PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
ABOVE AND BEYOND … Swanton Fire and Rescue Division employees Emma Krabill (left) and Thomas Schneider (center), joined by Fire Chief Cuyler Kepling (right), pose during a Swanton Village Council meeting with awards they were given for spending an hour assisting a man who severed the ends of two fingers while at the top of a 180-foot grain silo.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Infighting on the Swanton Village Council continued across multiple topics and drew public comment during the group’s most recent meeting.
The disagreements arose largely during two pieces of business – a resolution approving amended council rules and the permanent 2026 budget.
Council members have now debated the rules at three consecutive meetings, including a special meeting, after declining to approve the original set at its first meeting of the year.
There has been continuing disagreement between factions consisting of council members Deacon Dzierzawski, David Pilliod, Patricia Pilliod, and Dianne Westhoven in favor of bringing back committees each including three members of council, and council members John Schmidt and Noah Kreuz, who believe all discussions should be held with the entire council at regular meetings or in a committee of the whole.
Those arguments were again reiterated by all council members present. Westhoven was absent from the meeting.
Council members eventually voted 3-2 against amending the rules to remove the committees and 3-2 in favor of approving on second reading the new rules including them, with Schmidt and Kreuz voting to remove the committees and against the new rules.
Unlike previous meetings, the interruptions and talking over one another extended toward village staff in addition to other council members.
While asking a series of hard questions of staff regarding the village budget – in particular regarding the projected $11.8 million of income versus projected expenditures of $13.3 million – Dzierzawski repeatedly cut off Fiscal Officer Holden Benfield, including while Benfield was attempting to answer questions Dzierzawski had asked.
In response to Dzierzawski’s questions, Benfield gave examples of how he and the village’s department heads had worked to slowly ratchet back spending where possible and explained a large portion of department budgets went toward personnel and comparatively small amounts went to actual operating costs – such as the roughly $200,000 per year for the fire department.
He also said the process was a slow, deliberate one, and that greater cuts in a shorter time frame risked “shellshock” in the department budgets.
After long discussion, council members voted unanimously to approve the budget on first reading.
At one point, Dzierzawski confronted Mayor Neil Toeppe when Toeppe reached for his gavel, ostensibly to end Dzierzawski’s comments. Dzierzawski noticed and told Toeppe not to gavel him down.
During the public comment section at the end of the meeting, Village Administrator Shannon Shulters read a statement sent to her by Julia Benfield, owner of Benfield Wines. In it, Benfield shared her disappointment in the behavior of the council.
“Sitting at home watching the recent council meetings are very disheartening,” Benfield said.
“Listening to council members talk over each other, drum their fingers on the table, that the microphones pick up whispering to each other and not fully listening to questions and answers is infuriating to the public, evidenced by comments from the public on current and past online reporting.”
She called it “deeply disappointing” to see the council “moving backward.”
“What was previously a collaborative effort built on transparency and community input now seems clouded by loud arguments overtaking and retreat from previously agreed steps. Instead of building on the groundwork that residents invested time and trust into, the council appears to be undoing meaningful progress,” Benfield said.
She shared her position that committees eliminate in-depth discussion that includes all members of council, and that, along with a lack of appropriate communication, community members are left feeling unheard and undervalued.
“Building trust will require open dialogue of all of council fully listening to questions and answers, commitment to an established process, and a genuine respect for the voices of all the people council serves,” she said.
CRESTWOOD DRIVE PROJECT
Council members declined to approve on an emergency basis an ordinance awarding the Crestwood Drive improvement project to Ebony Construction Company in the amount of $587,759 as the lowest and best bidder. They did, however, approve the ordinance on first reading.
Benfield shared mixed thoughts on the matter. He said he had no opposition to the project itself and that current village debt levels were manageable.
But he cautioned that at some point the village would have to say no to something to ensure those levels didn’t rise to the level of risk to the budget. Shulters concurred.
Benfield added that, of the village’s proposed $13.3 million in expenses for 2026, just over $1 million is to cover debt payments.
Council members also discussed separating the road reconstruction and water line replacement portions of the project, but were told that would eliminate their ability to use the several hundred thousand dollars in funding available for the project.
Dzierzawski and Kreuz cast the dissenting votes on suspending the rules to be able to pass the measure on an emergency basis, which requires a two-thirds vote.
Council members then voted unanimously to pass it on first reading.
FIRE DEPARTMENT RECOGNITION
A pair of Swanton Fire and Rescue Division employees were recognized with awards from the department after assisting in the response to a man who severed the ends of two of his fingers on top of a 180-foot grain silo on February 10.
Thomas Schneider and Emma Krabill had to climb the ladder on the side of the silo and spent an hour at the top providing aid in very cold temperatures while responders from the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department responded with a rope and five-point harness eventually used to help support the man as he descended the ladder using his uninjured hand.
Fire Chief Cuyler Kepling said he received an email from another department recommending the two be recognized for their efforts above and beyond the line of duty to assist the man.
It was also pointed out that Krabill is afraid of heights. When asked if it was true, Krabill responded “Definitely, yes.”
Despite that fear, Kepling said he had to practically hold her back from rushing up the ladder before the team was ready.
OTHER BUSINESS
Council members approved on an emergency basis the hiring of a project inspector for phase B of the Hallett Avenue resurfacing project at an amount not to exceed $110,000.
Council members approved the hiring of part-time firefighter/EMT Chance Ruelle at a rate of $22.18 per hour.
Council members approved the hiring of part-time firefighter/EMT Aaron Brooks at a rate of $22.18 per hour.
Shulters reported that all additional work, equipment replacements, and other costs related to the village office fire are being individually recorded and kept in a master list to aid with insurance filings and ensure the village receives the maximum possible reimbursement.
Benfield reported an old village dump truck expected to bring in $75,000 at auction ended up bringing in $121,000, nearly covering the $141,000 cost of the new truck being purchased to replace it.
The next regular meeting of the Swanton Village Council will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 9, at Ritter Hall, 124 N. Main Street.
