03272006 - News Article - Few staff changes at North Twp. office - Cantrell retained barring political activity on the clock - ROBERT CANTRELL

Few staff changes at North Twp. office
Cantrell retained barring political activity on the clock
NWI Times
Mar 27, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/few-staff-changes-at-north-twp-office/article_808c684d-df97-57fc-b62f-63b5c3b4c7d4.html
NORTH TOWNSHIP | The township's East Chicago office manager, political operative Robert Cantrell, will remain on the township's payroll barring evidence of political activity on the clock, Trustee Frank Mrvan said.

Named in November to serve out the term of former Trustee Greg Cvitkovich, Mrvan immediately severed the township's ties to Cantrell's business associate, Nancy Fromm, who was recently indicted on an obstruction of justice charge.

Cvitkovich had contracted Fromm's counseling agency, Addiction and Family Care, to provide stress management classes and later renewed a $32,400 contract despite opposition from Mrvan, who negotiated an early end to the contract set to expire in August.

Although Cantrell told The Times in November that he is no longer associated with Fromm's agency, Lake Superior Court Judge Jesse Villalpando has alleged Fromm and Cantrell have a history of demanding referrals from Villalpando's court.

Fromm is charged with withholding income records related to her work with local courts. The information was sought as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of a kickback scheme.

Cantrell has not been charged.

"Each individual at the township, as long as they do the job and adhere to the policies about no politics on company time, at this point will continue being employed," Mrvan said. "Any infractions of the employee manual will be disciplined individually."

Facing a primary election in May, Mrvan has made few staff changes except for designating a chief deputy from among the ranks, adding two intake clerks, and creating one position and expanding another to put his agenda on a fast-track.

Mrvan aims to return township recipients to self-sufficiency by providing the training clients need to land the jobs his office is recruiting through the township's job coordinator.

The coordinator's position is newly created but goes hand in hand with that of a project coordinator who's been given the added task of laying the base for enhancing educational opportunities.

Mrvan said the township has been linking up with Sawyer College and Ivy Tech Community College to provide the training needed in fields with high placement opportunities such as medical assistant.

Case managers will offer the opportunity to clients they determine to have the interest and aptitude, he said.

Mrvan said a database is being developed to track job openings with local businesses and trade unions who agree to commit to hiring the township's clients.

"They will be given the opportunity to go to work," he said.

"We're past the point of talking," Mrvan said. "We have to start getting results."