In attendance at the July 10th Garrettsville Village Council meeting were Councilpersons Deb Wordell, Tom Hardesty, Sheri Johnson, John Chambers, Richard Beatty. Also present were village solicitor William Mason, Mayor Rick Patrick, and Assistant Fiscal Officer Tara Beatty. Police Chief Tim Christopher, Sgt. Tim Vecchio, and Officer Emily Ahrens were also in attendance. Councilman Mark Brady was not present.
A public hearing was held for ORD 2024-16: An ordinance approving and adopting a permanent budget for 2025 for the Village of Garrettsville, following publication and a public budget hearing as required by Ohio Revised Code 5705.30. Nobody was in attendance to speak regarding the ordinance, and the public hearing was closed.
Minutes from the June 12 meeting were reviewed. Chief Christopher mentioned that the comment he had made about “Shop with a Cop” was that “the village might be taking over the program,” if Hiram Village were to discontinue it. The Garrettsville Police are, however, planning to take on a more prominent role in the Shop with a Cop program. Christopher reiterated that they are not taking over the Village of Hiram’s program. A motion was made to accept the minutes, with Christopher’s amendment, by Hardesty and seconded by Richard Beatty.
Financial reports and income tax receipts were reviewed. Richard Beatty commented that the receipts were up three times the rate of inflation, which is good. The financial reports were accepted. A listing of the bills and wages paid since the last meeting was presented. A motion was made to accept the payment of the expenses.
ORD 2024-16: An ordinance approving and adopting a permanent budget for 2025 for the Village of Garrettsville received a final reading following the public hearing before the evening’s regular meeting. The budget ordinance was approved and enacted in a motion made by Hardesty and seconded by Johnson.
ORD 2024-19: An ordinance setting forth the compensation rates for certain employees of the village and the Board of Trustees of Public Affairs, repealing prior inconsistent ordinances, and declaring an emergency. The ordinance received a third reading at the meeting. The ordinance would reduce the variance in shift differentials to set it at 50 cents on the dollar.
Hardesty indicated he would vote no, as he wants to wait until 2025 when the budget is finalized. Christopher clarified that the total additional expense through the end of the current year would amount to an additional $2,439.
Hardesty remained opposed to approving it at the July meeting. Richard Beatty broke down the existing allocations in the new budget (ORD 2024-16) to show that there were funds available that could be reallocated to cover the shift differential. Wordell explained that the budget set by the ordinance is only a proposal meant to show the county that the village is not in financial distress. It’s not an actual finalized operating budget. She added that there are also pending changes regarding matching withholdings and raises that would need to be taken into consideration within the upcoming budget.
Christopher told council that the shift differential would be a useful recruitment and retention tool for the department, as it took months to get an applicant the last time the department needed to fill a position.
The ordinance passed with yes votes by Chambers, Johnson, and Beatty. Wordell and Hardesty voted no for the reasons noted above. Tara Beatty asked council to push implementation to the July 28th payroll as she will need time to establish new rates in the system and figure out the guidelines for applying the shift differentials.
ORD 2024-20: An ordinance setting forth the compensation rates for certain employees of the village to eliminate a council member’s voting conflict and declaring an emergency. This ordinance received a third reading at the evening’s meeting. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wordell. Richard Beatty abstained to avoid a conflict of interest as Tara is an employee of the village. Approved and enacted.
ORD 2024-24: An ordinance adopting chapter 1164 of the codified ordinances of the village of Garrettsville to adopt regulations applicable to commercial districts within the village. The ordinance received a second reading at the meeting. A public hearing will be scheduled in August. Tara Beatty was asked to make the full text of the proposed legislation available to read on the village’s website before the hearing.
The next two pieces of legislation were written by former solicitor Michele Stuck, meant to clean up and simplify legislation that had been modified at the June meeting:
ORD 2024-25: An ordinance amending ORD 2024-09, approved on June 12, 2024, and declaring an emergency. ORD 2024-09 was amended at the last meeting to only include the physical fitness bonus. This ordinance was on its first reading. Approved and enacted on the first reading.
RES 2024-26: A resolution revising resolution 2022-30 and establishing an increased contribution of up to $2,500 annually to the Garrettsville Summerfest Committee for certain expenses related to organizing the festival (port-a-potties), and declaring an emergency. The first reading of the resolution. Wordell commented on the legislation, asking that council plan to reevaluate contributions and donations due to price increases and the state of the village budget in 2025. The resolution was approved and enacted.
RES 2024-27: A resolution establishing a special revenue fund for the village of Garrettsville to accept and track funds related to the “Shop with a Cop/Hero” program, and declaring an emergency. Wordell suggested waiting to establish the special fund until it is certain that the Shop with a Cop program would be run by the village. Right now, transferring funds from the general fund to Hiram’s Shop with a Cop fund is a workable solution. Tara Beatty recommended doing a deeper dive into the special funds and eliminating ones that the village is not actively using. Richard Beatty recommended establishing a finance committee. Patrick will speak to Hiram Mayor Anne Haynam to get a better idea of their plans for the program. No action was taken with the resolution, it moves on to a second reading in August.
Chief Christopher gave the council an update regarding Summerfest and their booth (run by the spouses/significant others of the police department). $800 was raised for the Shop with a Cop program. Fill a Cruiser events will be held in August to collect school supplies for People Tree, and November to collect food for the Nelson Garrettsville Community Cupboard. Money donated at either Fill a Cruiser event will go towards the Shop with a Cop program.
Mayor Patrick asked Christopher if work on the roof on the Police Station was complete. Christopher told the council that the roof is finished, but the soffits are still getting some work.
Patrick shared that Summerfest went well. He spoke with festival chairman Aaron King, who said it was one of the best in a while. The time capsule opening last weekend drew a sizable crowd, and the historical society did a great job putting everything together. September 21st will be the installation day for the new time capsule.
Tara Beatty shared that the village had received positive feedback on the purchase of the new holiday decorations. She also said there may be a way to adjust the split coming through the income tax collection to simplify the allocation process, eliminating the need to transfer out of the general fund.
Richard Beatty said that if there was a better idea of what the allocations going to the street department were, allocating 24% of the income tax to their fund would probably remove the need to move money from the general fund. Richard Beatty shared that he received a complaint from a resident regarding the condition of Harris Drive. Richard Beatty and Hardesty are not sure what the issue is. Hardesty said that when the road was installed, it was built incrementally. Hardesty is willing to look it over if he can get the address of the resident who made the complaint so he can see exactly what they’re talking about.
Upcoming Events Around G’ville
Chamber Car Cruise on Main Street: July 20 5:00-8:00pm
Sip & Shop on Main Street: July 27 12:00-8:00pm
“Steel Magnolias” at Iva Walker Auditorium: July 19-20 7:00pm
Chamber Car Cruise at Fire Station: August 10 5:00-8:00pm
Back to School Bash at JAG Schools: August 18 4:00-6:00pm
JAG Fall Preview Night at JAG Stadium: August 18 6:00pm
