YOUNGSTOWN — Fire Chief Barry Finley retired and subsequently was rehired in a move identical to what happened in May 2023 with police Chief Carl Davis.

Finley officially retired as fire chief March 15 and was then rehired March 18 by Mayor Jamael Tito Brown.

“I’m looking forward to remaining chief,” said Finley, who started with the fire department in March 1993 and was hired as chief by Brown in February 2018.

Asked how long he would stay as chief, Finley said: “Until the mayor says I’m done, I’ll be here.”

Finley said he had to retire no later than March 18 under the Deferred Retirement Option Plan.

Under DROP, a participating firefighter or police officer has to retire within eight years of joining the plan or lose all of the accumulated money, according to the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund.

Finley, who makes $103,082 annually, is able to collect his state pension as well as a lump sum payment from DROP.

Finley will receive more than $60,000 annually in pension and his DROP payment will be at least $400,000, according to benefit and DROP calculators on the pension fund’s website.

In addition to his state pension benefits, the city’s board of control, of which Brown is chairman, will vote today to give Finley a $74,103 severance payment, with most of the money for unused sick time, paid at 35% of his hourly rate, and for unused vacation time.

City council in December 1984 approved legislation that allows employees to be paid for money owed them for unused time as well as 35% of their unused sick time.

Davis retired as police chief on May 5, 2023, and Brown rehired him two days later for the same job.

Davis, whose annual salary is the same as Finley’s, also had to retire because he participated in the pension fund’s DROP program.

The board of control paid him $45,441 in severance, mostly for unused sick and vacation time.

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