By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
The Village of Swanton is on the hunt for a new fiscal officer after Holden Benfield recently announced he will be accepting an equivalent position for the Village of Holland.
Benfield has served in the role since February 2023, when he was hired to replace Jason Vasko, who resigned and was eventually fined almost $3,000 by the state auditor’s office for late tax, retirement system, and credit card payments on behalf of the village. Benfield’s departure, however, comes as he seeks to pursue his own developing career path.
“I am in the process of pursuing a CPA,” he said. “I just got some of the documentation that I need to start that process at the tail end of February, and in the past six-ish months with the village I have had a lot of difficulty being able to take vacation time or personal time just because of the amount of stuff that I need to do.”
Benfield said the new makeup of the council has led to a change in their requests and in the length of time it takes to complete ongoing tasks such as writing up meeting minutes, which has further added to his workload.
“Generally, there are more things to do and resultantly I don’t have the time to pursue the things that I want to in my personal life,” he said.
Benfield’s ultimate goal is to work with the audit side of the state, specifically as part of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System.
“I’m not leaving on bad terms, and I definitely don’t have any glaring issues with the administration or things like that. Overall I’ve had a good time and it’s just time to move on,” he said.
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Benfield was responsible for a variety of accomplishments while working for Swanton, including addressing numerous issues that came up in past audits, correcting them for the future, as well as recommending changes to incentives in the village’s employee healthcare plans to reduce the impact of rising costs for the standard plan, and reworking village savings accounts in a way that resulted in an additional $200,000 per year in interest.
In recognition of his efforts, the Swanton Village Council voted in December to pay Benfield a one-time $7,500 bonus.
Village Administrator Shannon Shulters will assume fiscal authority for the village and take over office operations following Benfield’s final day on the job later this month. Benfield will start his new position with Holland in early April.
“I told [Shulters] that at any time between the 23rd and April 5 that if she wants me to come in and teach her how to do anything, if there’s anything she doesn’t know, that I will be as available as I possibly can be. So we’re trying to make this as smooth of a transition as possible,” Benfield said.
Mayor Neil Toeppe said the village has benefited from Benfield’s financial stewardship, and that he is leaving the village in a very strong position.
“While we are very sad to see him leave the village, we are certain that the Village of Holland will benefit greatly from his knowledge, expertise, and dedication,” Toeppe said.
The village posted a hiring notice for Benfield’s position on Monday, indicating it will remain open until filled. The full job description and application are available on the village website at www.villageofswantonohio.us.