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Miscues by Youngstown delay start of layoffs for 5 workers
YOUNGSTOWN — Eighteen city workers were supposed to be off the payroll by now in a move to reduce the cash-strapped municipality’s general-fund deficit.
But five of them will continue to work for two more weeks, said Cicero Davis, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2312, which represents those employees. Their last day working for the city is Sept. 18, he said.
That’s because the city failed to consult with the union until a few days before Aug. 21, the day layoff notices were given to 18 workers, to determine seniority among those losing their jobs, Davis said.
“If we had been included in the process, it would have been smoother,” he said.
The city told 18 of its workers — seven full-timers and 11 who work part time — on Aug. 21 that they wouldn’t be employed by Youngstown beginning Friday.
AFSCME members on the layoff list with more seniority are able to take the jobs of those with less seniority, as long as they’re qualified to do that work, said Davis and Kyle Miasek, the city’s deputy finance director.
One employee on the city’s layoff list has worked 19 years for the city and has seniority over more than 75 percent of other AFSCME members at city hall, Davis said.
Also, one person being laid off was only told about it Thursday, Davis said. AFSCME members under the city’s collective bargaining contract with the union must have at least two weeks’ notice before being laid off.
To simplify matters, the city agreed to keep those five full-time workers on the payroll until Sept. 18, said Davis and Mayor Jay Williams.
The other 13 employees on the layoff list worked their last day Friday for the city.
The original job cuts were projected to save the city only $101,041this year because Youngstown had to pay unemployment benefits.
Depending on how many additional weeks of unemployment the city has to pay the 18, it would save between $300,000 and $600,000 from these layoffs in 2010, Miasek said.
The park and recreation department took the biggest hit in numbers with 8 part-timers losing their jobs Friday.
Even with the savings from the layoffs, the city has a deficit for 2009 of more than $1 million, Miasek said.
That was caused by a combination of the city collecting less income tax and corporate profit tax than expected and not following through on an original plan to lay off about 30 to 38 workers earlier this year.
Most of those job cuts were to be police officers, but the city chose not to lay off anyone in that department.
Further layoffs are still possible, city officials said.
Also, the city-owned Stambaugh Golf Course on the North Side will close today because of budget cuts, Williams said.
The course normally closes at the end of November. City officials will meet next week to discuss the possibility of reopening the course for at least 30 days, but finances and the city having to lay off golf course workers are big obstacles, Williams said.
City officials say the 2010 deficit is significantly more than $1 million, but haven’t given a figure.
skolnick@vindy.com