MAHONING COUNTY Campbell mayor: Layoffs loom, officials must decide on cuts

Brownfield development will be the city's salvation, the mayor said.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CAMPBELL -- Layoffs are imminent, but how many and how soon are still uncertain.
Without sufficient funds to pay bills or make payroll, the city has to trim expenses somewhere, and reducing the number of employees, even though some departments are already short-staffed, is a must, Mayor Jack Dill said.
The only department exempt from layoffs, Dill said, is the police department, which is operating with three fewer officers than usual. In fact, the city may be obligated to hire another full-time police officer despite the city's financial crisis because, Dill said, "We can't let the police department go unmanned. We have a responsibility to maintain order."
Levy was passed
Residents passed a police and fire levy last spring, he added, to ensure safety services would remain intact after the shutdown of Cold Metal Products, which was one of Campbell's largest employers and revenue sources.
Where the layoffs will be made has not yet been determined.
"We're not fat anywhere, and services are going to be hurt," the mayor said.
Citing examples of how city services could be affected, Dill said potholes may not be filled as quickly as they are now if street department workers are laid off.
Contracts with city employees mandate that workers be given at least 14 days' notice before a layoff, Dill said, so the soonest anyone could be furloughed is mid-April.
To help reduce expenditures, Dill said neither the director of administration, who retired in December, nor the mayor's secretary, who retired in January, have been replaced.
The city charter mandates that there be a director of administration, the mayor said, so that position will be filled eventually.
Paycheck situation
In the meantime, city workers whose paychecks were delayed almost a week because funds were insufficient to cover payroll, may not get paid on time next Friday, either.
"It's going to be a rough road for the next few months," the mayor said, and paychecks will be delayed whenever funds are insufficient.
Residents can help by paying their water bills and income taxes to the city on time, Dill said.
One of the changes the city will implement to help get the city back in the black, Dill said, "is we're going to get really, really tough in collecting delinquencies."
Water bills had been considered delinquent after 90 days, he said. That time period will be reduced to 30 days, and those who don't pay will be disconnected.
"But it is brownfield redevelopment that will be our salvation," the mayor said, adding that the root of the city's fiscal problems is the lack of industry. "We have more churches in this community than we do businesses."
There are good signs indicating that some of Campbell's brownfields are on the verge of being redeveloped, Dill said.
Allegheny Heat Treating, a Chicora, Pa.-based company, is in the process of installing equipment in the Casey Equipment Complex, so operations could start there soon, he said, and Metalux Co., which bought the assets of Cold Metal Co., may restart operations in the former Cold Metal plant early this summer.
Construction of the Walton Avenue bridge, which will make some brownfield sites more easily accessible, could also spur development.
Talks at an impasse
Contract negotiations with all employee unions have reached an impasse, the mayor said.
Workers aren't happy when their paychecks are delayed, Dill said, but they still come to work and do their jobs well.
"Nobody's missed work. They're a little upset, but what are you going to do?" shrugged Vince Falasca, a mechanic for the city. "I had to go to the credit union and draw some money out."
"You just have to budget yourself -- no extra spending," added Juan Miranda, an equipment operator for the street department.
Auditor of State Betty Montgomery placed Campbell in fiscal watch March 8 after an analysis of the city's records for fiscal 2002 showed several city funds running deficits collectively totaling $588,725.
Dill said he expects the state will place the city in fiscal emergency once analysis of the records for fiscal 2003 is completed.
"But we can't wait for that to happen. We have to take steps now to start the recovery," he said. "We'll get through this."
One of Dill's goals when he took office was to create 500 new jobs before his term expires in December 2005.
The city may not have 500 new jobs by then, he said, but "I intend to create new jobs."
kubik@vindy.com