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Lowellville Solicitor: Mayoral pay increase not legal for 2016
By Sarah Lehr
LOWELLVILLE
Lowellville’s solicitor, attorney James E. Lanzo, said he believes a mayoral pay increase, passed by council this summer, cannot legally take effect in 2016.
Village council voted 4-3 Aug. 20 to approve a $12,000 annual salary for the mayor, beginning next year – a $7,200 yearly increase from the current $4,800 salary. Village council members make $3,600 a year.
Councilmen Robert Coppola, Paul Meehan and Ronald Rotunno voted in favor of the change; Councilmen William Flora, Keith McCaughtry and Phil Alfano voted against it. Mayor James Iudiciani broke the tie by voting yes.
However, an Ohio law that went into effect in 1981 states that legislators can fix compensation for elected officials only until five days before the filing deadline for election to that office. The filing deadline for mayor was Aug. 5. Council voted 15 days after that.
Iudiciani previously told The Vindicator that he asked the Mahoning County Board of Elections to look into the legality of the change. Joyce Kale-Pesta, elections board director, confirmed that she had been asked to investigate, but explained that such a matter doesn’t fall under the board’s authority.
Council’s attempt to pass the salary ordinance was further muddled earlier in the summer when, on July 16, council voted 3-2 in favor of the pay bump. One councilman was absent from that meeting. The mayor and members of council thought the vote was sufficient to pass the ordinance, but Solicitor Lanzo informed them at a subsequent meeting that they lacked the majority (four votes) necessary to pass emergency legislation.
In the end, Iudiciani, who is running unopposed for another four-year term, will not receive a pay increase from 2016 to 2020. However, Lanzo said he believes the raise could legally take effect during a subsequent mayoral term.
Iudiciani, who bought pizza for attendees at Wednesday night’s council meeting, joked, “I guess I’ll be turning in my pizza receipt.”