Niles recovery plan finally progresses

December 8, 2016 at 8:28p.m.

NILES

What a difference 24 hours makes.

Just one day after council members strongly criticized the mayor’s latest fiscal emergency recovery plan and worried for the city’s future, Mayor Thomas Scarnecchia emerged Thursday with a revised proposal that appears to address their concerns.

What followed was something not seen in council chambers for most of this year: optimism.

“I’m much more comfortable than I was 24 hours ago,” said Councilman Barry Steffey, D-4th, finance chairman. “It’s a plan we can get behind.”

“I feel confident we should be able to make this work,” said Auditor Giovanne Merlo.

The mayor said there will be no layoffs. Instead, he plans to eliminate jobs through attrition.

Council had objected to the mayor’s submission last Friday because it did not include capital outlays for 2017. The mayor discussed those privately with the auditor and council President Robert Marino Thursday afternoon before presenting them to council.

The state’s fiscal supervisors must accept the plan. If they accept, council is expected to have a special meeting next week to vote. Approval by all sides is likely to eliminate the threat of a mandatory 15 percent reduction in city expenditures, which would have resulted in layoffs.