City may redistribute $1.45M to settle water lawsuit

YOUNGSTOWN — City council will consider legislation Wednesday to settle a lawsuit that questions the legality of using water and wastewater funds for economic development.

The ordinance would authorize the board of control to issue $1.45 million in credits to its water customers or transfer that amount from the general fund to the water fund.

It isn’t clear how the credits would work but if it’s divided equally among the city’s 52,000 water accounts, it would be about $28 per customer.

With the city’s general fund facing a $2.5 million to $3 million deficit by the end of next year, a transfer from that fund to the water fund is unlikely. The choice between the two options is to be made by the city, according to the ordinance.

City Law Director Martin Hume and Bryan Ridder, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs on the case, declined today to comment to The Vindicator about the tentative settlement. But Hume said he expects a joint statement will be issued when the settlement is finalized.

Four water customers filed a lawsuit in 2016 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court contending the city was violating 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 the purposes and activities necessary for providing the water and sewer utilities to its customers.”