YOUNGSTOWN – City council decided to postpone a controversial plan to give $ 1,000 to city workers who have or wanted to get a COVID-19 vaccination.
Four out of seven council members supported the proposal at a meeting of the finance committee on Monday.
But Councilor Lauren McNally, D-5th Ward, one of those four, said at Wednesday’s session she was not ready to vote for it.
The Council decided to submit the law on Wednesday. Reconsideration could take place at the next Council meeting on September 15 at the earliest.
“I need more information financially,” McNally explained why she wanted a delay. “Since we took out self-insurance, we have incurred costs for COVID-related expenses. We have to look at the different options. I still prefer it, but for the past day and a half I’ve researched and found other alternatives. “
Such options, she said, include “deterring employees” by requiring them to pay for COVID-19 health care bills if they are not vaccinated.
Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, who defied the plan, said he was happy with the postponement.
With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approving the Pfizer vaccine for people 16 years and older on Monday, Brown expects the Moderna vaccine to do the same soon.
If that happens, Brown said he would strongly consider getting a mandate for all city workers to get vaccinated. Those who refuse to be vaccinated could be charged a higher insurance premium, he said.
Regarding the $ 1,000 proposed payment, Brown said, “It was an overuse of funds. I would rather invest the money in our other expenses. “
The law would have given the $ 1,000 bonuses to all city employees who have already been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or who do so within 45 days of the proposal going into effect.
There are about 700 full-time and part-time employees in the city. So if everyone got the vaccinations and showed proof, the city would pay about $ 700,000 in bonuses, said Kyle Miasek, the city’s financial director.
The law did not include a source of funding, so separate laws had to be approved by the city council in order for the bonuses to be paid out. The money, Miasek said, could come from the US $ 82,775,370 bailout plans awarded to the city.
Read MORE in Thursday’s VINDICATOR.
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