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Law department urges limits on public staffing talk as Youngstown negotiates police contracts
Summary
The city's law department told the safety committee not to discuss numeric YPD staffing during contract negotiations, a point council members said complicated transparency around recent community policing changes.
At the Jan. 22 Youngstown safety committee meeting, Law Department attorney Joe Fritz advised council members not to discuss overall Youngstown Police Department staffing numbers in public because the city is in the middle of two contract negotiations.
"The law department suggests we don't discuss [YPD staffing levels] at this open forum," Fritz said, explaining that public statements about staffing counts could affect bargaining positions and ongoing negotiations.
Council members said that constraint complicated their ability to discuss a recent letter that changed community-policing assignments without prior conversation. Chair Jimmy Hughes described frustration that the committee received notice of assignment shifts only by letter and sought more proactive communication.
Mayor Derek McDowell acknowledged that transition timing and bidding windows required some rapid decisions, and he said the administration did not intend to short-circuit council input. McDowell said some adjustments were made to reduce mandated overtime and improve morale among officers.
The committee did not vote on staffing levels. Members requested that the administration bring more documentation and that Sergeant Johnny Patton, who supervises community police officers, attend the next committee meeting so members can review specific duties that can be discussed publicly without affecting negotiations.
The committee scheduled that meeting for Feb. 26, 2026.
