By Ann Wishart
Merging the maintenance and road departments to save money and reorganize the general fund took up part of the Russell Township Trustees special meeting last Tuesday.
In an effort to deal with state funding cuts and elimination of the inheritance tax that would lead to a general fund deficit of $583,000 in 2015, township officials have been making numerous changes.
The combination of the maintenance department with the road department was at the top of the list developed over the last few months.
Maintenance Superintendent Jack Gallagher, who has been using the old fire station for equipment and materials storage, has announced his resignation as of Nov. 15, leading officials to set the merger date for Nov. 16.
At that point, Gallagher’s assistant, Vince Gambino, will begin reporting to Road Superintendent Gene Layne, a move that will place his pay and benefits within the road department budget, Fiscal Officer Chuck Walder said last Thursday.
Trustees agreed not to change the name of the merged department to “service department” but to leave it as the road department.
The road department has been supported by the general fund in the past, but trustees are placing a 1.1-mill road and bridge levy on the November ballot.
If it passes, the levy would provide the department with its own funds.
Keeping its name as the road department avoids confusion, Walder said.
Trustee Jim Dickinson said the old fire station could be cleaned out and trustees should consider what to do with it.
Trustee Jim Mueller recommended a gradual shift.
“I think Gene Layne needs a little bit of a free hand,” he said.
Joining the departments and combining some of the responsibilities may take time to work out and Layne may want to organize the department a little differently, Mueller said.
Trustee Justin Madden said the township may end up outsourcing some of the work done by the maintenance department in the past.
“We want to let Gene do things as he sees fit,” Madden said, adding the trustees can provide guidance when needed.
“(The department) will morph as it goes along. Gene may find ways to streamline (operations),” Mueller said.
Not replacing the maintenance supervisor will save the township about $100,000 per year, Walder said last Thursday.
General building maintenance will be the responsibility of the separate department heads and will come out of their budgets as well.
Walder said the fire and police chief have been taking care of their own buildings for a while.
Other levies on the ballot include a five-year, 0.25-mill cemetery levy and a 1.5-mill replacement continuous police levy.
In other action, trustees accepted a date change for the retirement of Susan Baker, fiscal officer assistant, to allow at least 60 days between her retirement and her return as a part-time employee with the fire department.
Walder said Baker will receive a retirement payout of about $12,000 and Gallagher will receive a $11,500 payout.
Trustees also passed a resolution authorizing Walder to apply for a credit card with the bank that offers the best deal.
Walder said the township will be reimbursed about $400 by making an early payment to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
The bureau recommends taking advantage of the 1 percent payback from the credit card, Walder said.
The card is there specifically for the bureau payments, but there is also a 2 percent payback on office supplies, he said.
Trustees also said the deteriorating, burned-out house on Hemlock Point Road owned by Annette Scott is now part of a bankruptcy filing.
Secretary Melissa Palmer said she asked the township’s legal counsel, Geauga County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sheila Salem, if a township can go ahead with Russell trustees’ intent to have the deserted house demolished and was told probably not.
Trustees recommended Palmer talk to a bankruptcy attorney to find out if a township qualifies as an entity that is exempt from bankruptcy protection and may tear down buildings that constitute a danger to the health and safety of the community.