43
Officials discuss buyout options
If this deal is approved, next up is a buyout proposal for city patrol officers.
YOUNGS-TOWN — Mayor Jay Williams and the president of the ranking police officers union say the details of an early-retirement buyout plan could be finalized by Friday and would reduce the number of city employees’ losing their jobs.
After the deal is ironed out, Williams said he and his administration will discuss a buyout program with the police patrol officers union that, combined with the ranking-officers agreement, would minimize layoffs or possibly avoid the need for any job cuts.
Williams met Monday and last Friday with Det. Sgt. Charles Guzzy, president of the Youngstown Police Ranking Officers, the union representing the department’s sergeants, detective sergeants, lieutenants and captains. They’ll meet again Friday.
“Things are productive, and I’m cautiously optimistic,” Williams said. “We are making progress. Nothing’s been reached yet, but we hope to have something to agree on Friday. I’m confident we’ll reach something that will be beneficial.”
Guzzy said both sides have the same goal: avoiding layoffs.
“We should be able to cut back on layoffs and get us through this economic crisis” through a buyout, he said. “The goal is to alleviate layoffs and keep as many policemen on the street. We’re in an economic crisis, and we need to work together to get through this.”
The city’s 2009 general-fund budget included $860,000 in personnel cuts, most of it from the police department. That means up to 34 city workers, including 22 to 26 police officers, losing their jobs.
Layoff notices were to go out to city workers April 15 but didn’t because of productive discussions with the ranking-officers union, Williams said.
If a deal is reached with that union, Williams said negotiations on an early-retirement buyout would commence with the Youngstown Police Association, which represents patrol officers.
“We’ve always taken the position that we should sit down and discuss anything,” said Edward Colon, YPA president. “We’ll be more than happy to sit down with him.”
The early-buyout proposal would have the city pay two years of retirement time from the state police pension fund for each officer taking the deal.
The city purchased two years of state retirement time for about 55 workers who accepted an early-retirement offer in 2007 and 2008.
In addition to the early-buyout deal, Williams said the city is seeking “other cost-saving measures for a more effectively structured police department.” He declined to discuss those “other cost-saving measures.”
skolnick@vindy.com