Decision on Youngstown job losses to come at month’s end

YOUNGSTOWN — The city administration will decide at the end of the month how many city employees will lose their jobs.

It’s a decision administrators have put off for months as they try to get city employees to take financial concessions and early-retirement buyouts.

There is still hope of a possible buyout for firefighters, but city officials have repeatedly said layoffs are inevitable.

It wasn’t until today that the administration put a timetable on the buyouts.

After a board of control meeting to approve an early-retirement buyout for a detective sergeant, city Finance Director David Bozanich said the major financial decisions — including layoffs — will be decided at the end of the month.

City officials are evaluating Youngstown’s financial figures for the first half of the year, Bozanich said.

City officials had hoped profit tax collections from business would improve from earlier projects, but that “revenue is worse than anticipated,” he said. “We are fearful of the second half tax numbers. [The fear] could be unfounded. I hope it’s unfounded, but what I see causes me concern.”

For the first time publicly, Bozanich admitted the city could end this year with a deficit.

“We’ll try to balance 2009, but I don’t know if we can do it,” he said. “It may take us to 2010” to balance the city’s general fund budget.

For the complete story, read Tuesday’s Vindicator or Vindy.com