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Youngstown Mayor-elect McNally will keep 4 cabinet members
YOUNGSTOWN
Mayor-elect John McNally IV is retaining four current Cabinet members and will decide on the rest of the posts before taking office Jan. 1.
McNally, a Democrat who won the November general election, said Monday that he is keeping Harry L. Johnson III, water commissioner; Fire Chief John J. O’Neill Jr.; Sean McKinney, buildings and grounds commissioner; and Finance Director David Bozanich.
Other Cabinet appointments will be made before the first of the year, McNally said.
Bozanich retired Dec. 28, 2012, and was rehired through the end of this year by Mayor Charles Sammarone.
Bozanich will serve as finance director while a search for his replacement is conducted, McNally said. Bozanich wants to leave city government soon, McNally said.
The incoming mayor said he intends to have a new finance director to city council by July 1, 2014. Council must confirm the mayor’s appointments to finance director under the city charter.
McNally said he wants to have Bozanich stay on as finance director as the mayor-elect restructures the responsibilities of that position as well as likely seek approval from city council to create a Cabinet-level position to oversee the economic development office, the community development agency, and planning and zoning departments.
Also, McNally wants to bring the economic development office, located at the city-owned 20 Federal Place on West Federal Street, and the CDA, planning and zoning departments, all at the city hall annex on the corner of Front and Market streets, to city hall.
McKinney also will return to city hall at 26 S. Phelps St., McNally said.
Where to put these departments needs to be resolved as McNally envisions them eventually on the building’s 2nd floor, the current location of the city’s municipal court and clerk of courts.
The city administration and council have been in litigation with the court system since May 2009 after the municipal court judges filed a complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court asking the two other branches of government to provide a facility with “suitable accommodations.”
“I want to deal with the court litigation,” McNally said. “The courts should not be there.”
The judges, the administration and city council want the courts to move to the city hall annex.
The judges are seeking an $8 million renovation while the administration and council want a scaled-down $6 million renovation.
As for the reappointments, O’Neill has been fire chief since January 1998, McKinney has served in his post since September 2006, and Johnson has been acting water commissioner since the December 2012 retirement of John Casciano. Before that, Johnson served as the water department’s office manager and auditor since January 2006. He will drop “acting” from his title in the new administration and continue to handle the office manager and auditor duties, McNally said.
Bozanich has been in the finance department for 30 years.
There are other Cabinet positions to be filled including police chief, deputy director of public works, park and recreation director, law director, city prosecutor and attorneys in the latter two departments.
All of the current officeholders applied to keep their jobs.
McNally said he interviewed six or seven candidates for police chief and will talk to one more later this week. He also will speak with those interested in law director and deputy director of public works this week.