City disciplines 25 workers who falsified credentials

YOUNGSTOWN — The city has disciplined 25 water employees found guilty of falsifying their credentials by reducing the salaries of 24 of them and putting suspension letters in their personnel files.

However, the suspensions are only on paper and not actual suspensions of five days. It’s part of a process to punish them further if they violate any other city policies or work rules, said Mayor John A. McNally and Law Director Martin Hume.

The 25 workers, along with a former employee who has since quit, were found guilty Feb. 27 in Franklin County Municipal Court of falsifying contact hours for claiming they completed coursework to receive Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Class 2 water certifications when they took only part of the training classes.

They received additional money – $2,142 to $2,246 a year – from the city for having the classification.

The salary reductions are retroactive to Monday with 20 of the 21 union employees seeing pay reductions between $2.04 and $2.15 an hour, a two-step job classification drop. That’s an annual pay cut of $4,243 to $4,472. One union worker had his pay cut by one step, 92 cents an hour, or $1,914 a year. Another employee didn’t receive additional money for taking the class so his salary wasn’t reduced.

The three management employees found guilty had their job classification lowered by one step and lost 91 cents an hour, or $1,893 annually.

Under a plea agreement worked out with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, all 25 people found guilty agreed to pay $2,000 in restitution to the city, plus a $1,000 fine and a $250 court administrative fee. Some workers agreed to perform 50 hours of community service, while others opted to pay an additional $1,000 fine instead.

They’ll have their Class 2 certification suspended for a year and as long as they follow the terms of an agreement they signed in court, the convictions will be dismissed. They can seek the certification after a year and if they receive it, they’ll have their salaries restored to the level they were at before the reduction.

For the complete story, read Saturday’s Vindicator.