YOUNGSTOWN City's finance director resigns

Barbara Burtner decided the $10,000 incentive was too good to pass up.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Finance Director Barbara Burtner guided the city through one deficit, but she won't be around to manage the next one.
She will take the city's $10,000 incentive and be among a few dozen city workers who will leave their jobs at month's end.
Burtner, 56, said this morning she is leaving for personal and family reasons, not to avoid managing through another deficit.
"This is totally personal. It's time," she said this morning.
Mayor George M. McKelvey named Burtner his finance director when he took office in 1998. She has worked in the finance department 16 years.
Burtner, who holds a law degree but doesn't practice, has considered leaving during the past year or so. She decided the incentive was too good to pass up.
Burtner doesn't have another job lined up and isn't sure what she will do next. She said he is looking for a new type of challenge. Her 16 years with the city were the longest she had worked anywhere.
Burtner said she may seek work in the private sector, and she might relocate. She has a son and grandchild who live out of state, and she wants to spend more time with them.
Challenging work
Burtner was no stranger to working under financial problems.
When she took the job, the city was in state fiscal watch. The state auditor at one point had estimated the deficit as high as $12.7 million.
The city cut spending, experienced a couple windfalls and ended 1998 with a nearly $1 million surplus. The state auditor lifted the fiscal watch a few months later.
"I think we did the right thing. We took care of the deficit," Burtner said.
The city ended 1999 with a $3 million surplus.
Income tax revenue, however, has declined steadily since the end of 2000. The city is now projecting a $2.5 million to $3 million deficit for 2002.
The incentive plan is aimed at reducing payroll and layoffs. About 60 jobs are in jeopardy under the existing deficit. At least 30 workers, and probably more, are expected to take the incentive.
Resignation accepted
Burtner faced a constant challenge during her four and a half years, McKelvey said today in a written statement. She displayed honest and capable leadership in getting the city through them, he said.
McKelvey said he accepted Burtner's resignation with regret but best wishes.
"The city of Youngstown has been well served during Barb Burtner's tenure," he said.
McKelvey said he will start the process today of finding a new finance director. Finance is the only cabinet position that requires city council approval, Burtner said.
The finance director's salary is $68,919 this year and jumps to $74,048 next year.
Burtner's is the fifth top city administrative job to open this year.
McKelvey has named a new street department foreman, water commissioner and police chief because of retirements. He named a new law director when Robert Bush Jr. moved from the law department to police chief.
rgsmith@vindy.com