By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
The St. Joseph Township Trustees met in a regular session on Monday, June 22, in the township hall.
Trustees present were Roger Muehlfeld and Cade Lalonde, with Kip Pahl being absent. Also, Fiscal Officer Jodi Radabaugh and Road Supervisor Mark Krill were present.
Minutes of the May 2026 meeting were approved along with the bank reconciliation statement, and purchase orders were reviewed and signed.
Radabaugh met with Aaron Sherman, representing EK Computer, Inc. of Napoleon, regarding the cybersecurity policy requirements.
Sherman told the trustees they are looking at implementing a platform for all the townships in Williams County to share and save costs since their base monthly fee is $580 for up to four users. The township only requires one user, so the platform could spread the monthly fee across more than one township.
His suggestion is for the township to put into place a password manager program and create a .gov domain for the township.
Radabaugh reported The Village Reporter left a message about an America 250 advertising deal they were running. It was discussed and agreed that it was not a good use of taxpayer funds.
The township was also contacted previously about sports advertising. It was recommended that such expenses will need to be done personally by the elected officials if they choose to. Radabaugh will be drafting an advertising policy for it.
In other business:
-Accepted the bid from Gaskill Construction to construct a salt storage barn.
-Distributed the 2024-2025 audit report to the trustees. The report noted one recommendation to use a Then and Now Certificate (purchase order) when applicable.
-Received corrected Amended Certificate of Estimate Resources from the County Auditor for revenue received for the special revenue cemetery fund. The budget commission previously approved the amended Certificate for the permanent cemetery fund.
-Distributed the township’s fraud policy and equipment disposal policy drafts for the trustees to review pending adoption at the July meeting.
-Passed a resolution to accept the amounts and rates as determined by the budget commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the county auditor.
-Was informed the township’s new John Deere tractor had arrived and paid for. The Ohio Township Association Risk Management Authority (OTARMA) updated the insurance coverage by removing the old coverage and adding new coverage to the tractor.
-Received an email from the County Engineer’s office with a revision where Charter Communications was doing fiber upgrades in the township during the month.
-Radabaugh had mailed letters to those who overpaid cemetery opening or closing fees asking if they wanted refunds or to donate them.