By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Tensions occasionally boiled over at the Swanton Village Council Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, Aug. 10.
In the lead-up to what would be a more explosive full council meeting immediately after, issues related to the upcoming budget discussions as well as a special request of the public utilities department led to raised voices and outbursts.
The longest discussion of the meeting came up with regard to the 2027 budget.
Councilman Deacon Dzierzawski initially recommended the new fiscal officer be prepared to report on anticipated revenue at the next committee of the whole meeting and that department heads appear two at a time at the committee meetings to present their anticipated expenditures.
As the department heads are just beginning to prepare their budgets, Councilman Noah Kreuz said that should wait until the budgets are ready.
Councilman John Schmidt added that the normal process was for the heads to prepare their budgets and present them to the fiscal officer before the council began its oversight.
“There’s no reason for those department heads to come in and justify their budgets, they know what they’re doing and they know what they need.
“What we do is provide that oversight and compare it to the revenues that we’re expecting,” Schmidt said.
Dzierzawski pressed the issue, saying appropriations for the last three years have been above and beyond revenue, and that “we will not have any money left in the general fund in less than two years” if that spending continues.
Schmidt called Dzierzawski’s desire to further enmesh the council in the budget preparation process “ridiculous.”
He said they should wait until the proposed budgets were brought to them and then have the department heads answer any questions they have.
After a terse back and forth between Dzierzawski and Schmidt over when and how council members interact with village employees, Councilwoman Dianne Westhoven added her vote to the method of waiting until the budgets were prepared and reviewed with the fiscal officer before the council reviews the numbers and makes any recommendations.
Village Administrator Shannon Shulters, speaking of the new fiscal officer, warned Dzierzawski that his request asked a lot of a person who was not yet working for the village.
She instead recommended using the 2026 budget as a starting point for discussions until the temporary budget was ready “and then you guys can nitpick it apart.”
She said she was extremely frustrated with the situation, asking how she was supposed to run and administer the village.
“I might as well walk out, you guys got this,” Shulters said.
Dzierzawski acknowledged her frustration, but said he wanted to ensure there was enough time for appropriate conversations to happen.
Shulters interrupted him, saying “there’s plenty of time” and that there was plenty of time before the permanent budget needed to be approved.
Dzierzawski claimed he was only responding to the request of other council members to have more time to discuss the budget, to which Kreuz responded he did want more time, but that he thought it was sufficient to wait for the budgets to be prepared and then have extra meetings to provide that time.
Swanton Fire and Rescue Division Chief Cuyler Kepling spoke on behalf of the department heads, saying they typically had their temporary budgets prepared in time for the first meeting in October.
“I think that’s going to give plenty of time, and there’s still a lot of moving parts that, to try to get it before that, I don’t think would be reasonable,” Kepling said.
Dzierzawski then reiterated that he was “responding to the questions and desires of other council members to have this conversation sooner rather than later.”
Councilman David Pilliod pointed out that roughly 70 percent of the budget consisted of personnel costs, so the council would really only be reviewing the other 30 percent.
PUBLIC WORKS
Schmidt again shared consternation during a discussion on Public Works and Utilities Department issues related to the repair and maintenance of pumps and pump stations.
Kreuz had requested representatives from Buckeye Pumps attend the meeting in order to answer questions.
But it was quickly determined that all ongoing pump maintenance issues were being appropriately addressed, that the Buckeye Pumps contract was saving the village money over the previous practice which saw their techs visit biannually instead of monthly, and that a stock of backup pumps had been created by Superintendent of Water Resource Recovery Facility Joe Tillison.
“This is all minutiae that we do not need to have all the time,” Schmidt said, indicating Tillison was perfectly capable of managing the work without council involvement.
Kreuz apologized for his request, saying he now realized the visit was unnecessary and thanking them for making the drive to attend the meeting.
Tillison also shared his plans for the complete replacement of the north pump station, now 60 to 70 years old.
He said he would like to see the project, which includes relocation of the station, within the next two years, while the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is pushing for it to be done sooner.
Tillison estimated the cost of the project to be between $700,000 and $900,000.
COUNCIL PRACTICES
Council members reviewed a number of their practices, beginning with public comment during meetings.
They agreed council members should be allowed to respond to commenters and have conversations rather than limiting them to unaddressed statements to the council.
After a discussion on who would serve as clerk of council in the absence of the village administrator, Kreuz volunteered with Westhoven agreeing to be his backup.
Council members agreed to change a rule requiring the attendance of department heads at all council meetings, instead only requiring them to attend when asked.
Kreuz led a discussion on the committee of the whole meetings, which are currently held at 6 p.m. immediately prior to the first regular council meeting of each month, with all council meetings held at 7 p.m.
He instead recommended the committee meetings be held once quarterly on a separate day from regular meetings, with additional meetings added by council vote as necessary. He further recommended all meetings be changed back to 6 p.m.
Schmidt pushed back on the committee meetings in their entirety.
“What have we accomplished? Just what have we accomplished by doing this? Absolutely nothing. Nothing. Think about it, think hard, we have done nothing within the committee of the whole. Nothing that we couldn’t do during the council meetings,” Schmidt said.
He said Wauseon’s council meetings run only 30 to 45 minutes while Swanton’s are three hours long.
“What is wrong? Something is wrong. Something is truly wrong,” Schmidt said.
The clerk of council and rules of council items will be brought to an upcoming regular council meeting for a vote, while the changes to the committee of the whole will likely not be brought up for a vote until the council approves its 2027 rules in January.
Schmidt also led a discussion item reminding council members that their authority only existed as part of the entire council during council meetings and that individual council members outside of those meetings have none.
OTHER BUSINESS
Council members had a brief discussion on the use of jake brakes by semis in the village, with Police Chief John Trejo confirming there was an ordinance barring their use.
Trejo gave an update on challenges managing e-bike users in the village. He said the department was preparing a pamphlet outlining the laws regarding the vehicles to be handed out in the schools.
The next regular meeting of the Swanton Village Council will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24, at The Venue on Main, 124 N. Main Street.
