PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
MODERN POLICING … Swanton Police Chief John Trejo delivers his report to the Swanton Village Council during their meeting Monday evening. Included in his report was that officers were notified via a Flock license plate reader camera in town of a vehicle related to a missing or endangered adult and child which resulted in the child being located and returned to their guardian.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Swanton Village Council members approved several items related to its ongoing audit after hearing an update on the audit from Fiscal Officer Holden Benfield during its meeting Monday evening.
Benfield reported the village’s audit is nearly complete, with only one of the three auditors working to finish his tasks.
As part of records cleanup efforts related to the audit and an issue found by village staff while assisting auditors, council members passed four items.
Council members approved retroactive cost-of-living increases of 4 percent effective January 1, 2022, and increases of 3 percent annually thereafter.
The increases are not new and will not result in new pay, as they were implemented at those times, with the resolution merely adding the required council votes that did not occur at those times.
Council members approved on an emergency basis an ordinance correcting the income tax listed in a 2023 ordinance from 1.25 percent to 1.5 percent to accurately reflect what the tax rate was set to at that time.
The ordinance does not change what the actual rate was, merely an incorrect reference, and Benfield reported the taxes have been collected at the correct rates throughout.
Council members approved a resolution retroactively accepting and approving the amounts and rates of tax levies for 2025 as estimated by the Fulton County Auditor.
Those amounts and rates are generally approved at the end of the calendar year preceding the rates going into effect but had been missed at the end of last year. The resolution made no changes to any actual rates used or collected but adds the necessary council approval.
Council members approved a motion accepting the wage structure for police officers retroactive to August 14, 2023.
The structure has already been in use since that date, but the original approval did not include the spreadsheet breaking down the wage structure. The new retroactive approval includes the spreadsheet in the official record.
OTHER BUSINESS
Council members authorized the village administrator to apply for and enter into a Water Supply Revolving Loan Fund Agreement for the planning, design, and/or construction for water work as part of the Crestwood Drive improvement project.
The authorization is solely for the purpose of securing loan funding, as the project itself has been pushed to 2026.
Council members approved the termination of Swanton Fire and Rescue Division Captain Jeffrey Dawson effective September 14.
Council members approved the status change of full-time firefighter/EMT Andrew Brennan to part-time effective September 14.
Council members approved the status change of part-time firefighter/EMT Anevay Emerson to full-time subject to completion of certain requirements.
Fire Chief Cuyler Kepling reported that department staff working at the Fulton County Fair responded to a cardiac arrest in the grandstands during the demolition derby.
The derby was stopped during the incident, and despite the 6,000 people in the grandstands, five people were able to reach the patient within 90 seconds. He said the individual unfortunately later passed away at the hospital.
Kepling reported that the Swanton Fire and Rescue Division responded to 119 calls for service in August, including 103 EMS calls and 16 fire calls. Total year-to-date calls stand at 935, up nearly 8 percent from 2024 which was a record year.
Police Chief John Trejo reported that on August 23, officers responded to a notification from one of the village’s the Flock license plate reader cameras that a vehicle had been identified as being related to a missing or endangered adult and child. The vehicle was located and the child returned to their guardian.
Trejo reported officers were involved in a pursuit on August 27 in response to a reckless driver and ended up making an arrest for operating while intoxicated. The arrest also resulted in a drug case.
Trejo reported officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in Memorial Park on August 26 and located the vehicle, resulting in a felony arrest. Trejo reported the department responded to 382 calls for service in August.
Trejo reported there will be a Fulton-Lucas County Critical Incident exercise on September 26 in Swanton on Zeiter Way near its intersection with Hallett Avenue.
Mayor Neil Toeppe reported that, since the video cameras in the park are all operating correctly and the park is more secure, he has received contact from several individuals now interested in making donations to the park.
He indicated a list will be put together with a list of possible projects and their estimated costs so potential donors may more easily pick an effort to fund.
Village Administrator Shannon Shulters reported a leaking gasket was discovered in the new sewer pipe under Main Street. It will be repaired soon, and she said that work shouldn’t cause any disruptions.
The next regular meeting of the Swanton Village Council will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, September 22, at 219 Chestnut Street.