BELLVILLE — Bellville Village Council voted 5-0 to terminate village administrator Larry Weirich during a special meeting Sunday night.
Weirich, who was hired as village administrator in 2015, was fired “without cause.” However, council members said the decision was made due to a conflict of interest stemming from his romantic relationship with Mayor Teri Brenkus.
As village administrator, Weirich reports directly to both to Brenkus and village council.
Weirich was placed on paid administrative leave last month after both he and Brenkus verified the relationship to members of council. Council passed a resolution at the same meeting requesting the mayor’s resignation.
Village council members JJ Burkhart, Deb Carver, Jason Guilliams, Ian Ball and Tim Truex all voted in favor of Weirich’s termination.
Council president Justin Enix did not vote Sunday because he was serving as acting mayor while Brenkus was out of town, but said he would have voted ‘yes’ with his peers.
The resolution to terminate Weirich’s employment takes effect on April 19.
Council members looked solemn as they cast their votes. Village clerk Amanda Perry sniffed back tears as she called each member’s name.
“It’s very difficult when you’re dealing with the lives of people and their livelihood. You develop more than just a professional working relationship,” said Guilliams, who chairs council’s HR committee.
“You develop a friendship as well. It was very, very challenging to have to make this decision.”
Outside counsel calls relationship ‘a clear conflict of interest’
At the onset of the meeting, village solicitor Sarah Exten shared a report by attorney Drew Piersall of Zashin & Rich Co., a Columbus law firm.
Council retained Piersall earlier this month to investigate the relationship between Brenkus and Weirich and advise on the situation.
Piersall concluded that the relationship constituted a “clear conflict of interest.”
“Mayor Brenkus and Administrator Weirich should have notified Village Council of a potential relationship prior to entering into a romantic relationship so that any potential conflict of interest/appearance of impropriety could have been addressed at that time,” Piersall wrote.
Piersall confirmed that the village’s nepotism policy prohibits immediate family relationships between an employee and their supervisor, but does not prohibit dating or romantic relationships.
Nevertheless, Piersall wrote that the ordinance does urge village employees to avoid “any appearance of impropriety” and states department managers should assure employee supervision and assignments “minimize the appearance of and opportunity for conflicts of interest or impropriety.”
“The undersigned council is of the opinion that the relationship between the mayor and the village administrator does not violate the ‘letter’ of nepotism policy, but is incompatible with its ‘spirit,'” Piersall wrote.
According to his report, Piersall’s investigation included reviewing the village employee handbook, “pertinent provisions” of the Ohio Revised Code and Mayor Brenkus’ Facebook posts regarding the relationship. Piersall also said he interviewed Weirich on April 5.
Citing his interview with Weirich, Peirsall said the romantic relationship with Brenkus began after Weirich separated from his wife in July 2023.
“The two (Brenkus and Weirich) have continued to maintain this relationship and are presently dating one another,” the report said.
The report also stated that Weirich confirmed he was not coerced or pressured into entering the relationship. He denied any concerns related to a hostile work environment or sexual harassment. He denied engaging in any inappropriate activity on village grounds.
Piersall’s report stated that he had spoken with Brenkus’ legal counsel on April 9 and all parties agreed an interview with Brenkus was not necessary, “as the facts in this matter are not in dispute and there was no additional information that could be provided by Mayor Brenkus germane to the investigation.”
Residents divided on the matter
Council heard from members of the public before meeting with Weirich in a 45-minute executive session, then calling for a vote.
Several vouched for Weirich’s professionalism. Some questioned whether a relationship between the mayor and village administrator had any real impact on the village.
Jennifer Hamilton, who works as the village’s utilities and cemetery clerk, said both Weirich and Brenkus have stayed professional during the course of their relationship.
“No one has bothered to ask any of the staff or any of us that work with them how we felt about it or if we noticed anything or felt that anything was inappropriate,” she said.
“I don’t feel it has affected (Weirich’s) job and any decisions that he has made.”
Others said they believed the Weirich and Brenkus had broken village rules and consequences were necessary.
Resident Dan Hillier called the relationship “unprofessional.”
“If you have an issue with the administrator and your next step is the mayor and they’re in a relationship, who do you turn to?” he said.
‘This has been gut-wrenching’
Several council members said they felt it was their duty to get rid of any conflict of interest inside village hall.
“We’ve heard several people talk about Larry’s performance, how great of a job he does as village administrator. I would agree with that 100 percent, which has made this even more difficult,” Truex said.
“I’ve known Larry personally for 30 years and this has been gut-wrenching.”
Ball agreed, saying that Weirich’s termination wasn’t about his job performance.
“This was about what’s right and wrong and the potential,” he said.
“In my opinion, there’s another person responsible, but we’re not in a position to be able to do anything about that. In the best interest of the village, I think it was important to do what we could.”
Guilliams asked the public to be kind to Weirich in the aftermath.
“I would ask that the public respects the privacy of the village administrator and his family as he works through this transition,” Guilliams said. “Yes, he’s in a public office. But this was not an easy decision for anyone and certainly not for him.”
Mayor, village administrator have retained legal counsel
Brenkus, who was not present at the meeting, denounced the decision to terminate Weirich in comments to Richland Source on Sunday evening.
After Weirich was placed on leave last month, Brenkus said she hoped council could restructure the chain of command so that Weirich would no longer report directly to her.
She stated there is a precedent for doing so, and that a family member of a previous mayor was allowed to continue working for the village and report to the fiscal officer.
According to Brenkus, her lawyer Christina Royer and Piersall spoke and agreed the village could restructure to institute the appropriate checks and balances.
Enix stated that Piersall has denied this restructuring claim to council.
“Council was on a mission to remove us for answering their questions honestly,” Brenkus said.
“I feel awful that Mr. Weirich was put on public display and know this could have been handled in a decent manner. They have certainly put the village of Bellville at risk by the way they handled this issue.”
Weirich declined to comment on his termination, citing advice from his legal counsel.
“I would like, from the bottom of my heart, to thank everyone who came out and supported me tonight,” he said.
Brenkus echoed his comments, thanking residents who have voiced their support.
“We appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received during this horrible month-long drama,” she said.
