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Moliterno faces challenger for trustee
BOARDMAN
The chairman of the board of supervisors at the Mahoning Soil & Water Conservation District is challenging an incumbent for the position of township trustee.
Richard Scarsella faces Larry Moliterno, who first was elected trustee in 2007, on Tuesday’s ballot.
Scarsella said he was motivated to run for office because he was not appointed as a citizen-at-large to the board of the Austintown- Boardman-Canfield Water and Storm Water District.
Scarsella said the current trustees are not “effectively using the assets and talents of our citizenry.”
Township Administrator Jason Loree represents the township on the water district, and the township did not appoint any residents to the board.
Moliterno said he sees the water district, together with the joint purchase of a radio-dispatching system with Austintown, as a sign of regional collaboration and he expects that collaboration to continue as more “creative solutions” are needed for problems in local government.
Scarsella contends that Boardman will need to become a facilitator for regional economic growth, and he would instigate even more cooperation among Boardman and neighboring suburbs.
“I don’t see, particularly, why Boardman, Poland and Austintown and Canfield all need police chiefs and fire chiefs,” he said.
“Whether we have an independent police and fire department or blended or regional department, you want to look at the economy of scale, shared services and cost savings,” Scarsella continued.
He also said he would push for more communication between the school district and township government.
“As a township trustee, I would strongly encourage the Boardman superintendent to be present at all these [trustee] meetings. Trustees should not just support schools by handing out ribbons and certificates,” Scarsella said.
He added that he has a “broader skill set” than Moliterno, having served as president of the William Holmes McGuffey Society and working as intervention specialist in Youngstown City Schools since 1993.
But Moliterno, who is president and chief executive of Meridian Community Care, said he has the experience needed to lead the township.
He pointed to his instigation of the creation of the township’s five-year plan, which includes rebuilding the police department thanks to voter approval of a 3.85-mill, five-year additional police levy in August.
Moliterno said the trustees have been good stewards of township funds and have built cooperation among the six township unions.
“Every contract has been zeroes. We formed the [health] insurance committee and saw huge savings from that,” he said.
Moliterno said the trustees are examining the formula for local government funding and discussing with Mahoning County commissioners and state legislators what trustees perceive as the “fair share” of county sales-tax that should benefit Boardman.
“I think right now things are going well. [Residents] are comfortable with the direction we’re going. We’re trying to be more proactive and face [problems] head-on,” Moliterno said.