3 vie for seat of retiring trustee

Planning,
flooding are
top priorities

By DENISE DICK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

BOARDMAN — The president of a teachers union, an employee of the Mahoning County engineer’s office and the CEO of a nonprofit agency are squaring off to be the township’s newest trustee.

The decision by Trustee Elaine Mancini not to seek a fifth four-year term left the field open.

Larry Moliterno, 45, the chief executive officer of Meridian Services Inc.; Brad Calhoun, 44, a Boardman teacher and teachers union president; and Richard Slaina, 45, a 23-year employee of the engineer’s, face off next month for the seat.

Slaina lists flooding as his priority, saying he’d work to secure grants to complete flooding projects.

He and his opponents say they support a 4.1-mill levy on the ballot.

That levy, which would generate about $4 million annually, is to maintain township services.

Calhoun listed fiscal responsibility as his priority.

He said he thinks the township should have earmarked some of its proceeds from inheritance tax over the years for capital projects rather than allowing it to be used mostly for employee salaries.

Calhoun also believes that the township needs to develop some sort of a long-term financial forecast, similar to the five-year forecast maintained by school districts.

Moliterno’s priority is coordination of a comprehensive strategic plan setting priorities and goals for the township.

He said he believes that township residents have lost confidence in their government and that he can help restore that.

As far as watching the money, Moliterno, who ran unsuccessfully for trustee in 2005, says he’s the only one in the race with experience overseeing a multimillion-dollar budget.

“I’m responsible for fiscal accountability every day,” he said.

The father of two earned both his bachelor of arts in communication and his masters in business administration degrees from Youngstown State University.

Slaina, who also has two children, is a 1980 graduate of Wilson High School and attended both YSU and McPherson College in Kansas.

Calhoun, a father of two, earned his bachelor’s from YSU and master’s from Ashland University.