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Mayor remains firm: No jail bailout
TweetBy DAVID SKOLNICK
skolnick@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
The city will do “everything in our power to work with” Mahoning County to keep the jail open, but don’t count on Youngstown providing a financial bailout, its mayor says.
The city doesn’t have the money to match previous payments it gave the county to house Youngstown misdemeanor inmates, Mayor Jay Williams said Thursday.
“That’s a position that has not changed,” he said. “Our financial condition has not changed since we started these discussions.”
Is there a solution?
“At this point, I don’t know,” Williams said.
The city is facing a $2.5 million deficit in its general fund and looking for ways to cut expenses.
A three-year deal with the city expired Feb. 28.
That deal had the city pay $80 a day for each misdemeanor prisoner jailed at the county jail beyond its 71st inmate. The city agreed to pay the additional fee to help the county settle a lawsuit won by jail inmates over inadequate staffing and overcrowding.
The city spent $654,078 on prisoner fees last year and $1,120,237 in 2008.
Just to get to a $2.5 million deficit, the city eliminated the fees, beginning March 1, to house prisoners at the county jail.
“We’re in financial straits,” said Councilman Jamael Tito Brown, D-3rd, chairman of the legislative body’s finance committee. “Right now, we don’t have the ability to pay.”
The county also is facing financial problems with Sheriff Randall A. Wellington’s announcing last week that he plans to lay off one-third of his staff, 101 employees, and close half the jail by March 28.
Layoffs and cutbacks can’t occur without the approval of a three-federal-judge panel that oversees the jail.
The sheriff’s department is facing a cut of between $4 million and $5.7 million.
County and city officials met for four hours Wednesday behind closed doors with U.S. District Court Judge Dan Aaron Polster, who is attempting to facilitate some sort of agreement between the two parties.
The two sides have until March 26 to meet and attempt to work out an agreement, Williams said.
The city and county are to return for a second mediation session with the judge March 29 if a settlement isn’t reached.
Comments
What a mess we have in Mahoning County & Youngstown. The politicians who run the area haven't a clue. Just remember if they haven't a clue then don't gove them anymore of your tax dollars to waste. Vote NO on the sales tax 1/2% levy!
The citizens of Youngstown pay the same taxes to the county as those in Boredman, Cantfield & Awestintown. Why should Youngstown pay extra to send criminals to jail? Youngstown already houses most of the region's poverty & crime it shlould not have to pay extra for the jail.
Struthers, Campbell, City of Canfield, & Poland Village, Lowellville, Sebring, New Middletown are municipalities - do they pay to send their criminals to jail?
Most new growth and investment occurs in the townships, but they go to all lengths to avoid paying their share of the costs.
The City was actually paying extra the last 3 years but is no longer able to do that.
The city should not have to pay anymore than other townships or cities at this point.
People who have no knowledge about how things work in this city shouldn't speak on it like they are some type of expert.
I think they should start charging the city or township where the particular criminal resides. After all they have to give their address when they go to court. That seems fair doesnt it? Then Jay would really be in trouble. It's his city's citizens who are comitting 75 percent of the crime in Mahoning county. That ought to take care of his annexation ideas too.
It's the County Government's responsibility to operate the jail, courts and patrol for unincorporated areas. It is no one else's responsibility. I'm adamantly for providing the Sheriff's Office with what they need and deserve to be paid, but we shouldn't expect Youngstown or any other city to make up for Tablack's funding of everyone else except the county. I wish everyone would go down to the Auditor's office and request to see the wages of people that are paid out of the general fund. It's sickening that secretaries make more than Deputies dealing with violent criminals.
@sided7
I'm hearing quiet a few people saying Tablack definitely needs to go. But in fairness and honesty I haven't personally done enough research to be able to agree or disagree.
For the benefit of us all can you share more insight on what he's been known to have done.
Just so we can all get a more conclusive sense of either he is a problem or not. Which would be helpful to determining if we need to rally behind ousting him or not.
I'll make it my business to go downtown to make a request to review the open record auditors book. Where if I find desk jockeys are getting paid more than line of duty personnel I'm all in,..
Nothing against clerical and their service is vital and respected. However, salary is a risk and reward type balance and no way will I go for a secretary being out compensated over a patrolman / patrolwoman,..
boardmanneedschange, i'd like you to back up your statement that 75 percent of the inmates are from youngstown with a citation of where you've located that information. otherwise, are you just another local yokel talking out of his hole?