January 20, 2011
Olentangy picks 7.9 mills for levy 12 board meeting, agreed with certify that millage amount for
By THOMAS SHEEHAN
The board, by a 3-2 vote Dec. on the tax issue Jan. 12. Following the meeting, ating levy. Later the board mem- O’Brien said he changed his bers learned that vote was in- mind because in recent discusvalid because, by state law, a sions with school officials it besuper majority (at least a 4-1 came clear that the district likeboard vote) is needed to approve ly will receive less revenue than an operating levy. expected and officials plan to All board members attended make more budget reductions and none spoke prior to voting and cost-saving measures over
ThisWeek Community Newspapers three other members to seek the the May election. The board is 22, approved the 7.9-mill oper-
Olentangy residents can expect to see a 7.9-mill operating levy on the May ballot after a school board member previously opposed to that millage amount changed his mind. Kevin O’Brien, during a Jan.
three-year levy in a combination ballot issue with a no-new-millage bond issue. Member Scott Galloway voted against the issue. Approval of a resolution of necessity at the Jan. 12 meeting means the district now will ask the Delaware County auditor to
scheduled to vote Jan. 19 to place the issue on the ballot. The filing deadline is Feb. 2. In December, both Galloway and O’Brien opposed the 7.9mill levy, instead supporting a 6.9-mill levy. No one opposed the bond issue.
911 levy planned for May ballot
the next three years. Previously, the district had discussed reductions of about $2.1million. That figure has increased to around $5.5-million, he said. Property tax collections are expected to drop because of an See OLENTANGY, page A5
By MICHAEL J. MAURER
Jeni’s co-founder thrilled with new store’s reception
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By BONNIE BUTCHER
The Delaware County 911 Board on Jan. 12 voted to recommend that a tax levy be put on the May ballot. The recommendation will go to the county commissioners for formal action. The board recommended a five-year, 0.75-mill levy. It would replace the current 0.45-mill levy that will expire on Dec. 31. Voters in November rejected a fiveyear, 0.62-mill levy 26,750-20,590. That issue was designed to overlap with the current levy for a year, to help fund initial capital investment. Bob Greenlaw, director of county emergency communications, blamed voter confusion for the November failure, when three tax levies failed in the county, including the 911 levy, the city of Powell income tax levy and an Orange Township police levy. “The true first responders are the telecommunicators that answer your 911 calls,” Greenlaw said. “It is imperative to all Delaware County residents that we maintain and update this vital public safety link and provide citizens with quick and effective service.” A 7.5-mill levy would raise about $3.9 million annually. It would cost the owner of a $200,000 house $45.94 annually, beginning in 2012. The current levy costs about $26 a year. “This levy supports all public safety communications in Delaware County,” Greenlaw said. “Out of Sept. 11, 2001, when the New York City police department and fire departments had problems because they could not talk to each other on the radio. After that, the state of Ohio put millions of dollars into interoperable radio, and this county was at the forefront of that. If this were to not get funded and it had to be funded instead by the individual entities, then those who could not afford in any given year to do an upgrade would have to drop out. That would put us in reverse.” The county has for several years been developing a centralized 911 service, reaching an agreement in 2010 with the city of Delaware for previous year cost sharing. Greenlaw said having a single service for all jurisdictions in the county costs less than separate 911 systems See 911, page A5
A closer look A 7.5-mill levy would raise about $3.9 million annually. It would cost the owner of a $200,000 house $45.94 annually, beginning in 2012.
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By Tim Norman/ThisWeek
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream junior ambassador Rechelle Frash, left, takes the order of Bo Tarpoff and 7-year-old Antonia Tarpoff and 7-year-old Ashton Hart during their visit to the store at the corner of Olentangy and North Liberty street on Saturday, Jan. 15. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream introduced its new seasonal flavors last week.
Powell’s reaction to its new Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams shop “absolutely shattered all of our expectations,” the business’ co-founder said. Jeni Britton Bauer said, “We thought we were getting too much space and we’re so happy we have it because we would have been cramming people in there if we had a smaller place.” The store opened in November at 8 N. Liberty St. “We are thrilled with the reception of the community. I’m getting e-mails from young people telling me what their favorite flavors are,” Bauer said. “I used to think of Powell as being really far away from Columbus, and now I feel like it’s really close and it’s such a thriving, vibrant, wonderful community. “We’ve been floored at the community response and not just from all the customers but the local businesses, too. We’ve had a great response from everyone.” Jeni’s operates seven Columbus-area shops. The others are in Bexley, Clintonville, Dublin, Grandview, the Short North and the North Market. The family owned and operated company ships its products to retailers in 29 states. The business got its start in Bauer’s kitchen. In 1996, she was a student at Ohio State University and an employee at a pastry shop. “I was working at a French pastry shop, studying art and art history at Ohio State and thinking about pastry school,” Bauer said. “I started making pastries at home — blending French techniques See JENI’S, page A2
MORPC study
Powell’s employee wages mid-range By BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Powell employee salaries are about mid-range, according to an annual survey performed by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. The commission’s most recent “Comprehensive Salary and Fringe Benefit Survey” breaks down wages by job title and description for various villages, cities and townships. The survey reflects data from 2009 wages and benefits. The MORPC survey provides pay ranges for the various job titles, provided by each of the 31 governments that responded to the survey, including Bexley, Delaware County, New Albany, Westerville and Worthington. It also provides the average pay for job title the entities paid in 2009.
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A closer look The MORPC survey provides pay ranges for the various job titles, provided by each of the 31 governments that responded to the survey, including Bexley, Delaware County, New Albany, Westerville and Worthington. It also provides the average pay for job title the entities paid in 2009.
The respondents varied in their number of employees, with Canal Winchester on the smaller side with fewer than 50 and Columbus the largest with more than 5,000 employees. Powell has 54.5 employees. Powell provided data for 23 full-time
employees, although data for the city manager position is not listed and two of the titles do not show a starting pay, just the highest possible pay for the position. Powell’s lowest-paying positions are the secretary-clerk positions and permit coordinator, all with a pay range of $28,109 to $51,111. In the survey, Powell’s secretary/clerk position has the highest top-end salary among the respondents, but that position carries more responsibilities than those listed in MORPC’s job description. Powell has four employees in secretary-clerk category. The average salary is in the low-end of the city’s range, at $35,000. Though no data was provided for the MORPC survey, city documents show
Nemo, who was rescued from a hoarding situation, is up for adoption from the Ohio SPCA. To see a video of Nemo and Scamp, another cat looking for a home, visit www.ThisWeekNews. com. For more information on Nemo, visit ohiospca.org.
the city manager’s 2009 salary to be about $117,000. The other governments surveyed with a similar position show the lowest starting pay at $84,198 and the highest at $180,000. For supervisor-assistant city engineer, Powell’s pay range was $54,320 to $72,079, one of the highest pay ranges for that job title among the respondents, whose lowest wage was $37,669. The responsibilities for the Powell position also are greater than the MORPC survey description. Powell’s police officers are at the top of the city’s $44,302 to $64,046 pay range, with the average pay at $64,043, excluding overtime. Overtime pay is listed in the MORPC survey. Powell police overtime fell from See WAGES, page A2
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