Wednesday, April 11, 2001
City officials plan to vote on a new contract for city street and garbage crews.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Some city improvements will be paid for by increasing an upcoming bond issue.
Council members agreed to raise the bond issue by $420,000 to $1.97 million at Tuesday's caucus meeting.
City Administrator John DiMuccio recommended the increase to pay for improvements to two buildings and some other work.
He said low interest rates should not affect the bond payment amount and will add one year to the time needed to pay it off.
City council is expected to formally approve the bond issue later this month.
DiMuccio said the additional bond money will pay for new roofs on the Mahoningtown Fire Station and the old train station at Cascade Park. It will also pay for improvements to Kennedy Square and a new maintenance facility at Cascade Park.
Improvements: The original $1.55 million bond issue is needed to pay for street and sidewalk improvements planned in the city's downtown revitalization project. The public-private partnership is partially being funded by a $5 million state grant, the city's bond issue and money spent on renovating two downtown buildings by private developers from Cascade Development.
The project is part of a plan to put a Warner Bros.-themed mall in a building where the movie moguls opened their first theater.
Union contract: In other business, council members will vote Thursday on a one-year contract with 33 workers in the city's public works and recreation departments.
Members of Local Union 964 of the Laborer's International Union of North America will receive a $900 increase along with a $150 longevity bonus under the new agreement.
The contract will allow the city to start new workers at $10 an hour, a lower pay than current workers, and gradually boost their salaries over the next five years to the top pay, DiMuccio said. Top of the scale ranges from $13 to $15 an hour, depending on the department and job.
"We needed a break in the wages because the benefits are so expensive," DiMuccio said, explaining the new scale pay system.
Union members also agreed to allow the city to hire three part-time workers for the garbage collection crew under this new contract.
DiMuccio said that will free up full-time employees to work in the street maintenance and recreation departments.