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VINDY EXCLUSIVE | Four candidates for Youngstown finance director
YOUNGSTOWN
The city’s interim finance director, the Mahoning County treasurer, a former Toledo finance director and a person who has had numerous government jobs are the four candidates to be Youngstown’s next finance director.
Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said a screening committee interviewed the four a couple of months ago and will conduct follow-ups with them after the holidays.
“We thought they were pretty strong candidates,” Brown said. The city finance director job pays $83,949 a year.
The candidates are:
Kyle Miasek, the interim finance director since Brown took office in January. He made $81,832 a year as deputy finance director, a position he held since 2006, and led the city’s successful effort this year to close a $2.5 million deficit in the general fund. He’s currently working to eliminate a projected $2.2 million deficit for the 2019 general fund.
County Treasurer Daniel R. Yemma, who has had that job since 2011. Before Brown became mayor, he worked under Yemma as the county treasurer’s director of operations. If Yemma is hired, he’d get a pay raise. Yemma’s annual salary is $70,441. Yemma would have to resign as county treasurer if hired by the city with the county Democratic Party appointing a successor to fill the spot. An election would take place in November 2020 for a full four-year term.
Peter M. Rancatore Jr., a former finance director for the city of Toledo. He left that job in June to become finance director of the city of Loveland in southwest Ohio, but quit in September.
Harry A. Staven, who last worked as the city administrator for Auburn, Mich. He was fired in July 2017, a month after he started, telling The Bay City Times that it happened after complaints were filed about him making a perceived “suggestive” comment to a female worker. Before that, he worked at numerous public-sector jobs, several of them on an interim basis, in communities in Oregon, Alaska, North Carolina, Washington, Wyoming, New Mexico, Ohio and Kansas.
If Brown made Miasek’s interim appointment permanent, the financially struggling city would save about $125,000 annually in salary and benefits as the mayor wouldn’t have to fill the deputy finance director position. That’s what happened during Brown’s first year as mayor with Miasek handling both jobs’ responsibilities.
But Brown said with the budget issues, “it’s too much of a job for one person. It would be a savings, but it’s hard on that department. I need someone to dig deep into this. Because of the financial conditions, we need a finance director and a deputy finance director. We’d spend a little more money to have more people focused on the finances.”
Brown wanted a finance director in place by now.
“I would have loved to have this done, but I’m not rushing this,” he said. “The sooner the better, but I want to make the right choice for that position. In public finance, it’s hard to find someone with the money we’re giving.”
The job pays $83,949 a year under the city charter while those with less responsibilities in the private sector make considerably more in salary, Brown said.
City council has to approve the appointment of a finance director.
During last year’s mayoral campaign and the transition period after the November 2017 election, Brown said several times that he didn’t want to keep David Bozanich as the finance director.
Bozanich was under criminal investigation at the time and was indicted Aug. 30 on one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, 15 counts of bribery, two counts of aggravated theft and one count of obstructing justice. He is accused of illegally accepting $125,000 in cash as well as golf fees, meals, trips and other benefits over a 10-year period as finance director. He’s pleaded not guilty to the charges.