Meeting Notes: Public Input Meeting #1

Youngstown City Charter Review Commission

Meeting Notes:February 27, 2012

Meeting Began: 5:00 p.m.

Meeting Adjourned: 6:15 p.m.

Commissioners departure: 6:45 p.m.

Host of Public Forum: Jacqueline Taylor and William Carter

# of public participants: 26

Present: Jerome Williams, Chair; Phil Kidd: Nikki Posterli; Jacqueline Taylor; Leona Crogan: Sandra Horton-Teague; William Carter; Thomas Rusback, Michael O’Hara

Special Guest:

Councilwoman Janet Tarplay, Councilman Swierz, and N. Skolnick-Vindicator Newspaper

·        Jacqueline Taylor called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in the Meeting Room at the New Port Library on Market St. and Midlothian Blvd..

 Suggestions/Critiques

• Host should allow participants enough time to review Charter before they can express their concerns.

•  Allow participants time express their concerns regarding Charter. (2 minute time limit may need to be reviewed)

• Participants felt that the meeting ended too early and that their concerns were not taken seriously.

• Designate an area where a copy of the Charter, pencils, pens and note cards can be picked up by participants before being seated.

• Bring extra Charters for participants to review prior to expressing concerns

• Allow time for participants to review the Charter prior to the start of the minute (at the least 15 minutes)

• Have Charters available.

Participants Concerns regarding Charter

MAYORAL TERMS

• Term limits puts a stop to corruption therefore the mayor should serve only a specified number of term limits. Participant feels that rights would be taken away from citizens if Mayor was appointed by City Council.

• Participant feels that there should be a council At Large and mayor should have term limits. Also feels that there should be one council per Ward.

• Participant had a question regarding Mayor Limits and Holding positions. The Charter states that the Mayor cannot hold more than one position. Participant wanted to know what positions could/could not the Mayor hold according to the charter. (Needs clarification for citizens understanding).

COUNCIL

• Participant feels that council should not hold other positions. Holding other positions could cause distractions and lead to a lame duck term.

• Participant feels that council members should not hold another position within government. This could possibly lead to corruption.

• Participant feels that council members jobs are not defined within the Charter and it should be. Also feels that the Charter should specify what council members roles are within the community. (Ex. Council members should not be called for things such as potholes in the street or streets not being cleaned).

• Participant feels that the public should be notified of all council member meetings and council’s Agenda for the meeting should also be publicized. Participant feels that the public has not been kept informed of council meetings and their agendas. (Ex. It would have been a shame for council and the charter commission to have revised the City Charter without public input). 

Council Clerk & Employees

• Employees that work for Council members within City Hall should become civil service employees. Participant feels that these individuals’ jobs should be protected especially if they are good employees.

Salary

• Mayor’s and council members’ salaries are out of line. Participant feels that it should be reduced.

• (Side note) Participant felt that a new Information Technology (I.T.) Department is needed for the City of Youngstown. Other participant felt that the Department of Public Works, Street, Utilities and Water departments should be combined. There jobs are very similar and it would be easier to cross train employees. Citizens should not have to call several different departments for the same thing.

Parks & Recreation

• Participant feels that the Parks and Recreation Department needs a Director.

• Participants love the Facebook network for the City Charter Commission.

Department of Police

• Participant feels that the Chief of police should be elected by the people. Another participant disagrees and believes that the Chief should be appointed as stated by the Charter, but the Chief should receive a 2% pay raise. No Police Chief should be making the same or less than their Police Captains.

Nomination & Elections

• Non-partisan elections should be allowed

•  Participant feels that the requirement for 5000 signatures for an individual to be placed on the ballot should be changed.

• Participant feels that Wards should be based on population and re-districted so that they can be balanced. In the Charter where the wording says that “Wards should be changed according to population, ” it should read that Wards must be changed according to population.

• Participant feels that all council should be responsible for running the downtown area.

Things to be added to Charter

• City should specify their expected time schedules to employees upon hiring

• Employees must work from 8am -4:30p.m.

• Employees should not be allowed to utilize city time for religious purposes. Others have voiced concerns regard Separation of Church and State laws and federal government (Constitutional laws).

• City Council should be reduced to 5 members and take the remaining funds from the two terminated positions and terminate the President of Council position and divide these funds amongst the remaining 5 members. These 5 council members can then chose who they would like their President of Council to be amongst the 5 of them.

• People should have more say in businesses or provisions should be specified within the Charter regarding what businesses are allowed to come into the Youngstown communities. People should be better informed of these proposals from businesses and having a greater say in whether or not these businesses should be allowed.

• Participant feels that there should be 3 At large council members. This would allow for minority representation and the 3 At large should be voted by porality vote.