Youngstown City Charter Review Commission
Meeting Notes: February 27, 2012
Meeting Began: 5:00 p.m.
Meeting Adjourned with Charter Commission: 7:02 p.m.
Present: Jerome Williams,Chair; Scott Schulick,Vice-Chair; Phil
Kidd; Sandra Horton-Teague; Thomas Rusback; Jacqueline Taylor, William Carter;
Glenda House, Leona Crogan; Michael O’Hara; Nikki Posterli
v City Hall 6th Floor Council in City Council Caucus Room
Special Guest City Council:
v President of Council Tito Brown,
Councilwoman Janet Tarpley (6th Ward), Councilman Paul Drennan (5th
Ward), Councilman John R. Swierz (7th Ward), Councilman Mike Ray (4th
Ward), Councilman Nate Pinkard (3rd Ward), Councilwoman Annie Gillam
(1st Ward), Councilman T.J. Rodgers (2nd Ward), Public
Broadcast Station of Tokyo, Japan
Concerns of Council regarding the City Charter
Councilwoman Janet Tarpley (6th Ward)
v Agrees that Wards should be changed
according to population.
v Councilwoman feels that crime, education
and activities are reasons for population decline.
Councilman Paul Drennan (5th Ward)
v Wards are torn down that should be rebuilt
and there are some that should not be rebuilt.
v Councilman Drennan agrees that Wards
should be more balanced and districts should be redrawn (re-district).
v Councilman feels that someone with
expertise should be brought in for 6 months to redistrict.
v Councilman feels that he would be okay
with 2 year terms for councilmembers if the positions were fulltime with total
control. If there is no total control then council members would spend more
time campaigning. However, he does agree that 4 year terms are more effective
for councilmembers in allowing them to get projects completed and being more
effective.
v Councilman feels that Park &
Recreations Department, Street should be consolidated. He also feels that there
should be a director for Parks & Recreation.
v Councilman feels that education is the
number one reason for population decline.
v Believes in Mayoral System, not
Management.
Councilman Paul Drennan’s recommendations for the
Charter Commission
Ø Charter should address the hiring of Park
& Recreation Director. The director should have grant writing skills.
Ø Cut back on non-revenue generating jobs,
(Safety is a revenue generating job).
Ø Try to prioritize things that help to
benefit the city.
Ø Change language to make the Charter more
understandable.
Ø Part-time positions are okay for council,
but if reduced to 4 Wards the positions need to be fulltime.
Ø 6 Wards would function fine with 1 At
Large
Ø Strongly feels that a Human Resources
Department is needed. Also favors the combining of some departments along with
cross training.
Councilman John R. Swierz (7th Ward)
v Councilman believes that the cost of
operation must be reduced in order to make things work more effectively.
v Councilman feels that combining Traffic,
Engineering, Streets and Parks & Recreation as one department is a great
idea. He feels that the combining of these departments would help us combine
with other cities and survive regionally.
v Councilman opposes 2 year term limits. He
feels that council members need more time to be effective and strategize.
v Councilman feels that redistricting should
be something that is researched. He feels that more research should be done in
comparison to cities with similar populations as the City of Youngstown. We
must be sure that it is effective and managed effectively.
v Councilman does not agree with making
council At Large. He also feels that 2 year terms would be very costly for
council. Every two years they would be running for re-election. However, he
suggests that Charter Commission check with the public to see how they feel
regarding changes to the Charter.
v Councilman says that he prefers the two 4
year terms for council (as they are now). Between fulltime and part-time
positions for council, he says that if fulltime positions there should be a
salary, because you will always be there to serving the public.
Councilman John R. Swierz recommendations for the
Charter Commission
Ø Check with the public regarding what they
would like to see regarding changes to the City Charter.
Ø Creating a Department of inspections would
be more effective for the City of Youngstown.
Councilwoman Annie Gillam (1st Ward)
v Councilwoman feels that less people in a
Ward or population does not mean less work for council members.
v Vacant houses destabilize neighborhoods
and crime and demo can be difficult.
v Councilwoman feels that people will leave
an area due to depreciation.
v Councilwoman feels that Wards should
remain the same. She says that At Large council would cause wards to be
imbalanced (Example, some Wards would have 2 council members).
v Councilwoman believes in the Mayoral
System.
Councilwoman Annie Gillam recommendations for the
Charter Commission
Ø Councilwoman would like to see how the
(new) Parks & Recreations Director will work. She believes that the
implementing of programs and recreation will help teens out (keep them out of
trouble also).
Ø Councilwoman believes that 2 year term
limits are ridiculous. People should have the choice to get rid of council
members.
Ø Council members positions should remain
part-time, (Technically it is a full-time job).
Ø Term limits should be 12 years and there
should be a Park Director for the Parks & Recreation Department.
Ø Does not favor the combining of
departments, especially those such as Park & Recreations.
Councilman Mike Ray (4th Ward)
v Councilman believes that in order to
adjust government structure, we must benchmark and do comparisons with other
cities that are similar to get ideas. Don’t re-invent the wheel.
v Councilman believes that changes within
the city need to be address in order to keep the city stable.
v Councilman feels that 4 year term limits
are better. It allows council to make effective changes. People will change
council if they are not happy.
v Councilman believes that some services can
be combined or eliminated. Adjustments need to be made.
v Not in favor of At Large council. However,
he is okay with reducing the number of council members and the number of Wards.
v Councilman favors part-time positions for
council.
v Questions if there is a strong consistent
need for a Demo & Enforcement Department.
Councilman Mike Ray’s recommendations for the Charter
Commission
Ø Do comparisons with other cities that are
similar to the City of Youngstown regarding changes to City Council,
redistricting and Ward changes.
Ø Review “Revised Code” and redress the
information and instructions provided in the Charter regarding “How to fill
Vacancies in City Council (Democractic Party decides this). Councilman Swierz
agrees.
Ø The City of Youngstown needs a Parks &
Recreation Director.
Councilman Nate Pinkard (3rd Ward)
v Councilman favors 4 year terms for council
members. 4 year terms allows for council members to learn their constituents.
He also feels that the first year as a council member is a learning experience.
2 year terms would be an injustice to citizens.
v Councilman feels that people will
determine who they want in office. However, he does not feel that there is a
current issue with the Wards.
Councilman Nate Pinkard’s recommendations for the
Charter Commission
Ø Charter Commission should check with
progressive cities and their Parks & Recreations behavior to get ideas.
Compare them to the needs of the City of Youngstown. Are they effective? What
are we doing to bring people back to the city?
Ø Some departments need to be combined and
cross trained.
Councilman T.J. Rodgers (2nd Ward)
v Councilman does not agree with 2 year
terms for council members.
v Councilman feels that redistricting is
okay (should not be forced to redistrict), but the number of Wards should not
be changed drastically. He would really prefer that the Wards are not changed.
v Councilman does not favor full-time
council positions. He feels that full-time council positions would limit or
restrict the peoples’ choices.
v Councilman does not favor regional
districts.
v Parks & Recreations Department needs a
director. He feels that activities for this area are unsatisfactory.
v Favors the combining of some departments
Councilman T.J. Rodgers’ recommendations for the
Charter Commission
Ø Be careful (redistricting & trying to
become regional)
Ø Be smart (Demo). There are places where
this needs to be done.
Ø Park & Recreations needs a director.
He also favors a commissioner also.
Ø Youngstown should not be forced to
redistrict.
Ø Agrees that a Human Resources Department
is needed for fairness.
President of Council Tito Brown
v Redistrict only if it benefits the
citizens.
v 4 year terms help solidify council which
makes them more effective.
v Council should be part-time (although it
is truly a full-time job).
v Government and City Hall must be
consistent. Youth in government are the key. Next generation must understand
how city works,
v Council should not be mandated through the
Charter.
v Favors a Park & Recreations Director
and Commissioner. This helps with checks and balances. Mayor hires all Park
& Recreation personnel with the exception of the director.
v Odd number of council members helps to
break ties during voting. Nothing is gained when At Large council are
implemented.
v Favors contracts being lowered to $10,000
(Mayor’s recommendation).
v Feels that the seat of President of
Council is definitely needed. President of Council should have greater
involvement in City and legislation and have a good continuity. This is a very
valued position. Do not focus only on the dollars and cents when considering
council members numbers. People in these positions can be very effective.
President of Council’s recommendations for the Charter
Commission
Ø More cross training done between certain
departments that do the same jobs and work in similar fields. Example, Demo
& Code Enforcement and Planning dept. They should be placed under one roof.
Meeting with Council Members adjourned at 6:38 p.m.
New Business-6:42 p.m.
·
Jerome William;
Chair –Questions regarding public forum that is scheduled for February 28,
2012.
·
Nikki Posterli--
Someone needs to Inform the Public about Public forums on the 5:00 p.m. news
segment.
·
Jerome
Williams—After the public forums members can email their suggestions or changes
that they see need to be addressed regarding the forums. If you think that
something would work better or that something is not working, feel free to
email your suggestions and concerns.
·
Phil Kidd—Charters
will be hand delivered to the library. People can also access them online. We
will also have Charters to hand out to the public at the forums.
·
Leona Crogan—Do we
need a larger map?
·
Jacqueline
Taylor—Yes, A larger map will be displayed.
·
Phil Kidd—The
projector can be used to show a larger sized map.
·
Nikki Posterli—Why
do we need a map? Do not want to create any confusion amongst the public with
maps. Do not want to steer them into questions regarding their Wards. We are
only there to gather their concerns regarding the Charter.
·
Scott Schulick—It
is also better to be prepared for questions and have the maps available to
address questions regarding Wards.
·
Jerome Williams
(Chair)—Phil Kidd and I will operate the projector which will show a larger map
or the Charter sections as they are being discussed.
·
Scott
Schulick—regarding time for individuals to speak. If there are a small number
of people that show up to the forums let them talk.
·
Glenda House—Hand
sized maps should be used with the large map.
·
Jacqueline
Taylor—I will send the small maps to Phil Kidd so that he can put them on the
projector to be displayed at the public forums.
·
William
Carter—Have the public forum information been advertised and will it be
advertised more?
·
Phil Kidd—Public
neighborhood meetings are being held tonight and they are informing their own
members about the meetings.
·
Sandra
Horton-Teague –People will need to be directed to the meeting rooms as they
arrive to the library.
·
William
Carter—Library Staff also needs to be informed that public forums will be held
there so that if people come to them asking for information regarding the
meetings the staff will know exactly where to send them or tell them where the
rooms are located.
·
Jerome Williams
(Chair)—Everyone should try to get there as early as possible. We may have to
set up for the meeting.
·
Jerome Williams
(Chair)—Any questions regarding the forum.
Public visitor to meeting addresses concerns before
Charter Commission:
·
What is the
difference between an Initiative and a Referendum?
·
If the population
decreases more than 5% then you must redistrict.
·
He would like to
know the population figures for Wards.
Meeting adjourned at 7:02
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