MOUNT VERNON – An interim plan to cover the safety-service director’s duties assigns the tasks to elected and non-elected officials within the city and could boost the pay of several city employees.

The plan to split the position’s salary equally among the non-elected officials was questioned as several council members suggested the additional pay be distributed based on the duties they were assigned. The interim plan became necessary with the departure of Rick Dzik, who resigned and has begun his new job as the city manager for Huber Heights, Ohio.

Law Director Rob Broeren will sign all city contracts. Auditor Terry Scott will handle requisitions, purchase orders, pay invoices from the Safety-Service Director’s office and has the authority to sign insurance claims.

City Engineer Brian Ball will have authority over all plan approvals in public works, utilities and engineering proposals, including signing final plans. He will be the temporary chair for the Municipal Planning Commission and vice chair for the Historical Review Commission. Development Services Manager Lacie Blankenhorn will give final approval for zoning and other permits and issue orders from the zoning enforcement officer.

HR Director Denise Neff will oversee union contract matters, disciplinary matters, and workers' compensation issues.

Public Works Director Tom Hinkle was authorized to coordinate with city staff on minor projects that Dzik had been handling.

Mayor Matt Starr said he has assumed the lead role for police, fire and EMS personnel and will approve all absences.

He said they proposed to pay Ball, Blankenhorn, Neff and Hinkle $835.50 each per pay period. Elected officials cannot receive more than their salaries under state law.

Councilmember Mel Severns said he thinks the four should receive some additional pay. He just wasn’t sure it should be the full salary divided by four. He asked if the city would need some money in reserves to hire a new person at a higher salary.

“I agree with Mel and it seems like maybe one person might be given more work to them than maybe another person,” Councilmember Janis Seavolt said.

Starr said they don’t want the extra expense of hiring a search firm to fill the position. Advertising was planned locally and regionally. Some people have applied. But he said the role of safety-service director should be restructured. That will take many changes to ordinances and committee meetings led by Councilmember Tammy Woods.

“Also, I can tell you that looking at the regional comparisons as well as Ohio, we’re going to have to take a look at the salary level,” Starr said.

Council enables cops, firefighters to receive non-contract pay

Though the state approved $4,000 retention bonuses for police officers and firefighters, City Council had to approve legislation enabling the union workers to receive the funds, which are not included in contracts with the city.

The employees must have started working in July 2022 and agree to work for the city for another 12 months. If they leave voluntarily, they must repay the retention bonus, Police Chief Robert Morgan said.

Auditor Terry Scott confirmed that local governments in Ohio hadn’t determined if the city must pay into the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System for these payments.

Water park beats revenue estimates

Hiawatha Water Park brought in $20,000 more in concessions and $30,000 more in memberships and walk-ins than Auditor Terry Scott said he estimated before the pool season.

This was the first year that Columbus Pool Management operated the water park, so comparisons to previous years would be difficult, Scott said.

“We’ve had what seemed to be a great year as far as staffing wise. I know we hired in excess of 100 people to work at the facility this year,” Fred Inter, general manager of Columbus Pool Management, said.

Thirteen of the workers went through leadership training.

City Councilmember Amber Keener said the city continued its partnership with the YMCA, which was able to increase the number of students who attended swimming lessons by six each week.

“As most of you probably know, there has been a significant childcare gap in Knox County as far as across the state. And I think that this partnership with the YMCA really helped some families who needed some of that time,” she said.

HR interns approved

City Council approved three interns for the Human Resources Department, who will earn $12 an hour; one intern will work up to 25 hours, and the other two interns will work up to 20 hours per week. The interns are approved to work through December. New legislation would be needed in the 2024 budget year to extend their time.

Councilmember Mike Hillier said he was pleased to see that the interns would undergo background checks, because they would have access to personnel files.

Kate Beck, a Chicago native who is a senior at Kenyon College, is a current intern with experience from the spring. She said the employee file project has been extensive, and setting a timeframe for completion has been difficult, because the police files have more in them than many other employee files.

“So the police department did take a lot of time, but I’m really hoping that the rest of the employee files will be a lot easier to scan and put into an online filing system,” she said.

Elsworth appointed to Municipal Planning Commission

The City Council approved the appointment of Anne Elsworth to the Municipal Planning Commission to fill the unexpired term of Julia Warga. The term ends on Jan. 24, 2028.

Elsworth works at Kenyon College and has family going through the Mount Vernon City School District, Starr said.

He said Warga moved to take another position.