Questions remain over Greenfield status conversion; some council members won't seek re-election
Lead Summary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
GREENFIELD ? While current leadership in Greenfield hopes the process of converting from a city to a village will be a smooth process with little impact to area residents, there may be little continuity in the administration and council.
Members of the administration of Greenfield, along with city council members, met with Greenfield employees June 7 to discuss the process of converting to from city to village status following the results of the 2010 census.
Greenfield residents will vote on a new six-member council in the November general election. Of the five current council members, no one has definitively said if they would seek re-election.
Council members Harvey Everhart and William Redenbaugh said they will not run. Brenda Losey said that she most likely will seek another term, but she has not definitely made up her mind.
Council president Betty Jackman said that she is "on the fence" about running and Bob Bergstrom said that he initially intended on running and even stopped to pick up petitions from the Highland County Board of Elections. However, he said the board of elections needed confirmation from Greenfield Law Director Brian Zets so they were certain what forms needed to be distributed and what positions would officially be on the ballot. Bergstrom said he is not certain now if he will seek another term.
Everhart later told The Highland County Press that he had decided not to seek another term on council even before Greenfield lost its city status.
"I thought when I ran four years ago that a person could make a difference. And you can't," Everhart said. "I still want to fight for the city, and that isn't meant to be negative toward anybody. But right now, it's a losing battle. You have to look to the future and not spend every dime you've got. You can?t continue to spend more money than you take in. I'm accountable for what I do."
In addition to the six council positions, Greenfield voters will also decide on a mayor, treasurer and council clerk. A village solicitor will later be appointed by council. Council could also decide to appoint a village administrator, which would be similar to city manager position.
"We're pretty close to charting new ground," Zets said. "It's not unheard of, but there is no checklist of (what needs to be done) especially when going from a city to a village."
The village administrator would be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the village.
"I hate to say it but (according to the Ohio Revised Code) the mayor is sort of a ribbon-cutting position," Zets said. "It's mostly ceremonial, although you could be as involved as you want to be and take a more active
role."
Greenfield City Manager Betty Bishop told the group of approximately 20 employees, including police officers, that she and Zets will work as hard as they can to make the transition as smooth as possible.
"It is our goal to work as hard as we can so that between (now) and Jan. 1 the residents of Greenfield won't notice there was any change," Bishop said.
Other than the change in administration and council, Zets said that most other employees of Greenfield should not see a difference and they will be able to continue on with their regular jobs.
The conversion process could be simpler, Zets said, if Greenfield were a charter city, but Greenfield is a statutory city, which means it relies on the Ohio Revised Code to guide what is done.
Changing to a charter municipality at this point would not make the process simpler, he said, because a charter committee would have to be formed and voters would have to decide the matter in 2012. Many of the areas of difficulty facing Greenfield will be between now and Jan. 1, 2011 when the new government goes into place.
Jackman asked Zets if his contract and Bishop?s contract would be honored under the new government. Zets said that it would be up to the new council.
Zets stressed throughout the meeting that the current council and administration cannot do anything to interfere in the village form of government. For instance, they cannot create a position such as village administrator, and that will be left up to the new council to decide.
However, Zets said that some legislation will be written or re-written to become vague so that it can carry over into the village status, particularly regarding salaries.
Under the ORC, a sitting council cannot set their own salaries, and is usually done by the previous council. The sitting city council is prohibited from setting the salaries for the new government. Zets said that he is researching if current legislation can have language taken out so that it reads "Greenfield council" rather than "city council" or "village council." If not, Greenfield may be in a situation where the incoming mayor and council could not be paid until after their term is served.
Everhart expressed concern over the budget and how it will carry over. Zets said that most likely the new council will have to consider several pieces of legislation as soon as they are sworn in so that Greenfield business might continue.
The current city council could work as they normally do at the end of the year toward a temporary budget, which the new village council could then adopt after Jan. 1.
Jackman said that she hopes the newly elected members of council will work with them and be corporative, because there will be opportunity for both councils to work together in November and December toward making a smooth transition.
Some questions that were posed to council and administration members from the employees included whether or not they would all have jobs, if the city would negotiate with employees and if their salaries would remain the same.
Other cities going through similar processes were also brought up, and Zets said that they should resist comparing Greenfield to other municipalities because each case could be different, and not every village/city is going through the process correctly.
Zets said that because Greenfield is now a village, it is not obligated to negotiate with employees although they could choose to. Bishop said she hopes that all employees will be retained through the process.
Other changes that will take place include:
• Coordinating with the Ohio Department of Transportation regarding who
will be responsible for certain roadways.
• The chief of police and police force will technically become village marshall and deputy marshals, according to Zets.
• Village council may create positions in order to keep the current business of Greenfield continuing. Zets said that the ORC does not spell out each and every job within a village or a city, and it will be up to Greenfield to designate enough people so that the jobs continue to be done.
Bergstrom asked if there was a way some of the positions that are to be decided by voters could be kept off the ballot, out of concern that a person could be elected who is not qualified.
Zets said that they cannot keep positions off the ballot, but in the unlikely chance no one runs for a particular office and no name is written in, the new council could fill the vacant positions.
Nathan Campbell, who works at the Greenfield water plant, said that he hopes residents don?t think that just because Greenfield is now considered a village that there is less work for the employees to do.
"Just because we have 300 less people doesn't mean there?s less to do. We've still got the same stuff to take care of," Campbell said.
"You also need to remember that Greenfield didn't lose those 300 people overnight," Bishop said, agreeing with Campbell.
Bishop also encouraged Greenfield?s employees to stick with them, even though right now the future could seem uncertain.
"If you?re satisfied with your job, don?t jump ship," Bishop said. "Give it a chance."
GREENFIELD - While current leadership in Greenfield hopes the process of converting from a city to a village will be a smooth process with little impact to area residents, there may be little continuity in the administration and council.
Members of the administration of Greenfield, along with city council members, met with Greenfield employees June 7 to discuss the process of converting to from city to village status following the results of the 2010 census.
Greenfield residents will vote on a new six-member council in the November general election. Of the five current council members, no one has definitively said if they would seek re-election.
Council members Harvey Everhart and William Redenbaugh said they will not run. Brenda Losey said that she most likely will seek another term, but she has not definitely made up her mind.
Council president Betty Jackman said that she is "on the fence" about running and Bob Bergstrom said that he initially intended on running and even stopped to pick up petitions from the Highland County Board of Elections. However, he said the board of elections needed confirmation from Greenfield Law Director Brian Zets so they were certain what forms needed to be distributed and what positions would officially be on the ballot. Bergstrom said he is not certain now if he will seek another term.
Everhart later told The Highland County Press that he had decided not to seek another term on council even before Greenfield lost its city status.
"I thought when I ran four years ago that a person could make a difference. And you can't," Everhart said. "I still want to fight for the city, and that isn't meant to be negative toward anybody. But right now, it's a losing battle. You have to look to the future and not spend every dime you've got. You can?t continue to spend more money than you take in. I'm accountable for what I do."
In addition to the six council positions, Greenfield voters will also decide on a mayor, treasurer and council clerk. A village solicitor will later be appointed by council. Council could also decide to appoint a village administrator, which would be similar to city manager position.
"We're pretty close to charting new ground," Zets said. "It's not unheard of, but there is no checklist of (what needs to be done) especially when going from a city to a village."
The village administrator would be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the village.
"I hate to say it but (according to the Ohio Revised Code) the mayor is sort of a ribbon-cutting position," Zets said. "It's mostly ceremonial, although you could be as involved as you want to be and take a more active
role."
Greenfield City Manager Betty Bishop told the group of approximately 20 employees, including police officers, that she and Zets will work as hard as they can to make the transition as smooth as possible.
"It is our goal to work as hard as we can so that between (now) and Jan. 1 the residents of Greenfield won't notice there was any change," Bishop said.
Other than the change in administration and council, Zets said that most other employees of Greenfield should not see a difference and they will be able to continue on with their regular jobs.
The conversion process could be simpler, Zets said, if Greenfield were a charter city, but Greenfield is a statutory city, which means it relies on the Ohio Revised Code to guide what is done.
Changing to a charter municipality at this point would not make the process simpler, he said, because a charter committee would have to be formed and voters would have to decide the matter in 2012. Many of the areas of difficulty facing Greenfield will be between now and Jan. 1, 2011 when the new government goes into place.
Jackman asked Zets if his contract and Bishop?s contract would be honored under the new government. Zets said that it would be up to the new council.
Zets stressed throughout the meeting that the current council and administration cannot do anything to interfere in the village form of government. For instance, they cannot create a position such as village administrator, and that will be left up to the new council to decide.
However, Zets said that some legislation will be written or re-written to become vague so that it can carry over into the village status, particularly regarding salaries.
Under the ORC, a sitting council cannot set their own salaries, and is usually done by the previous council. The sitting city council is prohibited from setting the salaries for the new government. Zets said that he is researching if current legislation can have language taken out so that it reads "Greenfield council" rather than "city council" or "village council." If not, Greenfield may be in a situation where the incoming mayor and council could not be paid until after their term is served.
Everhart expressed concern over the budget and how it will carry over. Zets said that most likely the new council will have to consider several pieces of legislation as soon as they are sworn in so that Greenfield business might continue.
The current city council could work as they normally do at the end of the year toward a temporary budget, which the new village council could then adopt after Jan. 1.
Jackman said that she hopes the newly elected members of council will work with them and be corporative, because there will be opportunity for both councils to work together in November and December toward making a smooth transition.
Some questions that were posed to council and administration members from the employees included whether or not they would all have jobs, if the city would negotiate with employees and if their salaries would remain the same.
Other cities going through similar processes were also brought up, and Zets said that they should resist comparing Greenfield to other municipalities because each case could be different, and not every village/city is going through the process correctly.
Zets said that because Greenfield is now a village, it is not obligated to negotiate with employees although they could choose to. Bishop said she hopes that all employees will be retained through the process.
Other changes that will take place include:
• Coordinating with the Ohio Department of Transportation regarding who
will be responsible for certain roadways.
• The chief of police and police force will technically become village marshall and deputy marshals, according to Zets.
• Village council may create positions in order to keep the current business of Greenfield continuing. Zets said that the ORC does not spell out each and every job within a village or a city, and it will be up to Greenfield to designate enough people so that the jobs continue to be done.
Bergstrom asked if there was a way some of the positions that are to be decided by voters could be kept off the ballot, out of concern that a person could be elected who is not qualified.
Zets said that they cannot keep positions off the ballot, but in the unlikely chance no one runs for a particular office and no name is written in, the new council could fill the vacant positions.
Nathan Campbell, who works at the Greenfield water plant, said that he hopes residents don?t think that just because Greenfield is now considered a village that there is less work for the employees to do.
"Just because we have 300 less people doesn't mean there?s less to do. We've still got the same stuff to take care of," Campbell said.
"You also need to remember that Greenfield didn't lose those 300 people overnight," Bishop said, agreeing with Campbell.
Bishop also encouraged Greenfield?s employees to stick with them, even though right now the future could seem uncertain.
"If you?re satisfied with your job, don?t jump ship," Bishop said. "Give it a chance."
[[In-content Ad]]