City judges drop security demand

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Because of Youngstown’s financial problems, the municipal court judges dropped a $500,000 increase in their budget for security.

“I don’t see the city in the position to pay” for additional security, Elizabeth A. Kobly, the court’s presiding and administrative judge, told city council’s finance committee Wednesday. “We’re trying to do our part [to reduce the city’s expenses]. We’ll try to make do with what we have and hope nothing bad happens.”

The decision by the judges to drop the $500,000 request still leaves the city with a projected deficit. But instead of looking to make up $2.5 million, city officials will need to close a projected $2 million gap in this year’s general fund.

Mayor Jay Williams said layoffs are not a likely option to reduce that projected deficit.

“There aren’t a whole lot of places to cut without bringing departments to a halt,” Williams said. “Also, layoffs are an inefficient tool [to balance the budget] because of unemployment insurance.”

But Councilman Jamael Tito Brown, D-3rd, chairman of its finance committee, said, “Layoffs are definitely an option. Layoffs are on the table. The greatest cost is personnel.”

Council has had budget hearings for more than two weeks with various departments. The final hearing is today.

Council then will meet at 4 p.m. next Thursday to approve the 2010 budget. The projected 2010 general-fund budget is $80 million. The city’s overall budget is $135 million.

Layoffs aren’t the answer to the city’s budget problem because Youngstown would have to pay unemployment benefits, about 60 percent of an employee’s annual salary, for about a year, Williams said.

Since he became mayor in January 2006, the city has reduced the number of its employees from more than 800 to about 700, mostly through attrition, he said.

Because of provisions in union contracts, the city isn’t able to lay off its most-senior and highest-paid workers before newer employees with smaller paychecks, Williams said.

Laying off a large number of workers to balance the budget would cripple the efficiency of departments, he said.

Brown maintained the city should consider eliminating “jobs that wouldn’t impede services.”

One possibility is consolidating the inspectors in the health and housing departments, Brown said. Each department has four. Perhaps the city could combine the work and reduce the number of inspectors, he said.

“I’m not sure the cuts [in the administration’s proposed budget] are deep enough in the departments,” Brown said. “Besides staffing, we’re looking at the professional services we outsource and doing them in-house. There are tough decisions that have to be made.”

When asked for specific budget cuts, Williams said he expected some city workers to quit or retire and not be replaced. Before the judges voluntarily withdrew the $500,000 cost for additional security, the mayor had said he hoped that expense could be eliminated.

Security remains a major concern of the court, Judge Kobly said. The judge said a man walked into her private office last week, getting past security guards without a problem. It’s a common occurrence, she said.

As for increasing revenue, Williams said he’s hopeful the business climate will improve to increase tax revenue. Companies pay a 2.75 percent profit tax, and those who work and/or live in the city pay a 2.75 percent income tax.

During the first two months of this year, the amount of tax collected was in line with its budget, said city Finance Director David Bozanich.

That’s not good news because the projected tax collection for this year is significantly lower than what the city received just two years ago.

The city’s tax revenue in 2008 was $47.9 million — $6.1 million less than the expected amount for this year.

The city originally had estimated it would collect $44.2 million in taxes last year. The actual amount was $41.8 million, the same amount the city estimates it will get this year.

The $2.5 million deficit includes a savings of about $1 million by eliminating the city’s park and recreation programs and not operating its two pools and the city-owned Henry Stambaugh Golf Course.

The city wants to find people or companies to manage the golf course, the North Side Pool and its summer youth-recreation program.

David Boos, the golf pro at Stambaugh, has offered to manage the course, said Jason Whitehead, Williams’ chief of staff and the park and recreation commission director. The law department is reviewing the proposal to see if it is feasible, Whitehead said.

The course typically opens March 1, but is closed because of financial problems, he said.

The course’s 2009 deficit was about $26,000 compared to about $100,000 in previous years. That’s because the course opened later and closed early than usual last year, Whitehead said.

If Stambaugh opens this year, the green fees would be $1 more than in 2009. It would cost $8.50 for city residents and $9 for those who don’t live in Youngstown to play the nine-hole course.

The city received two proposals, both for about $89,000, to manage the North Side Pool this summer, he said. Both proposals were rejected.

The opening of North Side Pool this summer doesn’t look promising, Whitehead said. Borts Pool has been closed since summer 2008.

Also, the commission has yet to receive formal proposals to run its summer recreation program, Whitehead said.