Council considers buyout proposal

About 40 employees are expected to take the buyout, the finance director says.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- City council will consider an early-retirement incentive proposal today that the finance director expects will save a significant amount of money over time.
Finance Director David Bozanich said 80 of the city's 515 employees -- not including fire and police department workers -- are eligible for the buyout program. He anticipates about 40 will take the deal.
At today's meeting, council will consider an ordinance permitting the board of control to buy two years of state Public Employees Retirement System time for eligible workers. It would cost the city about 20,000 a year per employee for the buyout, Bozanich said.
Those eligible would be employees age 60 or older with at least five years' experience working for the city, those at least 55 years old with 25 years of service, or anyone with at least 30 years of service to the city, he said.
If approved by council and the board of control, those eligible for the buyout would need to tell the city of their intentions between Feb. 1 and Jan. 31, 2008, and have to give 90 days' notice.
The city offered a similar retirement incentive in 1997, Bozanich said. Youngstown also offered a buyout package in 2002, according to Vindicator files.
Reorganization
After an employee accepts the buyout proposal, the city would evaluate what should be done with that vacant position, Bozanich said. Some will be eliminated and some will be consolidated with other jobs, Bozanich said. Some will be filled by current city workers or others with the expectation that those moves would save money for the city, he said.
"It may cost or save money in its first year depending on who takes it, and how many people take it," Bozanich said.
The plan would result in long-term savings, he said.
"We just feel it's time," Bozanich said when asked why the city was offering this proposal now. "It's an opportunity for the city to reorganize."
Other matters
Also today, council will consider legislation to declare 5.74 acres of Southside Park between Belleview and South avenues as surplus land and give it to the Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley. The mission wants to build a new facility at that location.
The legislation calls for the rescue mission, currently located on Martin Luther King Boulevard, to break ground on the project within two years or the land reverts back to the city. The city's park and recreation commission officially endorsed the plan in October 2006.
Some residents near the proposed site object to the mission's relocating to their neighborhood.
Council will also consider authorizing the board of control to enter into an agreement with Brilex Industries Inc. for a loan of up to 2 million from the city for a 25,000-square-foot addition to its business in Riverbend Business Park, near Interstate 680, and the purchase and installation of new equipment. The loan is backed by an irrevocable letter of credit from a bank, and must be repaid within 18 months.
The 11-year-old company manufactures customized machinery for other businesses and employs 89 full-time workers and three part-timers. The expansion, the third for the company, includes the hiring of six new workers, city officials say.
skolnick@vindy.com