YOUNGSTOWN Mayor keeps searching to fill development post he vacated



It's been a year since the agency had a permanent director.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mayor Jay Williams is having a tough time finding someone to replace him as the city's Community Development Agency director.
Williams resigned the position in April 2005 to run for mayor. Since then, Mary June Tartan, who's worked at the city agency for about nine years, has served as its temporary director.
The city's civil service commission administered a test for the job Oct. 1. Of the 38 who took the test, 25 passed; a score of at least 70 out of 100 is considered passing.
Williams interviewed the top 10 finishers for the job that pays $66,611.48 annually.
"I don't feel the fit is there with the applicants," Williams said. "I'm struggling. It's not a position I want to be in. I've tried to not be too picky because I used to hold the job. I'm not trying to find another Jay Williams."
Williams said the position needs to be filled, and he will come to "some sort of conclusion." But the mayor says he doesn't know when that will be.
Two of the top 10 finishers have indicated they're no longer interested in the job, Williams said. If they officially drop out, Williams can interview the 11th- and 12th-place finishers on the written test for the job.
"Because it's a civil service position, you have to be careful," Williams said. "If you get the wrong person, you're stuck with that person."
In the running
Tied for first on the test are William D'Avignon, the city's deputy director of planning, and Raymond DeCarlo, who works as a part-time independent contractor in the planning department.
Both scored 82 points on the written test and received 16.4 additional points for their military experience for a final score of 98.4.
Williams said D'Avignon is a solid candidate for the job. But the mayor's concern is hiring D'Avignon for the CDA job would leave a huge hole in the planning department.
"I might fix one problem and create another one," Williams said.
Another delay is that CDA is working on its budget, which runs from July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007, with city council's CDA committee, Williams said. Council expects to pass the budget at either its April 19 or May 3 meeting, he said.
The CDA's budget is $5.13 million for the 2006-07 fiscal year, with $4.14 million of it from the federal Community Development Block Grant program.
The CDA director oversees the agency's budget, supervises staff and works to develop programs for low- to moderate-income residents and projects to eliminate or prevent blight.
Williams resigned from the position last April 22 after 41/2 years on the job as he started his mayoral campaign.
The federal Hatch Act prohibits classified civil service employees, such as Youngstown's CDA director, to run for a partisan office such as mayor, according to a city legal opinion.
skolnick@vindy.com

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