The Mahoning County Commissioners voted 2-1 during the weekly meeting Thursday to back a request from the county prosecutor's office to seek outside legal council over a public records request in the Oakhill case.
The resolution allots $50,000 to hire a Columbus law firm. Commissioner John McNally, who was charged in the Oakhill case, was the lone vote against this.
McNally said it's a case that could be handled by the prosecutor's office. If the county is forced to hire outside attorneys, it should have picked a firm located inside the county, he added.
In other business, commissioners approved a resolution allocating $45,000 to the Sojourner House. The money comes from fees collected through county marriage licenses.
Sojourner is a domestic violence shelter for women and children in the county. Last year, the group took nearly 1,000 crisis telephone calls and provided shelter to 142 women and children.
The commissioners said they're happy to help this important program.
"Sojourner House bears the greatest burden in making sure that women and families are safe from these issues of domestic violence," McNally said. "So it's something the commissioners are happy to do every year."
Since 1991 the
Sojourner House has been the only domestic violence emergency shelter in Mahoning County.
