Due to what West Unity Mayor Peg Bernath and West Unity Council members all agreed was a “unique situation” when Fiscal Officer Kim Grime moved from her previous position of Deputy Clerk to being a salaried officer, Grime spent a great deal of night and weekend time either being trained for her new position. With other area fiscal officers only being available during those hours and Grime needing to herself train new Deputy Clerk, Katie Baltosser, there simply was not a lot of other choice.
In order to compensate Grime for this time, which everyone agreed was above and beyond what even a salaried officer should be expected to do, Council considered a resolution that would have paid Grime $800 for approximately 60 hours of training time.
Council member Ron Hausch, however, questioned whether or not such a resolution was in the best interest of the Village. Hausch agreed that Grime is doing a great job for the Village and that he is not necessarily opposed to compensating her in some way for her extra efforts. “I’m just afraid that this might be setting a precedent and could come back and bite us in the future,” he explained.
Village Solicitor Ryan Thompson noted that, while the resolution had been approved by the auditor and was the most direct way to compensate Grime, there are other ways that the Village may wish to consider doing so. The matter has been tabled while Thompson draws together alternate solutions for Council consider.
As Grime has also completed her six month probationary period, council did approve raising her annual salary from the probationary salary of $33,000 to a starting salary of $34,500.
Police Chief J.R. Jones also had personnel items to bring to Council’s attention. As officer Mitch Martin has recently taken a full time position in Fayette, Officer Dylan Woods has recently been brought in to West Unity’s Police Department in a part time capacity. Woods will continue to work part time for the Stryker Police Department and Martin will continue to work part time for the West Unity police department.
In his report , Village Administrator Ric Beals informed council that:
•Water Well No. 1 is in need of having a pump replaced at a cost of $9000.
•Toledo Edison has put in a temporary voltage recorder at the South Liberty Street pumping station in hopes of determining the cause of fluctuating voltage.
•There will need to be additional funds budget for solution used in the recently purchased dura-patcher. The unit has seen a lot of use and has been very useful in repairing pot holes and cracks in the Village’s streets.
•New signage has been put out near Kamco, on Leigh and Linda, and on Buckeye and LeeAnne.
After some discussion, Council also set Trick or Treat in West Unity to be held on Saturday, November 1 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. Mounted deputies planned to be used again this year.
Additionally, Council discussed changing the frequency of their regular monthly meetings from twice per month to once per month. They are considering meeting only on the second Thursday of the month and using the fourth Thursday for committee and/or special meetings. The change would most likely not happen until January and will be considered over three readings of an ordinance to be drawn up by Village Solicitor Ryan Thompson.
Council entered into executive session for the purpose of discussing employee compensation. No further action was taken. The next meeting of the West Unity Village Council will be held at 7:30 PM on Thursday, October 9 in Council Chambers.