YOUNGSTOWN — Legislation that stalled at the previous city council meeting passed unanimously when brought up for reconsideration Wednesday.

One ordinance amends a contract the city has with the Western Reserve Port Authority to seek buyers for a number of city-owned properties and the other gives raises to 199 nonunion employees.

Council voted 5-1 Dec. 17 on a request by the administration to pass legislation by emergency to grant raises in 2026 of 4% plus $1 an hour to the nonunion employees, which includes department heads, non-management workers and those in the clerk of courts and court bailiff’s office. Because the ordinance needed six votes to be approved via emergency, it only received a first reading at that meeting.

It passed 6-0 Wednesday.

During the Dec. 17 meeting, Finance Director Kyle Miasek said to Councilwoman Samantha Turner, D-3rd Ward, who opposed passing it by emergency last month: “It’s unfortunate when you could have asked me questions rather than to vote no,” and he was disappointed the department heads “don’t have the support of all of council.”

Turner responded that she was permitted to ask questions.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Turner said she wanted to get answers to questions she had about the raises and the delay at the previous meeting wasn’t done to embarrass anyone.

Miasek apologized Wednesday for his Dec. 17 remarks and said he wanted to work with Turner in the future.

The 4% raises for nonunion employees is the same increase given this year to those in the firefighters union and at least what the police patrol union, which rejected a fact-finder’s report with that percentage salary increase, will receive.

The $1-an-hour raise for the nonunion employees is designed to give them money in place of extra payments that go to certain unions for bonuses for hazardous duty, shift differential and uniform allowances, Miasek said.

WRPA CONTRACT

Also approved Wednesday were changes to the WRPA contract to seek buyers for a number of city-owned properties, including the former Chill-Can plant site and the shuttered 20 Federal Place.

Turner had requested at the Dec. 17 meeting that the legislation receive a first reading.

The ordinance was approved 6-0 Wednesday.

Council is down a member with Anita Davis leaving the 6th Ward seat to become council president. The Mahoning County Democratic Party scheduled a Jan. 26 meeting to fill the vacancy.

The city has had an agreement since June 17, 2020, with the WRPA to identify properties owned by the former available for “lease, sale, renovation or redevelopment and properties not owned by the city that could be obtained for the same purposes.”

The contract pays the WRPA 5% of the gross transaction price of any sales.

While the contract has been in place for more than five years, the WRPA hasn’t sold any city-owned properties to date.

The WRPA board voted Dec. 17, a few hours before city council met, to approve the contract amendment.

The WRPA has greater flexibility to sell the properties than the city, which has restrictions under state law.