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Mayor issues threat of veto
Williams calls council’s police plan ‘misguided’ plan ‘misguided’
YOUNGSTOWN
City council’s decision to move $555,000 from the police department’s overtime budget to hire new officers is “misguided and arbitrary,” the mayor says.
And if after discussions with the administration, council declines to return most of that money to the police overtime budget, Mayor Jay Williams said he is likely to veto the transfer.
That’s fine with members of council, who say they want further discussions with the administration about police staffing.
“I would hope we’d have an open conversation before he would veto the budget,” said Jamael Tito Brown, D-3rd and its finance committee chairman.
Council members also said they have the votes to override a potential mayoral veto. At least six of seven council members are needed for that.
Councilman John R. Swierz, D-7th, disagrees that the decision was “misguided” because “council wants to make hiring police officers a priority.”
“In an ideal situation, the legislative and executive branches communicate and work together,” added Councilman DeMaine Kitchen, D-2nd and its finance committee vice chairman. “When there isn’t communication, the legislature has to act.”
Council voted Wednesday to move $555,000 from the police department’s $1.3 million overtime budget to its wages and benefits budget to hire 11 new officers.
That was done despite recommendations from Police Chief Jimmy Hughes, Finance Director David Bozanich and Williams. The latter was out of the city Wednesday to attend a conference in Detroit.
Council “chose a path that probably harms the police department,” Williams said. “I’m not clear they understand the ramification of their actions. The goal is to hire police officers, but you have to do it in a responsible way.”
The overtime is needed to pay officers to investigate major crimes, among other needs, Hughes said.
The administration has a plan to hire new officers, Williams said.
The administration would take $150,000 from police overtime for new officers, Williams said.
Also, the mayor said Gov. John Kasich and members of his cabinet told him there is about $100,000 to $150,000 available through a state grant program to hire new officers this year. The city will find out about the state grant in about 30 days, Williams said.
Those two funding sources would provide money for about 10 to 12 new officers, Williams said.
Council members are skeptical about the state funding. But if it comes, it would be used for new officers. Then council would return that same amount to the police overtime budget, Brown said.
Also, $550,000 towards the hiring of 11 new officers is too much money because it will be months before they join the force, Williams said.
Council members were told by the finance department that the cost for a new officer in salary and benefits is $50,000 a year, Kitchen and Brown say.
If the cost is less because officers wouldn’t work a full year, council could put the money back into police overtime or use it for street paving or demolition, Brown said.
It would take close to a year for background checks and proper training for 11 officers, Hughes said.
If new officers have state-required training, some could be on the force sometime this summer, Hughes and Williams said.
The administration wanted to hire 15 to 20 officers over the next 18 months, including eight to 10 this year, Williams said.
But plans had to be changed, he said, after Kasich’s proposed budget included cuts to the Local Government Fund.
That would mean a loss of $377,000 to Youngstown this year and $1.13 million in 2012.
Eight senior officers have retired since January and three to seven more are expected to leave this year as part of a state retirement-incentive program.
The administration expects to pay $500,000 to $600,000 this year in severance pay, Williams said.
Not having to pay that $500,000 to $600,000 in future years, beginning with 2012, would help the city pay the salaries and benefits of 10 to 12 officers annually, he said.
Council approved the $154 million budget Wednesday with both its members and those in the administration saying the spending plan will be reviewed in the coming weeks.
Under state law, council had to approve a balanced budget by Thursday. But state law allows council to amend the budget throughout the year.
The two sides still need to resolve cuts in professional services and in management and nonunion workers’ overtime.