5 customers sue Youngstown, seeking refund of water bill payments

YOUNGSTOWN

Five Youngstown water customers – Kathy M. Miller, a real-estate agent and former Boardman trustee;, Stephanie L. Clark-Lambert of Canfield, John M. Bosela of Boardman, and John Schinker Jr. and Janet Johnson, both of Youngstown. – filed a class-action lawsuit questioning the legality of using water and wastewater funds for economic development.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, contends Youngstown violates state law and the city charter by “using [water and wastewater] surplus revenues to issue grants and payments to private parties involving projects unrelated to" provision of water and sewer service to its customers.”

The lawsuit cites an Oct. 11, 2015, Vindicator article about the city’s providing $2.73 million – with an additional $520,000 pending – to businesses, mostly in downtown, since 2010 from the water and wastewater funds. City officials say the money is for the water and wastewater expenses of those projects.

The plaintiffs want Judge John Durkin, assigned to this case, to force the city to stop the practice of giving money from the funds to businesses. It also seeks restitution of funds to all its customers.

City Law Director Martin Hume said Friday he hadn’t seen the lawsuit and couldn’t comment on the case. But the city has legal opinions supporting those uses, and two provisions of the Ohio Constitution give the city that authority, he said.

He added: “We have the right and, frankly, the duty to aid economic development in the city.”

Read more about the case in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.