Shelby City Council observed its first meeting of 2015, and its first meeting with Steve Schag as Shelby’s newest mayor. Schag officially took office on Dec. 31, 2014, replacing Marilyn John as mayor and as president of council.
“As you can well imagine, I’m still settling in to the office of mayor,” said Schag during Monday’s council meeting. “I’m blessed to be surrounded by some very talented people who are making this transition easier for me and as smooth as possible.”
In the coming weeks, Schag stated he would be working to get up to speed on a number of administrative matters, as well as enlisting the help of a few Shelby citizens to fill some commission and committee vacancies thanks to the change of positions.
“I’m certainly looking forward to working with city council and all those around me in the months ahead in a joint effort to continue to provide public services and governmental leadership to the city of Shelby,” he said.
Council also unanimously passed a resolution thanking John for her service as mayor from Jan. 1, 2010 until her resignation on Dec. 31, 2014.
“During her tenure in office, Mrs. John contributed significantly to the welfare and progress of the city in a number of ways, including the development of Black Fork Commons, the renaissance of the Central Business District, the construction of the Justice Center, and improvements to the city’s utilities and infrastructure,” read Clerk of Council Bob Lafferty. “Council desires to thank Mrs. John for her dedicated service.”
With Schag stepping into the mayor’s office, council officially declared that a vacancy exists in Schag’s previous office of councilmember-at-large. In this absence, council unanimously voted that Councilmember Harold Shasky would serve as vice president pro tempore of council.
Discussion during a Committee of the Whole session turned to finding a replacement for the position of councilmember-at-large. Council will be accepting applications from the public for the position of councilmember-at-large until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 12. Applicants must be a resident elector of the city of Shelby, and be willing to file a financial disclosure statement with the Ohio Ethics Commission within 30 days of appointment.
“Our charter states it is [council’s] responsibility to make an appointment within 30 days of the vacancy; if we fail to do that, the mayor has the power to make an appointment,” explained Councilmember Garland Gates. “We do not have that much time available.”
Gates noted it is council’s decision to hold interviews for the position either as a public meeting or as executive session. He added he would lean toward a public interview.
“This is a position where whoever is appointed has to make decisions in public, and if he or she is unwilling or uncomfortable answering questions about his or her qualifications in public, there is a little bit of concern,” said Gates. “We in effect are a substitute for the electorate in this process, and the electoral process is open. In a forum or some sort of gathering if someone asks a question in public, they expect an answer in public.”
Schag, having been through the interview process, suggested that council provide the candidates with prepared questions before their interview.
“Some people do not think on their feet as well as other people; they’re very good at doing their homework and they can analyze and give you an answer,” Schag explained. “My fear would be you might ask someone who is very good at analyzing to come with an answer just like that and they may not be gifted that way. So if you were going to do it in a public forum – or even a private forum – I wonder if we should give them the questions beforehand.”
Councilmember Nathan Martin suggested a compromise by allowing each member of council to submit one prepared question for candidates, with the expectation that each council member would also ask one additional question during the interview process. Council agreed upon this format.
“I move that in order to facilitate the process of finding a replacement for the council vacancy that any interested, qualified persons submit a cover letter, a resume and a time frame for which they will be available on Friday, Jan. 16 to City Hall no later than 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 12,” said Martin at the conclusion of the Committee of the Whole meeting. “The interview will involve four prepared questions from city council and four extemporaneous questions. The prepared questions – one per council member – will be provided to City Hall no later than 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 12 and distributed to the applicants.
“No later than Jan. 14, council will decide when on Jan. 16 to hold interviews, and that will be released to the media as required,” Martin concluded. Council passed the motion unanimously.
