By: Brenna White
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Williams County Commissioners convened on August 5, 2025, in the Commissioners’ Session Room, beginning their regularly scheduled meeting at 9:00 a.m.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, a roll call reported all Commissioners present, including President Terry Rummel, Vice President Scott Lirot, and Bart Westfall.
The minutes from the previous July 29, 2025, meeting were approved. A minor amendment to the agenda was requested by Rummel, approving a short TIF informational update from Ashley Epling, Executive Director of WEDCO.
Supplemental appropriations were authorized for the Williams County Common Pleas Court and the Engineer’s Office.
An official Zoom Policy was adopted by the commissioners, which will be effective immediately, starting with the next August 7, 2025, meeting.
A Zoom access code will be posted alongside the agenda on the commissioners’ website. This is to provide locals of the county with easier access to the meetings, with hopes of community engagement becoming more prevalent.
A three-year term was accepted for a renewal quote regarding the Airport Liability Insurance. Term limits include August 16, 2025, to August 16, 2028, at a cost of $5,192 per year.
Garmann Miller, the design team working on the North Annex Building renovation project, sent a bill for $45,000 for the commissioners to approve. They require half of the payment upfront, with the other half to be billed at the time of completion.
At 9:15 a.m., Ashley Epling provided an update on potential residential Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. She stated that TIFs can be used as a helpful tool to attract developers, especially considering each community has land readily available.
“Infrastructure is always the issue because it’s so expensive,” Epling explained, noting that the total cost of building houses often is too big a challenge for contractors to take on.
The proposed TIF districts will make the construction of workforce-type housing cheaper. A TIF district is a designated area where municipalities use gains in property tax revenues to fund public infrastructure improvements.
Epling mentioned retaining legal counsel to help community leaders write legislation for TIF districts. She asked the commissioners if they would be willing to cover the legal costs so all communities could use information from the same counsel.
“This TIF idea has been out there for a long time, and nobody has pushed it through,” commented Rummel. “Can we encourage this if we help financially support the communities?” Epling will look for quotes for a TIF-based legal counsel and report her findings back to the commissioners in the future.
At 9:30 a.m., a Dog Warden update was provided by Chief Dog Warden, Kinsley Martin, and the Director of the Humane Society, Alicia Strup. The session was requested by Commissioner Lirot for the purpose of a general update and discussion on dog tags.
Strup noted that Williams County is one of just two counties in the State of Ohio that has an interworking relationship with the Dog Warden and Humane Society.
Due to their positive relationship, they are able to focus on actively providing animals the safety and care they need. Strup continued to update progress on the recently held $10 dog sale, a considerable markdown from their usual $245 fee.
Within a week, they had almost entirely cleared out their kennels with adoptions. However, due to the massive increase in stray and surrendered animals in the last two years, they were filled to capacity again in a few days.
With 75% of strays remaining unclaimed in Williams County, Strup stated they will continue to provide adequate care for every animal coming into their service.
An overwhelming number of dogs are surrendered to the humane society, and often users experience a long waiting list. Three to four euthanasians a month were reported, as the Humane Society places a big focus on rehoming.
An average of $104,000 in income from dog tag fees was disclosed. While increasing the fees was discussed among the commissioners, it was ultimately decided to keep the $18 dog tag license fee as is.
At 10:00 a.m., an educational discussion was held with the County Engineer, Todd Roth, and the Drainage Maintenance Department Head, Brian Fritsch, regarding tile ditch repair applications.
Roth explained the general process of ditch repair applications to the Commissioners. It is not considered permanent maintenance, and once the repair is complete, the county is not responsible for the common maintenance.
The commissioners moved to approve the previously presented tile and ditch repair applications, filed by Tim Stull and Kee Mansfield.
The engineer also proposed budget changes, which include giving the widely used GIS system its own budget. GIS, or the Geographic Information System, is used as the Williams County mapping system.
Vickie Grimm, County Auditor, said that if the proposed abolishment of Ohio Property Taxes is approved in the future, the GIS system will be greatly affected.
While relying mostly on property tax as income for GIS, Grimm will be unable to fund the mapping system with no revenue coming in. The annual aerial updates, provided by EagleView One, will also cease.
With no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 11:00 a.m. The commissioners noted a ODNR/Williams County Groundwater Conflict Investigation Public Meeting was to be held later in the day.