Thursday, September 18, 2014
YOUNGSTOWN
A charter-amendment proposal to reduce the number of wards in Youngstown from seven to five isn’t on the ballot, but city council authorized the hiring of a firm to draw a map with two less wards.
City council voted 6-1 on Wednesday to authorize the board of control to enter into a contract for about $7,500 with Triad Research Group of Westlake.
Councilwoman Janet Tarpley, D-6th, who sponsored the legislation, said she hasn’t been in contact with Triad, and was using the $7,500 low-end figure of a proposal of up to $10,000 the company submitted in February to redistrict the seven wards.
Mayor John A. McNally, chairman of the board of control, refused to have the board hire Triad in May for the work.
With a great deal of assistance from the Mahoning County Board of Elections, at no cost, council approved a redistricting map of the wards last month to make the population in the seven more equitable.
A group of citizens collected enough signatures to get a charter amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot tying the number of council members to population. It would cut the number of council members from seven to five.
It first has to get on the ballot. The board of elections last week refused to certify the amendment because city council submitted two nearly identical documents — the one from the citizens group and the other a city council ordinance — on the same issue.
The board is expected to resolve the matter and approve one of the proposals at a meeting today.
The proposal gives council 30 days after the vote is certified to redraw the lines, effective with the 2015 election. If council failed to do so in that time, the mayor would have 14 days to redistrict.
McNally said he understands council “wants to get a head start on the charter amendment,” and come to an agreement with Triad.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the Rev. Kenneth L. Simon, senior pastor at New Bethel Baptist Church, told council he opposed the ward reduction.
In other business, council decided not to vote on a contract with its 74-member wastewater union. The results of the union’s vote on the contract are expected today.
Council wanted to wait for the union to vote first. The union has worked without a contract since Jan. 1.
The proposed three-year deal would give union members a 1 percent raise, effective when the deal is ratified, and then 1.5 percent in 2015 and 1 percent in 2016. It’s the first pay raises given to unions by the city since McNally became mayor Jan. 1.
The proposal also lifts health-care premium caps, effective May 1, 2016 — also standard under the McNally administration.
The monthly insurance caps are $100 for single coverage and $200 for family coverage.
The city’s health-insurance policy costs $666 a month for single coverage and $1,678 a month for family coverage. City employees pay 10 percent of that amount — $66.60 for single and $167.80 for family a month.
If the union approves the contract, council would have to call a special meeting to vote on the deal.
Council also chose to wait on legislation to allow the board of control to spend up to $250,000 to hire a contractor to turn the former Kress Building site into another downtown parking lot. Council members wanted details on the expenses before considering it.