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Health board approves severance package of former commissioner
YOUNGSTOWN
The Youngstown City Health District approved a $66,326 severance package for former health commissioner Neil Altman, who retired May 1 after an eight-month illness.
The severance package, approved Monday by the health board, is $18,834 representing 35 percent of his unused sick leave; $10,974 in unused vacation time; $35,451 in compensatory time; and $1,067 in longevity pay. All numbers are rounded off.
The search for a new health commissioner continues, but there was no discussion of the matter at the meeting, said Erin Bishop, interim health commissioner.
Bishop had been health district administrator during Altman’s absence. She said she planned to apply for the commissioner position.
The board did voice some reservations about the comp-time payment, but after discussions with the law department and the recommendation by the law director that the board was legally bound to pay it, the board approved that portion of the severance package, said Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, health board president.
Previously, the mayor said the search for a new commissioner would be regional rather than national. He also said the new commissioner’s salary would most likely be less than the $71,660 Altman was earning when he retired.
In other action, the board approved hiring an administrator of the Air Pollution Control Agency for Trumbull and Mahoning County. The position, for which there are 10 candidates, will not be filled, however, until after the civil-service list of candidates is certified, health-board officials said.