Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Feb. 17, 2022, at 12:45 pm to reflect that council passed the compensation ordinance for non-bargaining employees by a 7-0 vote, not 5-2 as previously reported.
MOUNT VERNON — After months of discussion by the previous and current councils, Mount Vernon City Council passed legislation on Monday setting compensation for supervisory personnel and hourly non-bargaining unit employees.
Council members discussed the pay ordinances in an executive session at 6:25 pm and an Employee and Community Relations Committee meeting at 7 pm. Comments centered on two positions: safety-service director and police chief.
The supervisory ordinance called for the SSD to receive $88,195 in 2022 and $90,841 in 2023. For the police chief, the numbers were $85,766 (up from $79,690) and $88,339, respectively.
Councilman John Francis, committee chair, recommended amending the ordinance to reflect no increase for the SSD (currently at $84,363.28) in 2022 and an increase to $86,895.21 in 2023. He cited poor conduct as the reason for his recommendation.
For the chief, Francis recommended a salary of $83,674.50 and $86,184.74, respectively. The recommendation stems from the perspective that the police and fire chiefs’ compensation need not remain identical as they are different positions with different responsibilities and qualifications.
Council members Mel Severns, Amber Keener, and Josh Kirby wanted to keep the compensation as originally presented. Councilwoman Janis Seavolt preferred to remove the SSD compensation and handle it as a separate ordinance but agreed with no raise for 2022.
Noting the previous council’s 5-1 vote of no confidence in the SSD, Councilman Mike Hillier agreed with no raise for one year.
Council voted 4-3 to approve the amendment and adopted the amended ordinance by a 6-1 vote. Council passed the non-bargaining unit ordinance by a vote of 7-0.
In other business, council passed as an emergency an ordinance amending the boundaries of the city-wide Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) council established in October 2021. The original boundaries included the Central Business District (CBD) and the Mount Vernon Industrial Park.
Sam Filkins, vice president of the Area Development Foundation, said the state requested those areas be removed from the city-wide CRA because they are established CRAs. According to the Ohio Revised Code, CRAs cannot overlap.
The industrial park and CBD CRAs will, therefore, be carved out of the city-wide map. The state has 30 days to approve the change. Filkins said the state expects to receive this “administrative” change.
Council took the following additional actions:
•Passed a resolution authorizing up to $150,000 from the city’s reserve balance fund be disbursed in monthly installments of $50,000 to help cover the operating costs at Cooper Progress Park
•Adopted three ordinances relating to compensation for members of the Mount Vernon Municipal Court
•Approved the reappointments of Rachel Curtis to the Utilities Commission, Diane Goodrich to the Knox County General Health District, and Lacey Filkins to the Historical Review Commission
•Appointed council members Keener to the board of Experience Mount Vernon (formerly Main Street Mount Vernon) and Seavolt to the board of the Knox County Convention & Visitors Bureau
•Authorized the safety-service director to sell or trade in a 2011 trailer and two 2019 mowers
•Authorized the safety-service director to buy a set of portable traffic lights for use during road projects and surveillance cameras for city parks
•Approved supplemental appropriations which include three Ariel Foundation grants: $214,000 for the city’s tree and sidewalk programs, $10,000 for snow-season care, and $383 for the city’s tree-watering program
•Gave a first reading to legislation authorizing membership in the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC)
Municipal Judge John Thatcher presented the court’s 2021 report, highlighting some of the major statistics. Click here to read the report, which is posted on the court’s website.
He also asked for volunteers to join a Court Facility Committee that will research options — and associated costs — for a new or renovated municipal court building. Council members Keener, Kirby, and Severns volunteered to serve on the committee.
