Deal with Youngstown firefighters could avoid layoffs

YOUNGSTOWN —A deal with city firefighters that includes a buyout offer could avoid layoffs in that department, if fully implemented, city administrative officials say.

The city is projecting a deficit in its general fund of more than $3 million by Dec. 31, and about $6 million by Dec. 31, 2009, if cuts aren’t made.

The fire department needed to cut its budget by $750,000 to avoid layoffs there. The city had projected about a dozen firefighters losing their jobs if that amount wasn’t eliminated from the department’s budget.

Mayor Jay Williams and Finance Director David Bozanich said today that the firefighters union is very receptive to making those cuts through a buyout program and other reductions to save jobs in that department. The two declined to give specifics of the negotiations between the firefighters union and the city administration.

Bozanich and Williams said discussions with other unions are progressing, but not nearly as well as those with firefighters.

City administrators say about 60 jobs need to be eliminated — or the financial equivalent, $3.9 million in salary and benefits — to balance the budget. The greater the savings through other means, the less layoffs would occur, they say.

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