CHARTER CHANGES Put issues before voters, panel says

A proposal to create a human resources department stalled for lack of a second.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- City council's legislation committee has recommended to the full council that proposed charter amendments abolishing term limits and council aide positions and requiring updating of the city's comprehensive plan every 10 years be placed before the voters Nov. 2.
A proposed amendment that would establish a human resources department and create the position of human resources director stalled in committee Monday because the motion of Councilman Mark Memmer, D-7th, to recommend it to the full council didn't get a second.
Memmer's motion failed to get a second after Mayor George McKelvey said Law Director John McNally has been performing the human resources function well, in addition to his other duties, and that creation of the new department would result in an unnecessary additional annual expenditure of $250,000 for salaries and benefits.
"If it's not broken, I'm asking you don't try to fix it. It is not broken," the mayor advised the committee.
However, Memmer said having a human resources department would minimize the need for the law director to engage in personnel-related dispute resolution by standardizing personnel policies across city departments. He also said the mayor's cost projection is too high and noted that the city of Warren, which is also financially troubled and about half the size of Youngstown, has a human resources department.
Civil service exams
The committee deferred action on a proposed amendment that would give extra credit on passing civil service exam scores to those who are city residents when they take the tests because the language of the proposed amendment is unclear as to whether the passing score should be increased by 10 percent or 10 points.
For example, McNally said adding 10 percent to a score of 75 would add 7.5 points to boost it to 82.5, but adding 10 points would make it 85.
The committee also deferred action on a proposed amendment that would require the park and recreation commission and health department to follow the same affirmative action policies in awarding contracts as the rest of city government because McNally said the law department is still researching the legality of that proposal.
What's next
All of the above proposed amendments had been presented to council by the charter review commission. Council's legislation committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday to consider the proposed amendments it hasn't yet acted on.
The full council will then have another special meeting to consider these matters between that time and the Sept. 2 deadline for putting amendments on the ballot, according to Michael Rapovy, D-5th, legislation committee chairman.
The charter amendments already bound for the full council would abolish eight-year term limits for the mayor, council president and council members, effective Jan. 1, 2007; abolish council aides and raise council members' salaries; and require updating of the comprehensive plan at least every 10 years, immediately after each U.S. Census.
Under one of the proposed amendments, council members' salaries would rise from $600 a year to the $27,800 a year now paid to the aides, who are typically council members' spouses or other family members. The council president's salary would rise from $900 to $28,100 a year.