Youngstown mayor hears promises from Pence
Youngstown Mayor John McNally is waiting to find out how the Trump administration will fulfill promises to work in a “big way” with American cities to replace aging roads, bridges, sewer and water systems, as well as beef up police and fire services. As people were converging on Washington for Donald Trump's inaugural events, McNally and 350 other mayors were wrapping up the 85th Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Thursday.
WASHINGTON - Youngstown Mayor John McNally is waiting to find out how the Trump administration will fulfill promises to work in a “big way” with American cities to replace aging roads, bridges, sewer and water systems, as well as beef up police and fire services.
As people were converging on Washington for Donald Trump's inaugural events, McNally and 350 other mayors were wrapping up the 85th Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Thursday.
Vice-President Elect Mike Pence was among the officials to address the conference this week.
Mayor McNally tells 21 News that during a 20 minute speech, Pence said that the new administration would address the issue of aging infrastructure in cities. McNally says Pence did not give specifics on how the White House would accomplish the task.
The mayor says Youngstown is constantly working on road projects. The city uses locally generated dollars for resurfacing projects, and works with the state on larger projects like recent improvements along South Avenue and Meridian Road.
Youngstown also faces the challenge of complying with a 2015 EPA consent decree to make $150 million worth of improvements to expand and improve the water treatment plant, in order to meet federally mandates.
McNally says the city just applied for $53 million dollars in grants and zero percent loans from a pollution control fund.
Pence also promised large amounts of money to train first responders and members of city safety forces.
McNally says he would like to see future federal dollars come to cities with fewer strings attached. As an example, the mayor pointed to grants for increasing the numbers of police and fire ranks that are given with the caveat that the city must find other funding to keep those new employees working after the grants run out.
While in Washington, McNally says he also met with Ohio's two U.S. Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown to discuss city concerns.
The mayor came away from Washington with a few more dollars for a city run program designed to reduce recidivism among ex-convicts.
A $10,000 grant from the Bank of America and the U.S. Conference of Mayors will be used for a financial literacy program administered by the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (C.I.R.V.)
The program helps ex-offenders recently released from prison re-enter society.
