Fewer officers accept buyout deal

By David Skolnick

City administrators had expected about five officers to take the offer.

YOUNGSTOWN — Only two ranking police officers accepted the city’s early-retirement/resignation deal.

“I’m kind of surprised,” said Detective Sgt. Charles Guzzy, president of the Youngstown Police Ranking Officers union, of the number. “I’m surprised we didn’t have more taking it.”

City administrators had expected about five police officers to take the buyout deal.

The two buyouts will save the city about $100,000 annually in salary and benefits, Finance Director David Bozanich said.

The city won’t replace the two officers taking the buyout which pays a year’s base salary spread over five years beginning no later than April 30.

The two officers taking the buyout are: Lt. William Centric, who earns $71,922.50 in annual base salary, and Detective Sgt. Delphine Baldwin-Casey, who earns $62,541.30 in annual base salary. The two are expected to work their last day sometime this month.

Any savings for the city is helpful, Bozanich said.

The city saw its 2.75 percent income-tax collection drop to $40.4 million last year, compared with $46.4 million in 2008. City administrators don’t expected a rebound this year in income-tax collection.

The city ended 2009 with a $300,000 general-fund balance. It avoided a deficit by taking $1 million from its self-funded workers’ compensation fund that it will have to repay sometime this year.

In an effort to save money, the city twice has offered buyouts to firefighters and to members of its ranking police-officers union, which represents sergeants, detective sergeants, detectives, lieutenants and captains.

Seven ranking police officers took the buyout when it was first offered in July 2009.

The number of ranking officers at the department also declined in the past three months with the deaths of two captains and the departure of another officer who left without taking an early- retirement/resignation deal.

None of them will be replaced.

After these two retirements there will about 53 ranking officers.

There are about 115 police patrol officers, members of the Youngstown Police Association.

Twenty senior firefighters, making as much as $71,030 in annual base pay, took the same buyout deal in 2008 with 10 more doing the same last November.

The firefighters were replaced by entry-level workers who’ll earn $24,000 in base pay in their first year. The fire department will hire replacements for the other 10 in the coming weeks.

The two rounds of firefighter buyouts reduced the city’s employee costs by about $1 million a year.

skolnick@vindy.com