PHOTOS BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
NEW VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR … Mayor Allen Naiber (right) swears in new Village Administrator Christopher Frazer (left) during Monday’s meeting of the Delta Village Council.
NEW POLICE CHIEF … Mayor Allen Naiber (right) swears in new Police Chief Samuel Chappel (left) during Monday’s meeting of the Delta Village Council.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
The Delta Village Council turned the page on a pair of contentious vacancies during its Monday meeting, with the swearing in of new Village Administrator Christopher Frazer and new Police Chief Samuel Chappel.
Frazer takes over from Interim Village Administrator Edward Ciecka, who was put in place after the abrupt firing of former administrator Andy Glenn on May 20.
The council claimed that termination was at will, but Glenn issued a letter to the council through his legal representation in September threatening action based on his belief that the termination was a violation of the Ohio Revised Code as well as of his right to due process. He is seeking compensation and damages totaling more than $450,000.
Ciecka reported the village received a summons on the matter in November, while Law Director Kevin Heban separately said the issue had been forwarded on to the village’s insurance carrier, who would be handling everything for them.
Ciecka, former Lucas County administrator and current senior advisor for northwestern Ohio for the Ohio City & County Management Association, has been assisting the village since Glenn’s termination until Frazer’s hiring, and promised to make himself available to Frazer and the village in the transition.
For his part, Frazer said he is ready to hit the ground running. “I understand that I’m in a new village, a new county, a new state, but I’m the kind of person that can always sit back and learn new things and be able to take in different advice and different information from other people,” Frazer said.
“Yes, I was aware of some of the instances that occurred here in Delta before I took the position, but I figured the past is the past and it’s now time to write a new chapter in Delta’s book.”
Frazer, who earned his Masters of Public Administration at Central Michigan University, was previously employed as city manager in Bessemer, Michigan.
According to a March 21, 2024 article in The Globe – a weekly newspaper covering the western region of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Frazer was forced out of the position after a little more than four months on the job following a special meeting and closed session.
“After the closed session, the council voted to provide Frazer with the option of resigning within 48 hours or being fired,” the article reads.
It also stated that managerial training had been suggested for Frazer during a council meeting in January. Councilman Mark Movrich told The Globe that he did not believe Frazer was not the best fit for the city.
“He may fit in somewhere else. I just don’t believe it’s here,” Movrich told the Globe reporter. Prior to that, Frazer served as assistant to the city manager in Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina.
Chappel takes over the helm of the police department from Acting Police Chief and Sergeant Drew Walker, who has been serving since the resignation of former chief Robert Austin in May, prior to Glenn’s termination.
Austin resigned in the wake of allegations that he had been married to two women at the same time and misrepresented the relationships on an official benefits form with a previous employer.
A finding issued by the Ohio Auditor of State Officer stated Austin “improperly added a second wife to his township health insurance coverage” and ordered him to repay just under $70,000.
Chappel was selected by the council after an executive session in October, with the swearing in delayed while contract negotiations went forward. He was most recently employed at the Columbus Police Department.
ACCOUNT CORRECTIONS
The council approved on an emergency basis a resolution to make corrective entries to the village’s financial statements in order to balance the village’s bank accounts to the amounts it showed in its own books.
According to Ciecka, those numbers had not matched for some time, with the difference changing erratically from month to month for some time until a large amount of effort was put in along with about $3,000 of costs to locate the error, at which point the difference was pushed to $1,024.14 higher in the books than the bank accounts. For the last three months, that difference has not changed.
Ciecka said the discrepancy was due to posting errors and insufficient training for fiscal personnel, but that he did not believe it was stolen. The corrective entries will bring the difference to zero, where it is expected to remain.
As a result of discussion on the matter, Councilman Robert Shirer requested the council receive prompt notification of future discrepancies, Councilwoman Lynn Frank requested the council receive monthly copies of the bank reconciliations, and Councilman Chad Johnson requested the council receive all monthly statements for all credit cards used by village employees.
2025 TEMPORARY APPROPRIATIONS
The council passed on an emergency basis the temporary appropriations for the 2025 budget.
According to Ciecka, one of the biggest changes is the shifting of the majority of police department expenses (roughly $959,000) from a separate police department fund to the general fund.
He said the change gives the council more flexibility to adjust the budget as necessary, since money placed in the police department fund is locked down for that use only.
Ciecka also said current revenues are not sufficient to operate the village’s wastewater treatment plant, with $388,000 projected to be transferred from the general fund in 2025 to cover its operations. He added that with expenses exceeding expected revenues, he is hoping the end-of-year cash balance will cover the difference. “It’s getting tight,” he said.
The council agreed to schedule a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, December 30 to pass additional appropriations if necessary.
SLIDE REPAIR
The council approved on second reading a consent resolution for Ohio Department of Transportation slide repair on U.S. 20 at “SLN 19.29.”
Ciecka reported ODOT agreed to cover the cost of right of way for the project, which is usually paid for by the local municipality.
Johnson shared his concern that the village had previously approached ODOT indicating the work was necessary, only to be told it was the village’s problem, and that they went on to spend roughly a quarter of a million dollars to fix the issue, unsuccessfully.
OTHER BUSINESS
Ciecka reported the village has received a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant to remediate the former Bunting Bearing property to residential standards.
The council passed on an emergency basis an ordinance amending the municipal code setting the allocation of tax revenues at 66 and 2/3 percent to the general fund and 33 and 1/3 percent “for the financing, construction, maintenance, operation, and improvement of the municipal waterworks system.”
The council passed on final reading an ordinance authorizing the sale of a 2007 Toyota Prius abandoned at the village impound lot as surplus property on GovDeals.
The council approved the appropriation of funds previously authorized for a water filtration project but never transferred.
The council approved on an emergency basis an ordinance making more than 180 fund transfers to ensure accounts are balanced at the end of the year.
The next regular meeting of the Delta Village Council will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, January 6, 2025, at 401 Main Street in Delta.
