YOUNGSTOWN — Kyle Miasek, the city’s interim finance director, said Mayor Jamael Tito Brown is asking city council to support a charter amendment for the Nov. 3 ballot to no longer tie the finance director’s salary to the mayor’s.

Currently, the finance director gets $83,949 annually — 80 percent of the mayor’s salary — under the city charter.

The proposal would allow city council to set the salary for the finance director, Miasek told city council Thursday.

The finance director’s salary hasn’t increased since 2006 and Miasek is making slightly more than he would in his old deputy finance director’s job, which pays $83,890. With management employees set to get 1 percent pay raises next year, the deputy finance director would be paid $84,729 — more than the finance director’s position.

Also, the chief information officer, who reports to the finance director, is getting paid $90,178 this year and the police and fire chiefs are paid $93,317 each this year.

The salary for the finance director hasn’t changed in more than 13 years.

The mayor’s salary cannot be adjusted by city council until the last year of his term under city charter, Miasek said. With the finance and law directors tied to the mayor’s pay, salaries for those positions have remained unchanged for the same period of time.

Miasek was appointed interim finance director by Brown shortly after the mayor took office Jan. 1, 2018. But Brown hasn’t named a permanent finance director, having Miasek handle those duties in addition to his deputy finance director responsibilities.

Finding an eventual replacement would be difficult with the current salary structure, Miasek said.

Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, said with the city’s current economic troubles it might not be the right time to ask voters to give a pay raise.

Councilwoman Lauren McNally, D-5th Ward, pointed out that the legislation would allow council to set the salary.

Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward, said the law director’s position, which also gets 80 percent of the mayor’s salary under the charter, should also be part of the discussion.

Council has until Sept. 4 to submit a charter amendment to the Mahoning County Board of Elections for the Nov. 3 ballot.

Council members agreed Thursday to meet shortly with Brown to discuss the proposal before they consider putting it in front of voters.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com