Youngstown patrol officers reject buyout incentive

YOUNGSTOWN — The city’s police patrol officers union rejected an early-retirement buyout incentive because it includes too many unfavorable provisions, a union official says.

Those provisions include reducing the entry-level annual salary of patrol officers from about $38,000 to $24,000 in one proposal from the city administration and to $27,000 in the other, said Doug Pesa, secretary-treasurer of the Youngstown Police Association.

To reach the top of the pay scale in both proposals, about $52,500, it would take 10 years rather than the current five years, Pesa said.

The scale with the higher starting salary would slow down the annual increases in the middle years, he said.

“Those aren’t competitive wages,” Pesa said. “The entire union felt it was not a competitive and the reduction is excessive. We feel it will do more harm in the long-term than it will help.”

The proposed buyout would give each person accepting it a year’s base pay paid evenly over five years.

Mayor Jay Williams said the city’s offer was not final and he expects further negotiations next week with the union that represents about 115 patrol officers.

“We want the salary to be competitive,” he said. “We may not be that far apart.”

The city is willing to discuss increasing the starting pay offer, but needs to increase the years to get to the top of the scale from 5 to 10, Williams said.

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