Mayor suggests savings

By jeanne starmack

starmack@vindy.com

campbell

The mayor is proposing recommendations to save the cash-strapped city what he says will amount to $120,000.

Mayor George Krinos will present his recommendations to a state commission that oversees the city’s finances at a meeting June 24. The city is under the guidance of the commission because it is in fiscal emergency.

The mayor outlined his recommendations at a council meeting Wednesday. They include making the clerk of council part time, with the clerk sharing his secretary’s duties; all elected officials giving up city health benefits; reducing the finance director’s salary from $41,000 to $30,000, which is the same as the city administrator’s; and consolidating the city’s four wards into two.

The mayor said it would be up to council to make those changes. Council would have to propose the ward consolidation to voters.

Council also voted 3-2 to advance to a second reading an ordinance that makes Krinos’ full-time secretary part time. Krinos had agreed in January that secretary Denise Sarigianopoulos’ salary would be $21,000, and he would give up his health benefits to help pay for it. He began taking those benefits again in March, prompting a complaint from city finance director Sherman Miles that there isn’t enough money in the budget for the salary and the benefits. Voting “no” were Bryan Tedesco and Joe Mazzocca Jr. Both said they would rather see other cuts made before cutting personnel.

Krinos said Wednesday he agrees with the proposed ordinance as a “wise way to save money.” He acknowledged, after checking minutes from a January council meeting, that he had agreed to let the city use the money from his benefits to pay Sarigianopoulos.

Krinos also said he would pay about $700 to two lawyers for opinions they gave on salaries for his secretary and the city administrator.

The city’s law director has said the city is not required to pay the bills.