YOUNGSTOWN — Anthony Traficanti will preside over the Mahoning County Board of Commissioners this year.

He replaces fellow commissioner Dave Ditzler, who served as president last year while Traficanti served as vice president.

The board voted unanimously to approve Traficanti as president and Carol Rimedio-Righetti as vice president at Monday morning’s annual reorganization meeting.

Traficanti is in the final year of his fifth term in office since being elected to the board in 2004. He was sworn in on Jan. 2, 2005. He is running unopposed so far in this year’s election for the seat, and would begin his sixth term next January.

He said he likes the way the board has managed the county’s business and wants to continue its track record of responsible governing.

Traficanti said Mahoning County’s bond rating is among its highest ever because the board has managed the county’s debt to a very high standard.

“We’ve paid off a lot of debt over the years, and we’re very conservative in our spending,” he said. “I’d like to maintain that level of county government. I think that’s very important.”

Traficanti said Mahoning County’s board is among the best in the state of Ohio and well-poised to continue that way.

“The strength of this board is in our cooperation and our transparency,” he said. “It makes things easier when we’re working on multi-million-dollar projects, that we don’t have any public consternation. We get along very well.”

Traficanti said that kind of management is even more important now that the county has seen the last of its American Rescue Plan funding, and as it pursues and continues some large capital improvement projects.

Commissioners have to work with city and village leaders to complete a hazard mitigation plan by March in order to qualify for a $47 million Flood Mitigation Assistance grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). That money would be used for massive renovations to the Cranberry Run Watershed, the largest and most critical watershed in Boardman Township, and the cause of much flooding in recent years.

Traficanti said he also wants to see the Western Reserve Road widening project completed, and continue the county’s road resurfacing project that was implemented after voters approved a 0.25-percent sales tax in 2021 for that purpose.

“There are still many roads that need to be remediated,” Traficanti said, “but you see all that we’ve done already and we never would have been able to do that if the voters had not approved that levy. We could not have done even half of that.”

Traficanti also said he is excited to continue working with community leaders around the entire Mahoning Valley on the Valley Vision 2050 project.

Late last year, Mahoning and Trumbull County commissioners pledged $1 million each from their ARP funds to the Western Reserve Port Authority. That money will be used by The Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber, the Eastgate Council of Governments and the Youngstown Foundation to spur job growth and economic investment and entice people to return or relocate to the area.

“It’s a great goal, and now that we have that goal we need to work toward it,” Traficanti said. “It’s about bringing businesses in and helping businesses expand, and just a slew of other great things that are in that plan.”

In addition to working well with one another, Traficanti said the board has strong relationships across the community.

“These commissioners have great relationships with all of the department heads, but also with labor and with business in this valley, and that is very important,” he said.

Traficanti also said he knows it’s not all roses for county residents and wants them to know the commissioners are listening and want to help. He said residents — and even commissioners — do not always get the level of response they should from state or federal representatives.

At Monday’s meeting, Traficanti said the board plans to hold evening town hall meetings across the county, to give residents a chance to voice concerns.

“We’ve had hearings on levies and tax issues, but now I’d like us to go out in the evenings and provide better access for the public to express concerns and vent frustrations,” he said.