“We voted Mayor Banks in. We voted for a full-time mayor. We didn’t vote for a part-time mayor,” said Bellville resident Dan Jones. Jones was one of nearly two dozen residents that turned out for the Bellville Village Council meeting on March 3, many of them voicing opposition to the proposed ordinance to reduce the position of mayor to part time.
The meeting marked the third reading of an “Ordinance to Add a Section 31.08 to designate the mayor as a part time position for the purpose of employment benefits and to set the annual salary for the same.”
The ordinance specified the mayor’s salary would be $7,000. Bellville Mayor Darrell Banks said in a recent interview that the hours worked would be approximately 11.7 per week, which he feels would not be enough time to fulfill the duties of mayor for the village of 1,918 residents.
The proposed ordinance would allow more hours for a village administrator. Hours and salary for that position are not yet set. The current administrator works approximately 6 hours per week for an annual salary of $10,500, according to Banks.
“I’m curious as to how one branch of the…government of this village has the power to take away essentially three-fourths of another part of the government of the village, particularly when it was [voters] that put that guy here. And now we’re being told we’re going to vote for one-fourth of a mayor in November, if this comes to pass. I’d like to that put up in front of everybody before that happens,” said resident Mark Timberlake.
The idea of bringing the issue to a public vote was echoed by many residents in attendance. However, it is not a voter perogative; it is one of council’s duties to fix the salaries and bonds of village elected officials and employees.
Speaking as a member of the public, former village solicitor Jeff Mussman said that council sets the pay of the mayor, but does not set the hours.
Each member of the public was given five minutes to voice their opinions or concerns, and then each council member was given the same opportunity. Councilmember Steve Beal was absent.
Councilmember Joann Palmer spoke out against what she deemed “dirty politics.”
Palmer admitted to posting the issue of the ordinance online, “When you have a councilperson that goes behind everybody’s back to bully and coerce other people into going along with something like this, I think the whole town needs to be aware of when dirty politics are going on.”
She said she received 25 or more phone calls, all voicing support and appreciation for the work Banks has done for the village. “The bottom line is that an administrator, whether part time or full time, is only going to oversee six full-time employees and three part-time employees and I feel a part-time administrator can adequately oversee, in 20 hours, what is going on in this town.”
“I’d like to just say I don’t think there was anything dirty going on, and I really resent that,” said Councilmember David Griffon.
Griffon said he’d received feedback from people in administrative positions in other villages which indicated Bellville did not need a full-time mayor, or to pay for the benefits required of a full-time position.
He said that it’s easy to dole out money, but no one likes to cut back. “We have to have an administrator, and we have to have a mayor. We just need to sit down and work together and find out how this is going to work,” he said.
Councilmember Larry Rose sponsored an ordinance similar to the ordinance reducing the mayor to part time, with the main difference being that the mayor’s salary would be set using yearly increments. March 3 marked the first reading of this proposed ordinance. Rose also made a motion that the original ordinance be tabled until more discussion on the new ordinance could be held, which was unanimously approved.
When asked after the meeting for comment, Banks said he would like to hear more about the new ordinance before comment.
Councilmember Vic Swisher sponsored an ordinance to reduce the pay of council members from $158 per month to $70 per month starting January 2016. Swisher said that the ordinance would save the village $6,000 per year. He noted that a larger administrator role would reduce the role of council and therefore council should be paid less.
“We have to have an administrator, and we have to have a mayor. We just need to sit down and work together and find out how this is going to work,” said Councilmember David Griffon.
A public hearing will be held March 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bellville Police Department just prior to the council meeting. The hearing will concern a parking ordinance regarding parking in front yards. The police department is located at 320 Bell Street.
