A divided Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency board voted Friday to delay a decision on extending CEO and Executive Director Grace Gallucci’s contract.
The move – which came after Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne objected to the contract process – will punt into January a decision on the future of the transportation agency’s leader. The 23-14 postponement vote exposed a rift between Cuyahoga County government board members, who supported a delay, and City of Cleveland members, who mostly opposed it.
Though not the most high-profile wing of local government, NOACA wields a hefty amount of federal infrastructure dollars. The agency distributes around $50 million annually for roads, bridges, bikeways and other projects in Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Medina and Lorain counties. Officials from across the region sit on the 48-member board.
Gallucci, who has led the agency since 2012, is up for a 5% raise and contract renewal that would bring her pay up to $291,679 and could extend her tenure until 2028. Her current contract expires in mid-2024.
But Ronayne, a board member who sits on NOACA’s executive committee, complained of a rushed process that he said didn’t hold Gallucci to clear performance measures. NOACA’s board president, Lake County Commissioner John Hamercheck, disputed that characterization.
The two clashed at Friday’s board meeting.
“We adhered to policy, we adhered to process, we adhered to good governance, we adhered to all statutory requirements,” Hamercheck said. “We made available to the desire of each member any and all information. Any assertions, allegations or claims to the contrary are false.”
The board president previously said that Gallucci’s performance was judged against NOACA’s annual work plans. On Friday, he said her raise was meant to put her salary in the ballpark of male counterparts at metropolitan planning agencies around the country.
Cuyahoga officials said the process was insufficient and flawed. Ronayne objected to the fact that Gallucci had been in the room when the executive committee discussed her performance in November. He said the board should have brought in an outside advisor to draw up performance measures and a compensation study.
“I voted no both for my protection, your protection and the protection of the CEO, who I believe has been compromised through this process,” Ronayne said, referring to his vote against the contract extension in November’s executive committee meeting.
He said he was proud to make less money than Gallucci and than women who serve among his top aides.
Other board members suggested postponing a decision on the contract until January, giving the board more time to consider Gallucci’s performance. That idea won the day.
Ronayne and other Cuyahoga officials on the board voted to delay the decision. But Cleveland officials and most City Council members present voted against delaying. Ward 3 Council Member Kerry McCormack was the only Cleveland board member to join the Ronayne bloc.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb was absent from Friday’s nearly five-hour meeting, but sent a top advisor in his place.
For her part, Gallucci kicked off the discussion of her contract by listing off her accomplishments. The contract extension, she said, “would ensure continuity of leadership and exceptional organizational performance, which has been my goal since I came here on Day One.”
Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin rose to her defense.
“The neighborhood where I’m from, what the director just showed is what we call ‘receipts,’” Griffin said. “In my opinion, I think that she’s earned this. I support this, and at the end of the day, let’s just look at the performance. She has receipts.”
The next board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 12.