YOUNGSTOWN
The city’s board of control agreed to pay $361,079 in severance packages to 20 former employees who took an early-buyout incentive.
The city owes the money for unused sick and vacation time, longevity pay and education bonuses, and the board voted Thursday to authorize the payments. The city paid about $460,000 last year to 33 others who took the buyout.
Among the 20 receiving severance packages Thursday, the amounts ranged from $3,779.77 for Judith Moran, a 14-year city employee who retired as a secretary/bookkeeper in the health depart- ment making $35,750 in annual base salary, to $58,380.26 for Mike Kraynanski, a 35-year employee who retired as chief information officer with an annual base salary of $94,779.
The buyout of two years of state Public Employees Retirement System time for the 53 cost the city about $2 million, split almost evenly between 2012 and this year.
The city will save those former workers’ combined annual salary of $2.85 million with about $1.14 million more in benefits.
A few employees will be replaced, but beginning in 2014, the city will reduce its cost of employees’ salaries and benefits by nearly $4 million. The savings this year is about $2.4 million.
Of those early retirees, the city rehired four of them. One of the four, Finance Director David Bozanich, who earns $83,949 annually, will remain for another year.
Mayor Charles Sammarone, board of control chairman, said officials with V&M Star, which is investing $1.1 billion to expand its steel-piping plant, wants Bozanich to remain through at least the first three months of this year. Also, Sammarone said that with his decision not to run for mayor this year, it would be difficult to find someone qualified for finance director to take the post through the end of 2013 without job security. The next mayor will choose the finance director.
Kraynanski and Jeanne Rostan, a finance supervisor who worked for the city for 19 years and made $54,027 in annual base salary, will remain on staff during the first two months of the year to run the city’s financial computer system, Sammarone said.
Those who retire and are then rehired by the city are not entitled to receive the first two months of their retirement pay under state law.
Also, Thomas Sakmar, a demolition foreman with the street department who made $46,440 in base pay, will remain on the city’s payroll for at least the first two months of the year, Sammarone said.
City officials will make a decision in the next couple of weeks as to whether to ask Sakmar to stay with the city for the rest of the year or conduct a civil-service test to find a replacement, Sammarone said.
Meanwhile, Sammarone said Thursday that he wants to use as much of the $2,857,935 the city is receiving this year from V&M Star, which is leasing land for its expansion project, toward vacant residential demolition and neighborhood improvements.
The city is spending about $2.5 million this year on demolition, and expects that to be enough money to take down about 330 to 400 structures. Combined with some money saved from the early retirements and having the street department continue to take down vacant structures, about 500 dilapidated houses will be demolished this year, Sammarone said.
The V&M money would help bring the city a lot closer to the goal of demolishing 1,000 structures in 2013, he said.
On Thursday, the board of control approved contracts to have 48 vacant houses demolished.
Comments
Once again, our city fathers act illogically and contrary to the best interests of city taxpayers. Did these people just decide to retire yesterday? Even the most basic planning efforts would have developed a succession plan whereby the city should have identified replacement candidates prepared to step into these jobs upon the retirement of these individuals. Instead, we now pay their retirement along with their current wages and severance packages!!! In anyone's mind, how does this produce cost savings or display fiscal responsibility??? How about at least lowering the salary of these jobs? As a taxpayer, I am glad to have the opportunity to contribute to the retired city employee oceanfront condo fund!
As for the finance director, let me get this straight: city services are at an all time low, income tax revenues are in a downward spiral, Youngstown's economic development efforts, except for a couple of "home runs" he had absolutely nothing to do with have produced dismal results, and he now suddenly becomes such a valuable and irreplaceable employee worthy of over $150,000 in salary and retirement benefits.
Does anyone else see a problem here???
First we hear that this very high paid guy is going to rip off the State retirement system by lying and telling them he is retiring when in fact he is not. Now we see that his buddies at city hall are giving him a large severence pay when he isn't retiring at all. How stupid are these people? Can we file a taxpayer lawsuit?
@glbtactivist
Unfortunately, it's not illegal, just fiscally irresponsible. The most effective thing we citizens can do is express our opinions at the ballot box by voting against all elected officials in Youngstown who had any role in hatching this ill-conceived plan.
"Meanwhile, Sammarone said Thursday that he wants to use as much of the $2,857,935 the city is receiving this year from V&M Star, which is leasing land for its expansion project, toward vacant residential demolition and neighborhood improvements."
In previous articles, the mayor states that money would be used to balance the budget shortfall. Why the change? Oh, because the city does have money and they can no longer hide it. So what does the mayor now do? Yeah, he talks about demolition, like he has for more then a year. All this talk, but from previous Vindy numbers, his pace is less then that of Jay Williams. Quit with all the BS, quite trying to earmark the money. Why don't you pay off the city debt with the millions you have. Enough with the lies already. Pay off the debts principal and the city would save on interest payments. But this Administration would never do that because they would finally have to admit that the city has a surplus.
Has anyone heard anything about Sarah Brown Clark lately? Has she taken any more vacations on tax payer dime?
in other news....city schools facing a $48 million deficit!
Truth is stranger than fiction. And crazier. You can't make stuff like this up. Is it any wonder cities are broke? But you certainly can't blame the employees.