Thursday, December 20, 2007
The position’s been vacant for a decade.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN — The city civil service commission postponed a vote on the mayor’s request to appoint an outgoing department head to another job without holding a written test or seeking other applicants.
Mayor Jay Williams requested the commission appoint Carmen S. Conglose Jr., the deputy director of public works since 1997, as the city’s traffic coordinator. The position’s been vacant for the past 10 years with Conglose handling those responsibilities as part of his deputy director job.
James Messenger, the head of the three-member commission, said Wednesday he wasn’t ready to decide what should be done, and the two others agreed. Commission members first learned about the request only a few days ago.
The commission will give the proposal further consideration at its next meeting, tentatively set for Jan. 16.
Conglose, whose last day as deputy director is Dec. 31, said that a “deferral is perfectly fine at this point. There’s no sense of urgency right now.”
Conglose said he wants to wait until March before starting the traffic coordinator’s job if he is appointed.
Williams calls the position “highly specialized,” and because Conglose is the most qualified person for the job, a test or search aren’t necessary.
The commission has made seven appointments, without a test or search, to civil service jobs since 2000.
Conglose’s 2007 salary is $93,132.26. He is taking the city’s early-retirement incentive. The city is spending $65,626 to buy two years of his state Public Employees Retirement System time. Conglose’s pension would be around $60,000 annually.
While he’d receive his pension, he’d earn up to $41,538 a year as traffic coordinator working part time with no medical benefits.
While some call the proposed move double dipping, Conglose and Williams say the hiring would save money for the city. Without him, Conglose said the city would probably have to hire a full-time coordinator earning $65,000 to $70,000 annually in salary alone.
skolnick@vindy.com