by Jeff Wheeler
Correspondent
Summit County -- Voters will continue to decide who will be responsible for county bridges, roads and other infrastructure, after rejecting a bid to put the county engineer's office under the authority of the county executive.
Voters rejected Issue 4 Nov. 3 by a margin of 69,900 to 56,195, or 55 percent to 44 percent, according to final, but unofficial results from the Summit County Board of Elections.
The proposed amendment to the county charter would have eliminated the engineer's office, transferring its authority to the county executive's office by merging its responsibilities with the Department of Environmental Services by 2012.
The engineer's office is responsible for inspections, construction and maintenance of highways and roads in Summit County.
County Executive Russ Pry said passage of Issue 4 would have saved the county up to $1.5 million by eliminating duplication of services between the engineer's office and DOES. The goal of the amendment was "to move charter government forward," Pry said.
Heidi Swindell, the Government Affairs Liaison for the engineer's office, said Summit County Engineer Alan Brubaker worked hard to inform residents of the importance of keeping the engineer directly accountable to voters.
Swindell added she feels accountability to voters has made the Engineer's Office more "effective and efficient."
She said keeping the office an elected post is not only an issue of accountability, but also a matter of safety. She explained that under Ohio law the county engineer is required to have a license in both engineering and surveying.
Under the proposed amendment, the appointed head of the Department of Environmental Services would not necessarily have both licenses.
Pry said after the election that he still wants to "sit and talk" with the Engineer's Office about cost-saving options. He added he was pleased that the issue was on the ballot, which "allowed the people to make the decision."