City water dept. employees to appear in court today

COLUMBUS — Nearly all of the Youngstown Water Department employees accused of falsifying their credential are expected to plead guilty today in Franklin County Municipal Court.

Twenty-six city water department employees were charged in September 2016 with a misdemeanor count each of falsifying contact hours. Two of the 26 have since died.

Atty. Charles Dunlap, who represents 23 of the remaining 24 workers, recently said all but one of his clients will take the plea deals.

The employees will make restitution to the city, pay fines, do community service and lose their Class 2 water certification for a year, according to Dunlap. The convictions will be dismissed after a year and the workers will be eligible after that to obtain the certification, he said.

Water department employees attended only part of a training class — or in some cases, didn’t attend at all — for state Class 2 water distribution certification in 2013 and 2014.

The workers don’t need the certification to do their jobs but receive extra pay for having it, according to city Law Director Martin Hume.

The Vindicator estimates the employees were paid between $150,000 and $175,000 in additional pay for having the certifications.

Workers receive $1.03 to $1.08 more an hour for the certification, according to the water union contract.

That amounts to $2,142 to $2,246 in additional annual salary per employee.

The city will consider potential disciplinary action after the cases are resolved in court.