ST. CLAIRSVILLE The long-awaited upgrade to the city’s water distribution system begins this week as city leaders ponder prices customers will pay when th
Times Leader Staff Writer
ST. CLAIRSVILLE St. Clairsville City Council members took no action Monday to correct a vote cast by email that appeared to violate the Ohio Open Meetings Act, but the emails were read aloud and each member verbally confirmed their vote was recorded correctly.
The vote by email occurred April 5 to fill two seats on the recreation board. Council chose not to rescind the vote and said plans are in the works to revive in-person meetings, which would hopefully prevent such incidents in the future.
According to the “2021 Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual” published by Attorney General Dave Yosts’s office: “A public body must make all of its meetings open to the public at all times. Secret ballots, whispering of public business, and ’round-robin’ discussions are all prohibited under the openness requirement.”
St. Clairsville residents deserve better governance than they are getting from City Council.
It appears that on Monday, council violated the Ohio Open Meetings Act by casting votes to appoint two members to the recreation board via email. During a meeting conducted by teleconference, members cast what amounted to secret ballots by sending their votes in by email. While the result of the vote was announced council reappointed incumbents Alicia Freeman and Diane Schubert to the board those listening to the meeting had no way to know which council members had voted for which candidates.
The “2021 Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual” published by Attorney General Dave Yost’s office states: “A public body must make all of its meetings open to the public at all times. Secret ballots, whispering of public business, and ’round-robin’ discussions are all prohibited under the openness requirement.”
Staff Writer
T-L File Photo
St. Clairsville Councilman Perry Basile, left, speaks with Council President Jim Velas in a past meeting. Last week, numerous utility issues were discussed.
ST. CLAIRSVILLE The city is addressing fees and funding questions surrounding utilities and planned water upgrades.
During last week’s council teleconference meeting, Councilwoman Terra Butler, a member of the utility committee, said an ordinance will be put before the council next month pertaining to shutting off water services and applying a monthly fee.
“There’s a policy in place now, if we shut water off, if somebody goes to vacation over the winter … it’s a $50 turn-on and a $50 turn-off, and then they’re charged the monthly minimum amount even though they weren’t using any water,” Safety and Service Director Jeremy Greenwood said afterward, adding the city must balance its needs and expenses with fairness to the residents. “We’re kind of looking at that, seeing if there
Times Leader Staff Writer
ST. CLAIRSVILLE A resident wrote a letter criticizing Mayor Kathryn Thalman for a social media post, and a councilman read that letter during a Monday teleconference meeting.
Councilman Frank Sabatino read the letter and also had several questions about the process of closing out the books for 2020 and setting up appropriations for 2021.
Thalman had shared a post that quoted conservative commentator Candace Owens referring to “liberals” as “communists.” It was deleted from Thalman’s personal page, but there have been numerous comments about the matter on a Facebook page devoted to the city.
Sabatino read the letter by resident Matt Berher, who also addressed a letter to the mayor. He wrote that the post was not a sign Thalman was attempting to end political division in the city.