PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
FIRST READING … A large crowd filled the Bryan Council Chambers on Tuesday, September 2, listening to a proposal to dissolve the Bryan Board of Public Affairs in the council meeting. Council members approved a first reading of the proposed ordinance.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
Bryan City Council approved the first reading on dissolving the Bryan Board of Public Affairs at its regular session on Tuesday, September 2.
The amendment will not only dissolve the BPA but also bring the Bryan Municipal Utilities under the supervision of the mayor and city council.
Currently, Bryan is the last city in Ohio to maintain an elected City Council and Board of Public Affairs. The amendment will also allow the city to operate with one governing board to promote cohesiveness and economy in administration and public projects.
Prior to the first reading, three Board of Public Affairs members, Annette Schreiner, Karen Ford, and Bob Eyre, addressed the council concerning the proposed amendment.
Should the city council approve the amendment following the third reading, it will then be placed on the May 2026 primary ballot for voters to decide.
“City council needs to insert two different purposes,” said Schreiner. “We assure the accountability, direction, and to protect the long-term stability of utility in a community in which we live.
“If this ordinance were to make it to the May 2026 ballot and were to be decided to be dissolved, BMU (Bryan Municipal Utilities) would follow under the mayor and city council.”
Schreiner told the council that there are over 100 years of utility experience within the current BPA board.
“Three of the board members are past employees, and another board member had worked for Ohio Gas Company, and the other current member had worked in electrical utility,” noted Schreiner.
She then urged council members not to pass the ordinance, as it would change the charter that could possibly dissolve the Bryan Board of Public Affairs.
Ford, who was first elected to the BPA board in 2014 and again was elected two more times, spoke to the council about the special meeting BPA held last Friday to discuss the importance of the board and asked why the issues had been raised without prior notice.
“The citizens did not receive an opportunity to provide input on the proposed charter changes submitted to council today,” commented Ford.
“The current charter that we are operating under now provides the legal framework for local government, establishing rules, responsibilities, and limitations under authority.
“It has separate powers to control and supervise over the operations of the city, which is the mayor, and for the electric, water, and utilities, which is the Board of Public Affairs.”
Ford mentioned the same issue came up in 2019 and was voted down by the council, so it didn’t come up to the voters at that time.
“Taxpayers, utility customers, and businesses strongly voiced their opinion for that position,” added Ford.
Previously, it was also considered again in 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1984. In 1997, there was a strong push to add two members to the BPA, which passed.
The focus of the Board of Public Affairs, according to Ford, is to keep Bryan’s water and electric rates the best in the area and to attract businesses to Bryan.
Eyre told council members they have a great responsibility coming before them. “You’re going to have to answer the people that you represent,” said Eyre. “To me, it’s like how you vote against the board, who has the priority of the citizens.”
He also reflected on his own experiences with the Board of Public Affairs. “I moved here in 1994 with my family and been here for 30-plus years. I fell in love with Bryan than Toledo because there is no better place ever to be able to experience raising my family.
“When I retired a year ago, I had 42 years of experience in the natural gas business. I held various responsibilities in upper management levels with a lot of decision-making with rates, economic development, industrial marketing, all these things.”
Mayor Carrie Schlade then gave a brief history of the Board of Public Affairs, created in 1906, and noted several historical facts, including 1967, when the city had attempted to sell the electric system along with abolishing the BPA, but both measures went down to defeat at the ballot box.
Currently, the BPA has a budget of $62,700, which includes compensation and travel expenses for board members.
Schlade commented that if the ordinance is passed by the voters, it would change the utility oversight to the mayor and city council under the management of the director of utilities, who would keep staff, leadership, and operations intact.
“Over the last couple of years, there have been increasing vacancies within the Board of Public Affairs,” said the mayor.
“Fewer candidates run, several appointments have been made over the last couple of elections. With the community of our size, it’s very hard and very little to find individuals to run for elected positions. This is not about politics, but progress.”
Council member John Betts recommended that the ordinance needed a couple of changes before the next meeting, involving the second and fourth paragraphs of the proposed ordinance.
He recommended changing the language regarding the supervision and operation by the city to indicate it would run more efficiently and effectively with less fiscal expense by operating under one elected city council.
The other recommended change involved differences in operation and employee management, which has created an added expense to the taxpayers and ratepayers of the city.
“There is no sense in confusing the issue,” said Betts. “It’s a very simple, straightforward issue in my mind, and I think the mayor did a good job escalating that.”
“This will open up lines of communication and hear what people have to say,” said council member Richard Hupe. “I think this is a good thing.”
After removing the second and fourth paragraphs of the ordinance, Betts, who had proposed the changes, made the motion to approve the first reading, with council member Steve Alspaugh seconding it, and the motion passed unanimously.
City Engineer Brian Wieland updated the council about the Huntington Drive paving project and requested assistance from Williams County for equipment to help with the city’s chip spreader for the chip seal project.
“I spoke with the county engineer, and he made a decision not to chip seal the road this year and hold off until next year,” said Wieland. “We need to have several warm days to do the work, because I don’t want to make the mistake that we made last year.”
Mayor Schlade updated the council about the recent updates concerning the Dad’s Place litigation that was recently dismissed by the federal court.
In another action, a donation of $1,500 from the Bryan Area Foundation to the Bryan Police Department on behalf of the Robert F. Flightner Memorial Law Enforcement Scholarship was accepted.
Council designated the clerk-treasurer and or city attorney as designees to attend training for Records Management Policies.