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Youngstown Finance Committee refers multiple spending items and ordinance amendments to full City Council
Summary
The Finance Committee reviewed funding requests and contracts — including additional police cadet equipment funding, a 2% increase for workers'‑comp administrator Sedgwick, emergency response and water‑billing studies — and moved several ordinances and amendments to the full City Council for final consideration.
The Youngstown City Finance Committee on Dec. 3 reviewed a package of budget adjustments, contract renewals and technical studies and moved multiple items to the full City Council for consideration.
Chair Amita Davis convened the meeting at 4:31 p.m. The committee heard staff briefings across public safety, water, wastewater, parks and sanitation before making procedural motions to send a set of ordinances and amendments to the Council floor.
On police equipment, Sergeant Parfullo told the committee that the city initially budgeted $25,000 for cadet equipment and has already spent that amount on an earlier class. "Council approved the increase of the police cadets from 15 to 30, so we needed to increase that amount," he said, explaining the request for additional funding to outfit the larger cadet class with items such as flashlights and body armor.
The committee discussed a proposed 2% rate increase for Sedgwick, the city’s third‑party workers’ compensation administrator. A staff attorney and the risk manager described Sedgwick’s role handling hundreds of claims, appeals and coordination with the medical care organization; one member summarized the view that the increase was reasonable compared with broader market increases.
On fleet replacement, staff said an October crash totaled an F‑550 used for water repairs; the striking driver reportedly lacked insurance and the city does not expect reimbursement, so staff purchased an off‑the‑lot replacement because the vehicle is needed for emergency water‐line work.
Water and wastewater items drew extended discussion. The water department sought approval for a consultant to produce a Risk and Resilience Assessment and an Emergency Response Plan, noting the work is required every five years and will cover asset useful life and cybersecurity/SCADA vulnerabilities. The vendor’s proposal is included in the meeting packet and staff said the finished reports will be ready for presentation to the U.S. EPA in 2026.
Wastewater staff briefed the committee on replacing an aging Lucidity work‑order system. The initial cost covers data migration and the first year of licensing; staff said an annual license fee (estimated at about $70,000) will be presented to Council each year.
On utility billing, staff proposed a study to reexamine consumption "blocks" and consider presenting water use in gallons rather than cubic feet. The department said meter deployment is roughly 85.47% complete and estimated the study would take about six months. After discussion, staff asked to reduce a consulting line item from $65,000 to $45,000; a motion to amend that figure was made in committee and the matter will be addressed on the Council floor.
Committee members also reviewed the streetlight request process: staff (Chuck Park) explained that residents or council members can request lights, FirstEnergy evaluates pole feasibility and cost is captured in legislation; installation typically follows Council approval and FirstEnergy signoff and can take roughly three months.
On parks spending, staff said several ARPA‑funded contracts required increases or change orders to match expenditures listed in the city’s 2024 ARPA reports. Change orders added work such as a storage building at Stanball Golf Course and security cameras; staff emphasized they must expend the ARPA amounts reported in 2024.
Sanitation staff reported mattress pickups of about 1,232 units from May to October (averaging roughly 205 per month). The committee asked whether disposal costs are recorded separately; staff said disposal is handled via roll‑offs and flat dumping fees included in sanitation costs.
Procedurally, members moved to take items 10 through 19 to the Council floor and to amend Ordinance 25381 (striking the word "unclassified" and replacing it with "classified"). Motions to amend Item 9 (reducing the consultant line from $65,000 to $45,000) and to advance multiple ordinances were seconded; the chair said the items will be addressed on the full Council floor rather than finalized in committee.
The committee adjourned at 5:22 p.m. Items referred to the Council floor will receive consideration there; no final votes on the ordinances were recorded in the committee transcript.
