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Push to disband village board resurfaces
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - April 29, 2009)
Push to disband village board resurfaces
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Talk of restructuring the village government in Burton resurfaced Monday.
Village Council placed the topic of hiring a village administrator to replace the three-member board of public affairs on its agenda.
The last time such talk surfaced was following a water-main break in January 2008, which caused many residents to lose water service.
At that time, Mayor Thomas Blair Sr. said he would consider replacing the three-member board to bring more efficiency to village operations. He questioned whether there was an organized effort to handle the water-main break.
The idea was abandoned about two weeks later, after members of the board of public affairs explained how the situation was handled.
On Monday, Mr. Blair repeated many of the reasons he previously cited for creating the new village position and disbanding the board. "The main thrust is to get all village employees under one umbrella," he said.
At this time, the village is not getting efficient use of its employees, he said. "There may be a more efficient way to do things."
Ohio law provides for two mechanisms to oversee water and sewer operations in municipalities. The village may create a board of public affairs, whose members are elected, or hire a village administrator to oversee operations.
The village administrator may be part time or full time and is appointed by the mayor, with confirmation by council.
Mr. Blair said Monday the position is likely to be a part-time one paying a "nominal salary."
But Brian Johnston, a member of the board of public affairs, said the board has been doing the work needed for a fairly nominal cost.
He said Mr. Blair has only attended three meetings of the board of public affairs in the past 16 months and may not be getting the information on what the board is actually accomplishing.
He said the board has been doing smoke-and-dye tests on the system to identify problems in the system. He said a lot of the problems lie with laterals tied in businesses or homes, not the main lines the village is responsible for.
Mr. Johnston said the board also has been vigilant in attempting to secure money for a sewage-treatment-plant expansion. He said the board has the opportunity to secure $6 million through a zero-percent loan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Another $5 million may be available through a state grant. And, he said, the board has set aside approximately $300,000 in one fund for the project.
He said rather than pay a village administrator, the village receives good services from a board that only costs $3,600 annually with no benefits.
With many of village council's members acting as lame ducks with the upcoming November election, Mr. Johnston said, it would be better to place the issue before village voters to decide rather than allow those lame ducks to make the decision.
Village Fiscal Officer Christopher Paquette said, even if the board were able to secure the $6 million, interest-free loan, village residents would see a significant rise in user rates.
He said the annual payback on the loan would be $300,000 a year. To meet that obligation, he said, rates likely would rise by $30 a quarter, almost double what the are now.
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