State audit recommends $500K-plus cuts in Mahoning engineer's office

YOUNGSTOWN

A state audit has identified $566,500 in savings it says the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office could achieve through changes in its Teamsters Local 377 union contract by eliminating an operations supervisor position and converting to an electronic payroll system to eliminate a clerk position.

The performance audit makes 19 recommendations, but only three have a specific dollar savings attached to them.

The largest savings proposed in the audit is $384,000 annually through renegotiation of the contract for 51 Teamsters employed by the engineer’s office.

That includes $238,000 to be saved in Public Employee Retirement System contributions, reducing longevity pay increases by $35,000, eliminating hazardous-duty pay for a for a $91,000 savings, and reducing commercial driver’s license bonuses to save $20,000.

Read more about the audit in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.