Niles City Council votes 5-2 to approve mayor’s financial recovery plan

Staff report

NILES

As anticipated, city council voted 5-2 to approve Mayor Thomas Scarnecchia’s financial-recovery plan for the city and send it on to the Financial Planning and Supervision Commission.

Council members Steve Papalas, D-at large, and Steve Mientkiewicz, D-2nd, were the no votes, just as they were several times before, both holding out because of their desire to save $330,000 through moving the city’s dispatchers to the Trumbull County 911 center.

The commission will meet at 4 p.m. March 17 to consider giving its approval to the plan. The date was picked to come after the March 15 primary election.

Niles voters will decide that day whether to approve a 0.5 percent income-tax increase to provide an additional $2 million – money that will be used for the police and fire departments and free up money for other general-fund departments.

The recovery plan, written by former Mayor Ralph Infante, was revised by Scarnecchia. It is intended to cut about $1.5 million from the budget.

Six members of the safety forces were among 12 city employees laid off this month because of the deficit.

The plan contains additional layoffs, possibly including more safety forces, if voters reject the income-tax increase. The defeat would also force the mayor to move the dispatchers to the county 911 center.