This story has been updated from its original version to include the compensation of Oriana President and CEO James Lawrence, which tops a Crain’s Cleveland Business listing of Northeast Ohio nonprofit executives.
Akron City Council is taking personally the community’s battle with deadly drugs.
For President Marilyn Keith, this means approving $3.8 million annually for the only large-scale, local community corrections provider, Oriana House, which happens to be run by her cousin, a campaign contributor.
Tara Mosley-Samples, who as a court bailiff saw how the justice system deals with addicts, is advocating for reform at Oriana House, which happens to have custody of her son, an addict court-ordered there since August.
The unusual connections that tie together local legislators and drug treatment providers were on display this week as the council called to account the leaders of Oriana House. While they did not disclose at the public meeting their combined earnings of between $700,000 and $1.4 million annually or the political donations they make to local and state officials, Oriana executives did report how costly it might be to hire medical staff and police officers who are best equipped to help and handle addicts.
Oriana House holds sway in Summit County and Akron.
It’s also a major provider of halfway houses and community corrections facilities in Cleveland.
Annually, the nonprofit organization receives more than $45 million, $15 million almost straight from the state.
Summit County and Akron together send the organization $10 million to provide drug screening, monitoring, beds in halfway houses, treatment and other services to courts and social service agencies.
About $5 million more flows from the state through Summit County to fund community-based correction facilities, populated by court-ordered clients who pay a portion of the cost, if they can.
“Part of the criticism of prior administrations was that they were making this contract so big that only Oriana House could bid on it,” said Jason Dodson, chief of staff to current and previous Summit County executives.
Starting under former County Executive Russ Pry, the work performed by Oriana House was broken into five contracts to encourage other bidders. Last year, as the five contracts came up again, only Oriana House bid on each — indicating a lack of competition pushing judges and governments to send clients and tax dollars to what Mosley-Samples called “the gorilla in the room.”
City conflicts
The City Council this month summoned Oriana House President James Lawrence and Vice President Bernie Rochford to answer questions raised by the parents of clients who have overdosed or died in the Akron company’s care.
It was Keith, whose husband is clerk of council and first cousin to Rochford, who called the meeting. She’s kept contact with these outraged families since hearing them speak in December.
“I will tell you I have voted on things involving Oriana House because I did not feel that it was a conflict,” Keith said.
She joined all current council members, including Mosley-Samples, whose criticism of Oriana House has grown with her son’s time there, in approving the contract.
Resources, salaries
Rochford challenged an Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com story posted online Monday, saying the $1.4 million he and Lawrence reportedly made in 2015 was unusual.
That’s the figure Oriana House reported when it filed paperwork to remain tax-exempt. But in an agreement between executives and the nonprofit’s board, Rochford explained that he sets aside 10 percent of his salary each year and can only get it back if he stays for seven years.
This is why his base salary jumped from $180,778 in 2014 to $392,535 in 2015. Lawrence’s jumped from $441,378 to $779,811, not counting a company car and life insurance, Rochford explained.
In the year before collecting his retention bonus, at least $75,000 in additional compensation waited for Rochford — or more than enough to hire three Oriana House employees, who start at $10.50 an hour. He said he does not get paid for serving on a related foundation or a firm that owns property used by Oriana House.
Rochford, in an interview, said 25 percent of Northeast Ohio executives make more, according to a report he cited by Crain’s Cleveland Business.
The Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com reviewed Crain’s most recent listing of top paid nonprofit executives in Northeast Ohio. In 2014, Lawrence topped it with $1,207,855.
Crain’s analysis excludes health and college executives. Still, the second most compensated executive of a nonprofit, Stephen Hoffman, president of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, made $468,521 less than Lawrence but managed an organization with 27 times more assets.
Lawrence actually has one of the lowest base salaries among Crain’s list of 29 top paid executives. The bulk of his compensation, instead, is $774,153 from “other” sources and $151,394 in “retirement and other deferred” income.
Lawrence made more in “other” compensation that any other nonprofit executive makes in total compensation. And only Art Falco, president and CEO of Playhouse Square Foundation, made more in the retirement column.
All told, Lawrence makes as much as 54 entry-level Oriana House employees.
Rochford noted that staff turnover, at 40 percent, is “pretty good … for our industry.”
“I think when you look at our staff … you have to look at the benefits package that comes along with” the starting wage of $10.50 an hour. Benefits include 20 days paid vacation, sick time and eight credit hours of tuition reimbursement.
“We encourage them to get their degree and move up,” said Rochford, who pays them $1 more for performing the same task but with a degree.
After the panel discussion, FI Community Housing founder Denny Wilson, a recovering addict and one of Oriana House’s few competitors, said it’s peer-on-peer interaction and support that work — not large, correctional facilities.
“What we heard today,” Wilson said of Rochford’s testimony, “is absolutely disgusting in my eyes when you have a provider as well paid as it is. I don’t have a salary of more than $600,000.”
Contributions
Rochford explained why he gives to local Democrats and Republicans seeking state office.
“That’s part of the political process. … We support candidates who support our issues,” he said. “If you look at Ohio as one of the leading states in community corrections programming, the governor and the legislature have supported programs that work. And we support that.”
Ohio also is leading in overdose deaths.
Keith, when asked about Rochford and his wife, Rita, giving to her campaigns, said: “I’m sure he has; he’s family. I think he’s come to all my fundraisers, too. When someone gives to me, it lends my ear. That’s all it means. And I always have an ear for them. And they don’t have to give to me to have my ear. But it pulls them out from the ordinary person.”
“They’ve contributed, but in the grand scheme of how much the campaign raised, it’s a very small percentage,” said Dodson, who worked on Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro’s campaign.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .