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Council to vote on worker’s back pay
Except for a $50,000 deductible to be paid by the city, the rest is covered by an insurance company.
YOUNGSTOWN — City council will consider legislation Wednesday to pay $171,024.91 in back pay and other benefits to a firefighter improperly fired three years ago.
The city fired Joseph P. Wrenn three years ago for violating the city’s residency requirement.
Wrenn moved to Poland after the state Legislature voted in June 2006 to overturn residency-requirement laws in cities, villages and counties in Ohio for their workers as a condition of employment.
The city fired Wrenn and then-police Patrolman Daniel Tickerhoof, who moved to Canal Fulton in Stark County. City administrators said the two violated the city’s residency law that required all city employees hired since 1986 to live in Youngstown.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in June the state law was constitutional and didn’t violate cities’ home-rule authority.
Youngstown was forced to reinstate Wrenn and Tickerhoof after the court decision.
Tickerhoof took a $70,000 settlement from the city a few months ago and agreed to resign.
Wrenn is staying, however.
The $171,024.91 is back pay and other financial benefits Wrenn would have received if he hadn’t been fired, minus the amount of money he earned from a part-time job he took when the city terminated his employment, said Law Director Iris Torres Guglucello.
Except for a $50,000 deductible to be paid by the city, U.S. Specialty Insurance Co., Youngstown’s insurance company, is covering the rest.
On Wednesday, council is to authorize the city’s board of control to pay Wrenn. The board of control will approve that payment at its Thursday meeting, said Guglucello, a board member.
Also Wednesday, council is expected to authorize two consulting contracts it declined to approve Dec. 2.
One contract is for Maureen O’Neill to develop and launch a rental-property-registration program. She’ll be paid $40,050 for that work.
The other is a $30,000 contract for Robert Weily to identify vacant properties that have been foreclosed that the city can buy, rehabilitate and sell.
Council refused to approve the contracts earlier this month wanting more information before making a decision.
Council members received that information Dec. 7.
Council also is expected to approve a $39,000 contract to hire Steve Novotny as a consultant to develop a housing-deconstruction program. Council refused to approve that deal last month.
The Novotny proposal isn’t on council’s agenda for Wednesday’s meeting, however.
But Councilman Jamael Tito Brown, D-3rd, chairman of council’s finance and community- development agency committees, said the Novotny contract should have been on the agenda.
Brown, who had postponed the deal, saying he needed more information on it before agreeing to support it, said the deal could be considered by council Wednesday as late legislation.
Council will consider an ordinance in support of B.J. Alan Co.’s plan to annex 6.4 acres in Austintown to the city for a retail store on Meridian Road.
Austintown trustees support the annexation.
B.J. Alan can’t build a store in the township because its state license stipulates that the store must be in Youngstown. It would replace the retail store in the city’s downtown.
skolnick@vindy.com