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The effort to reverse the pay raises given to Warren elected officials in November came in 49 signatures short of the number needed to get it on the ballot, according to a letter from the Trumbull County Board of Elections.
Board of Election Executive Director Stephanie Penrose on Wednesday sent a letter to Warren Auditor Vincent Flask stating the petitions had 901 valid signatures of Warren voters. The petition effort was required to collect 10% of the number of voters that participated in the last governor election, which is 950 valid signatures.
Penrose's letter noted the petitions the board of elections reviewed would be returned to Flask's office within the next 10 days.
Warren city council voted on Nov. 8 to approve pay raises for the mayor, some other elected members of the administration and city council members.
Under the legislation, the mayor's salary must be 1% higher than the base salary of the highest-paid, wage-earning employee in the city. At no time will the mayor's salary be lower than 1% above the base pay of the city's highest paid official, the legislation states.
Other salaries of city officials then would be based on a percentage of the mayor's salary.
The ordinance increases council members' salaries by 89% to $20,974 per year over their current salary of $11,109 per year.
The pay raises will increase the salaries by more than $260,145 in 2024.
City council members voted 8-2 to give pay increases to city officials, including themselves.
Voting in favor of the pay adjustment legislation were Todd Johnson, I-1st Ward; Greg Greathouse, D-3rd Ward; James Shaffer, D-4th Ward; Ashley McBride, D-5th Ward; Cheryl Saffold, D-6th Ward; Ron White, D-7th Ward; and at-Large Democrats Helen Rucker and Gary Steinbeck.
Andrew Herman, D-2nd Ward and Ken MacPherson, D-at Large, voted no.
MacPherson, who has been leading efforts to give voters an opportunity to vote on whether these elected officials should get these raises, vows to continue the fight for a city-wide vote.
"We are trying to get affidavits from people who were disenfranchised," he said. "We are just 49 short and we have over 50 challengeable signatures on the petition, and others too."
Greathouse, the council's finance committee chair, says if the election board's determination is accurate, this represents another failed attempt by MacPherson.
"He tried to do a referendum on the impound lot and it failed miserably," Greathouse said. "He backed the group Warren Deserves Better and their efforts were not successful. He ran for mayor and was defeated. Everything he puts his hand on ends in failure."