YOUNGSTOWN — City council approved four pieces of legislation to address Youngstown’s lead waterline issues and ratified a three-year contract with the police patrol union.

Council voted 6-0 Wednesday on all of the legislation. With the 6th Ward seat vacant and a council member absent at the Feb. 4 meeting, the legislative body couldn’t pass legislation two weeks ago by emergency.

With the six members on council in attendance Wednesday, the ordinances were unanimously passed.

One ordinance approved Wednesday authorizes the board of control to apply for a loan of up to $13 million from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Supply Revolving Loan Account for a project that would replace the water main line on Glenwood Avenue from Midlothian Boulevard to Almyra Avenue on the South Side and eliminate about 800 lead service lines off the street.

There is no guarantee that the city will receive approval from the state.

The city is seeking the funding now because of the uncertainty of the state program, which forgives 50% of the money borrowed.

The state funding for the revolving loan program is supposed to expire at the end of the year though there is the possibility it could return in 2027.

This would be the most expensive lead service line project for the city.

Another ordinance approved Wednesday gives permission to the board of control to advertise for bids and enter into a contract for the Crandall Park water main on Gypsy Lane from Logan to Goleta avenues and the replacement of about 470 lead waterlines on Fifth Avenue, Tod Lane, Belmont Avenue and Gypsy Lane.

The engineer’s estimate for the project is $5,799,516 with the city borrowing the money through the EPA fund that forgives half of the cost.

Council in June voted to authorize the board of control to enter into joint loan agreements for the work with the EPA and the Ohio Water Development Authority. At the time, the project’s estimated cost was $9 million, but was significantly lowered after design work was done.

City council agreed Wednesday to increase the appropriation to $8,896,799 for the Buckeye Plat water main and lead line replacement project on the city’s southeast side.

The work started in June, but the state changed its reimbursement policy.

Instead of making direct payments to vendors, the state requires local governments to pay the vendors and get reimbursed by the OWDA.

City council needs to authorize the appropriation in order to get the money from the state to pay the construction contractor and the inspection services. This also falls under the 50% loan forgiveness category.

The project will be finished later this year. It includes replacing the water main and lead lines to more than 720 homes in the neighborhood.

The project is moving waterlines connected to houses in the area, by Midlothian Boulevard and Sheridan Road, from the rear of properties to the front to make it easier to gain access to the lines if they need repair work.

A fourth ordinance accepted a $500,000 grant from the Ohio EPA’s Drinking Water Assistance Fund Program to help with the city’s lead line replacement program.

The water department will use the funding to purchase new copper pipes to replace 229 lead lines throughout the city.

POLICE CONTRACT

Council voted 6-0 Wednesday on a three-year contract giving the police patrol union members 4% annual raises retroactive to last year, as well an additional $1 an hour for this year and 2027.

The 82-member union already approved the contract that provides its members with the largest annual pay raises in decades and possibly since the union started collective bargaining.

Between the 4% annual raises and the $1 hourly increase, the most-senior officers, those with at least nine years of experience, will go from $30.04 an hour, $62,479 annually, in 2024 to $34.83 an hour, $72,444 annually, in 2027.

Between the raises and the $1 hourly increase, starting pay will go from $21 an hour, $43,680 annually, in 2024 to $24.66 an hour, $51,297 annually, in 2027.

Also with this contract, starting salaries for officers increase by 17.67%, retroactive to Jan. 1, from what was paid in 2024.

In addition to back pay for 2025, officers will get 4% increases on overtime earned last year.

As part of the new contract, those who work the afternoon second shift will continue to receive an additional 50 cents an hour on top of the raise and $1 hourly increase while those working the overnight shift will continue to get an additional 60 cents an hour plus the raise and $1 hourly increase.

That means the most-senior officers working afternoon shifts will make $35.33 an hour by Jan. 1, 2027, and those working overnight will get $35.43 an hour on the same date. That works out to $73,486 and $73,694, respectively, in annual pay in 2027.

But those who work the dayturn will no longer get an additional 40 cents an hour starting this year.

Those shift pay increases, not built into base salaries, were included in the previous union contract.

The patrol officers will see annual hazardous duty pay increase from $850 to $1,000, the uniform allowance go from $1,085 to $1,300, the annual bulletproof vest allotment is going from $800 to $1,250, those working on holidays will get double time rather than the current 1.75 times their hourly wages, and additional money will be given each year to officers with college degrees.

The city’s ranking police officers’ union, which currently has 41 members, has a “me-too” clause in its contract, meaning it automatically gets the same raises as the patrol union. Its members had negotiated a 2.5% increase for 2025 so the ranking officers will get an additional 1.5% retroactive pay hike for last year and then 4% annually for 2026 and 2027.