Agreement reached on police overtime

By David Skolnick | April 8, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Photo

Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams

Annie Gillam

Chief Jimmy Hughes.

YOUNGSTOWN

With a better understanding of the need for police overtime, city council members said they’re willing to move back money into that budget line-item when it’s needed.

Mayor Jay Williams had considered vetoing council’s decision to move $555,000 from the police department’s overtime budget to hire new officers calling the decision “misguided and arbitrary.”

But after discussions Wednesday that continued at a Thursday council safety committee meeting, Williams said he wouldn’t veto the move.

That’s because members of council agreed to return about $350,000 to $400,000 to the overtime police budget line when the police department needs the money for that purpose.

The money to be returned was recommended by the mayor.

“I am fairly confident it’s been resolved,” Williams said of the disagreement.

The city has to be “pragmatic about how we hire additional officers,” he added.

The issue is the financial ability to not only hire new officers but keep them on the force.

Councilwoman Annie Gillam, D-1st, chairwoman of the safety committee said, “We have a lot better understanding” of the police overtime needs.

She added that council still wants to hire 9 or 10 new police officers, but doesn’t know when that would be.

To hire new officers, council had agreed March 30 to take $555,000 from the police’s $1.3 million overtime budget.

Williams and Police Chief Jimmy Hughes said that was too much money, and the reduction would harm the operations of the department.

To hire new officers, Williams proposes using $150,000 to $200,00 from overtime and $100,000 to $150,000 from an expected state grant.