Mayor Bryan Shock called the February 28, 2019 Village of Attica Council meeting to order at 7:30PM.
Roll Call: Nate Frisch, George Yakoubian, Justin VanAlstine, Louie Sanders, Ed Treft, and Kirk Stanfield
Others present: Solicitor Richard Palau
Approval of Warrants: Motion by Councilman Yakoubian, seconded by Councilman VanAlstine to approve the warrants for payment. Vote: 6-0 Motion carried.
Approval of Minutes: Motion by Councilman Frisch, seconded by Councilman Sanders to approve the minutes. Vote 6-0. Motion carried.
Written & Oral Communication: Mayor Shock addressed guest, Deb Briggs, in regards to his feelings about the article she published in the Attica Hub. He feels that it didn’t paint an accurate picture of the meeting and put the Council in a bad light. Briggs stated that it wasn’t as she intended.
Deb Briggs asked if an SF401 form had been filed with OPOTA for all of the officers when the department was closed on 12/31/18. Per Briggs, this is a requirement by law to be filed. She stated that she had checked with OPOTA the day prior and nothing was on file. Briggs gave Mayor Shock a copy of SF401 form and a request for public records.
Public Safety: none
Streets & Properties: The Solicitor has the deed to the Legion property and is filing papers to include a clause in the contract with the American Legion land transfer of the empty lot stating the property would revert back to the Village in case the organization should disband.
Parks: none
Trees: none
Fire: had meeting paid bills
EMS: had meeting
Cemetery: none
Personnel: Solicitor Rick Palau advised that he had fielded some questions regarding unused sick time. Per ORC 124.39, unused sick time is paid at one-fourth of salary at the time of retirement, if requested within 30 days of retirement. He stated this only applies to retirees and does not address those who quit or are let go.
Solicitor Palau did state there are some ORC sections near ORC 124.39 that discuss cashing out sick time at the end of the year, but that applies to other organizations and does not apply to a municipality. He confirmed that employees of the Village of Attica cannot cash in unused sick time if still employed. He also confirmed that any employee who leaves with 10 years of service is entitled to request the payout for unused sick time upon leaving/retiring.
He advised that council should discuss and determine whether or not a policy is needed to address cashing out unused sick time at a higher or different rate than ORC provides. This would have to be made policy and established in the handbook.
Zoning Commission: none
Finance & Rule: Cash balance of all funds $996,357.29.
Water & Sewer: none
Village Website & IT: Councilman George Yakoubian did place link on the website to report outages to AEP on Streets and Properties page and Public Safety page. Public Safety page was also updated to reflect that the police department is closed. Other information updated, including new council members.
Unfinished, Old Business and New Business:
3rd read of Ordinance 2019-3: An Ordinance establishing rates of pay for Village Employees.
Motion by Councilman Sanders, seconded by Councilman VanAlstine to strike Angela Depinet from Ordinance 2019-3. Vote: 6-0 Motion carried.
Motion by Councilman Sanders, seconded by Councilman Frisch to approve a $500 bonus payout to Angela Depinet for extra work and time put in to catching up the fiscal office. Vote: 6-0 Motion carried.
2nd read on Ordinance 2019-5: An Ordinance approving, adopting, and enacting American Legal Publishing’s Ohio Basic Code, 2019 Edition, as the Code of Ordinances for the municipality of Attica, OH, and declaring an emergency.
Next meeting: Thursday, March 14, 2019 at 7:30PM.
Motion by Councilman Sanders, seconded by Councilman Treft to adjourn the meeting. Time: 7:58 PM. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried.
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Mayor Bryan Shock Fiscal Officer Michelle Gullett
