jobs
and Family Services (Photo/ODJFS)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The sudden surprise termination of Susan E. Crotty, who until just recently was deputy director of the Office of Workforce Development at the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS), is eerily similar to the mysterious disappearance of Linda O'Connor, who the administration of Gov. Ted Strickland hired into the same position in 2007 but whose mysterious disappearance by the end of that year "shocked everybody," according to agency contemporaries who said she was doing "such a good job."

This Examiner's column yesterday about $3 million in ODJFS funds that will be siphoned off to the Ohio Board of Regents (OBR) to fund the Ohio Skills Bank, a program the General Assembly chose not to fund during budget deliberations, appears to have hit the mark and a nerve.

Workforce Investment Act (WIA) professionals around Ohio have read it and are pleased to see someone picking up on the story about shifting funds from one agency to another. According to informed sources, they are equally concerned that the resolving door at the state level of qualified people being hired into the position of deputy director for the OWFD, who are then dumped months later with no reason for doing so, is doing harm to advancing the general purposes of the funds WIA administers that are supposed to be dedicated to help hurting workers and their families at a time when they need it most.

When this Examiner asked ODJFS External Affairs Public Information Officer Brian M. Harter to explain or provide information on the sudden disappearance of Susan E. Crotty from her deputy director position, Mr. Harter's initial response was that the agency does not disclose personnel matters to the media. He said he would request her employment information from the department's personnel office. To Harter's credit, he forwarded Ms. Crotty's redacted personnel file Thursday.   

Even though Harter did forward Crotty's personnel file, he has declined to provide any explanation for why she was suddenly shown the door.

Shadows of Linda O'Connor

This situation mirrors what happened in 2007 to Linda O'Connor, a long-time state government worker who knew the ropes of federal funding from both the development and family services side and who Gov. Ted Strickland lauded in the early months of his first year but who was likewise shown the door for no explained reason by the end of that year. Read my story on O'Connor's disappearance in 2007 here.

Harter said John Weber will pick up Crotty's work on an interim basis. "John is a long time employee in the Office of Workforce Development, and has served in a leadership capacity for quite some time," Harter wrote. He added, "His 29 years of experience in Workforce Development leave us with no concerns about the stability of the office."

Because Crotty's position is non-classified, Harter said it will not be posted to the state's jobs board Web site, and that "The process for filling the position permanently is on-going and will be completed as soon as possible." He said no target date has been set to fill it.

The Crotty Chronicles

Susan E. Crotty, who sought state employment in June of 2008 and who was hired less than two months later, brought over nine years of experience in local government and over 11 years experience in the private sector, with expertise in a range of proficiencies from economic development and organizational leadership to municipal budgeting, real estate development and customer service, according to information she wrote on her state application. As a Deputy Director 6, Crotty's annual state salary was approximately $96,012.

This Examiner spoke with Linda O'Connor today. O'Conner spoke off the record about the circumstances surrounding her dismissal, which she says are still a mystery to her. She did offer to provide "on the record" comments for a future article.

Harter also declined to comment so far on the following questions:

• If the decision to leave was Susan E. Crotty's, did she give notice?  If leaving was not  her idea, was she asked to resign or just fired? What role did Director Lumpkin play in her exit or was her case handled by Weber or Bruce Madson, another long-time staffer at the agency?
• Does ODJFS have other separate funds with substantial amounts of money in them that could similarly be tapped for uses outside the agency? Does your advisory board sign off on all such transfers or just some, and why?
• With so many workers hurting in Ohio these days, is it the policy of the agency to allow its funds to flow to other uses when they are not being used to their fullest to help unemployed workers in their time of need?

http://www.examiner.com/x-23537-Columbus-Government-Examiner~y2009m11d3-Strickland-education-chiefs-divert-millions-from-ODJFS-to-Regents-to-fund-unfunded-skills-bank

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