YOUNGSTOWN — Mayor Jamael Tito Brown hired his daughter-in-law for a $51,280-per-year job as the city’s recreational program supervisor — ranked third out of seven candidates for the job.

Micaela Brown, the mayor’s daughter-in-law, would have finished sixth out of seven candidates if she wasn’t the only one to receive a 15% bonus for being a city resident.

The mayor, who officially hired her Monday, said he had no involvement in the interview process and “she got the job on her own merit. She’s got the qualifications and experience for the job.”

Brown said two committees screened the applications — he didn’t identify anyone on the committees despite being asked — and he stayed away from the process to avoid any hint of favoritism.

“She was the best candidate for the job,” Brown said. “Two batches of people interviewed her. They did not know she was my daughter-in-law. She went in on her own merit. She shouldn’t be penalized because of her skills. She shouldn’t be penalized because her father-in-law is the mayor. I didn’t handpick her or assist her. After the second interview, people asked, ‘Why are we waiting to hire her?'”

Of the eight people who applied to be recreational program supervisor, seven of them “passed,” meaning they received at least a score of 70 based on their experience and education.

Micaela Brown, 33, received a raw score of 78.02, which was the sixth-lowest of the seven who passed and just 8.02% above passing. She was the only applicant living in the city, which entitles her to a 15% bonus, 11.7 additional points. That put her at 89.72. She moved back to Youngstown about three years ago.

The top candidate received 102.37 points, without any bonuses, while the second candidate received 99.3 points, also without any bonuses.

The mayor said she finished third on the scoring and was clearly the best candidate when interviewed.

“I don’t have anything to hide,” Brown said. “She was not handpicked.”

JOB HISTORY

Micaela Brown’s resume shows she has worked as a counter manager at Macy’s in Stow since December 2013 and as a parent engagement coordinator for the Youngstown City School District since February 2022.

In the first job, she led a team of sales associates, oversaw daily sales targets and visual merchandising and developed and executed special events to drive foot traffic and sales, according to her resume.

As a parent engagement coordinator, she developed and implemented a calendar of special events to foster community and family engagement; established relationships with various stakeholders, including parents, staff and local community organizations; coordinated program logistics, including event setup, volunteer management and marketing outreach; and collaborated with district staff to address concerns and improve program participation, according to her resume.

She was also the leave of absence coordinator for Signet Jewelers in Akron from August 2015 to May 2018, candidate sourcing specialist for Workplace Staffing in Cuyahoga Falls from December 2014 to June 2015, a marketing associate at Kent State University from August 2013 to September 2013, a manager for Kent State Center Programming from January 2011 to August 2013. She was also a playground director for the city parks and recreation department from May 2010 to August 2010.

She has a bachelor’s degree from Kent State in sports administration with a minor in business.

“She went to school for this,” Brown said.

The job description requires the recreational program supervisor to coordinate and supervise recreation and park programs, events and manage a recreation facility and staff.

The duties include providing oversight of day-to-day operations for programs, services, facility rentals and other recreation center uses; developing, implementing, supervising and evaluating children, adult and senior programs, camps, workshops and clinics; ensuring a safe, clean and inviting facility through regular inspections, maintenance and reporting; training, scheduling and supervising staff, instructors and volunteers; overseeing the budget, monitoring expenditures, and preparing annual budget requests; and preparing, reviewing and maintaining a variety of monthly and annual reports.

The duties also include being skilled in the supervision of personnel; the organization of recreational activities and programs; the operations of computers, software and other standard office equipment; planning, organization and decision making; and oral and written communication.

The minimum education and experience was a bachelor’s degree in recreation administration or a related field and two to four years of directly related experience.

Brown said Clemate Franklin, the parks and recreation director, came up with the idea of creating the position. Council voted in June to establish the job.

STATE LAW

State law doesn’t permit a public official to hire a relative by blood or marriage — including in-laws — if they reside in the same household, according to the Ohio Ethics Commission. Micaela Brown doesn’t live with the mayor.

The commission also states: “Public officials or employees are required by law to completely remove themselves from participating in any way in the hiring process if a family member is competing for a public job. The public official or employee may not, in any way, use his or her position to influence anyone to hire a family member.”

It states: “If a public servant’s family member is lawfully hired by a public entity, without the public servant’s participation in the hire, the ethics law continues to limit the actions of the public official or employee. The public servant cannot be the family member’s direct supervisor or participate in any decisions on matters that affect a family member’s employment, such as raises, promotions and performance evaluations.”