January 30, 2011
District offers staff retirement incentive By JIM FISCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Veteran teachers and other staff in the Marysville Exempted Village School District will have the option to accept a retirement incentive/buyout as the district continues to look for ways to reduce costs while maintaining programs. Superintendent Larry Zimmerman presented the proposal to the school board
at its Jan. 24 meeting. “We’re looking for creative ways to impact our cash flow,” Zimmerman told board members. “We did this once before and the benefit was significant.” More importantly, he said, the option would likely mean the district would not be faced with the possibility of layoffs nor the cutting or elimination of programs. Zimmerman said the move is in anticipation of a loss in state funding.
The plan would offer employees with 10 or more years with the district $45,000 plus their contractual severance pay, paid monthly over a 5-8-year period, depending on whether the employee is eligible for retirement based on the State Teachers Retirement System. Zimmerman said, in discussions with Marysville Education Association representatives, that as many as 36 teachers could opt for the incentive. The district
stands to save up to $6.6-million over the term of the incentive. Board member Tracy Greer asked how many position would be filled. Zimmerman said the answer depends on the program areas affected by the teachers leaving, but that the lion’s share would likely be replaced. Zimmerman made it clear to ThisWeek that the total cost of the retirement incentive, including the rehire of younger
teachers at lower pay, would be less than if the district continued to pay the veteran teachers. “There is clearly a cost,” Zimmerman told ThisWeek. “Including all costs the savings far exceed (paying salaries of staff members who take the incentive). Otherwise, I wouldn’t have proposed it.” Board member Doug Lassiter expressed See DISTRICT, page A2
Froment resigns as Marysville administrator By LIN RICE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
Firefighter Chris Stricker, Lt. David Wilson and firefighter Justin French put equipment back on their truck in the station Thursday, Jan. 27. Jerome Township is placing a fire levy on the ballot this spring.
Jerome officials make case for fire levy By LIN RICE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Jerome Township firefighters went on an emergency medical run at noon Jan. 27, and radioed to the station they needed to take their patient to Riverside Hospital in Columbus. “Basically that means if we get a call in the next hour for help, there’s not much we can do but call in mutual assistance,” Jerome fire chief Scott Skeldon said. Earlier this month, Jerome Township trustees voted to put an additional 2.9-mill, five-year levy before voters to fund fire de-
partment operations. An ongoing levy of the same millage was defeated by less than 70 votes in November 2010. “There’s the chief, and four of us out here today. If one of us gets sick, we’d be down one more,” firefighter Justin French said on Jan. 27. “Think about it like a basketball team that can only put four guys on the court.” French said the division responded to about 850 calls for assistance in 2010, which was an increase of about 80 runs from the previous year. The division provides coverage for an estimated 4,200 Jerome Township residents, along with about 1,500 Mill
Creek residents (Jerome Township contracts with Mill Creek to provide service). Skeldon said that depending on the time of day, those population figures can vary drastically. “You have to remember that during the business day, in that commerce area of Route 33 and Route 42, a little city of its own emerges in the township,” Skeldon said. “Those are all folks who often need our assistance.” Township trustee Robert Merkle said Jerome Township has seen funding for the See JEROME OFFICIALS, page A3
Marysville city administrator Jillian Froment has accepted a new position with the state of Ohio and will be leaving her Marysville post on Feb. 11. Froment told ThisWeek on Wednesday that she accepted a job as chief administrative officer with the Ohio Department of Insurance on Jillian Jan. 24. Froment “I will be an assistant director, but (CAO) is the working title,” she said. “This was something I couldn’t walk away from – I got into public service to try to serve, and I think this will be a great opportunity to serve all Ohioans.” Marysville Mayor Chris Schmenk said Froment’s expertise will be missed. “We will certainly miss her, but we recognize it’s a great opportunity for additional public service,” Schmenk said. Froment has worked as city administrator since April 2008. Schmenk said Marysville will soon begin a search for a new administrator. “We don’t have anyone chosen or targeted, so we’ll conduct a full and open search,” Schmenk said. Froment said the decision to
leave her position in the city’s administration was a hard one to make. “I’m certainly excited about the opportunity, but it’s been an emotional last three or four days, because I really love Marysville,” she said. “I came here because I care about the community, and the hard part has been knowing that I won’t be a part of that every day.” In her new job, Froment will administer the human resources, IT, financial and legal aspects of the Ohio Department of Insurance. While this particular state department might not be very flashy, Froment said it serves several functions that directly affect Marysville and Union County residents. “They regulate the insurance agencies, protecting consumers against fraud, while a key role is looking at the whole health care reform issue,” she said. “That was something that attracted me to the job – to figure through the health care issue and how it will impact Ohio.” Marysville’s director of administration is appointed by the mayor with a majority approval from the city council and is charged with planning, organizing and coordinating all municipal activities. In Marysville, the administrator often acts as the city’s point of contact with residents and the media. Marysville’s city administrator is paid an annual salary of $102,485.
Sewage contract State of the City Mayor says finances improved in 2010 could benefit city of Marysville By LIN RICE
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By LIN RICE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
While it isn’t common for a client to be trucking waste to Marysville’s sewage-treatment plant, those are the sort of contracts that pique the city’s interest, according to city administrator Jillian Froment. Two weeks ago, Marysville was approached by an unnamed client interested in doing business with the city’s sewage-treatment plant. The client was represented by Edwin Hanson, project manager for Penn National Gaming’s large-scale casino project in Franklin Township on the West Side of Columbus. When asked whether Penn National is the unnamed client, company spokesman Bob Tenenbaum said Penn National is not commenting on anything related to sewer or water service while ne-
gotiating with Columbus. Columbus has told Penn National that the city won’t provide sewer and water services unless the 123-acre site along West Broad Street near I-270 is annexed. The casino developer, after agreeing to move the project from its original Columbus location in the Arena District, has asked the city for as much as $10-million in incentives, but city officials have balked at agreeing to that proposal. Columbus could make an estimated $24-million in annual taxes if the casino is in the city; it would only net $16-million if it doesn’t annex. Regardless of the client’s identity, Froment said a contract like this could work well for Marysville. “These types of clients are great for the city because the costs as-
Marysville’s financial outlook strengthened and many infrastructure improvements were made in 2010, Mayor Chris Schmenk said in her annual State of the City address. Schmenk delivered the annual update on Marysville’s status at the Jan. 27 city council meeting. Strong developments for Marysville’s finances were a hallmark of last year, she said. “Over the last year, we have worked hard to build a stronger Marysville,” Schmenk said. “Our work began with taking steps necessary to strengthen our finances.” That involved running a successful campaign to increase the city’s income tax rate, she said, a task at which the city failed during the previous year. “We had to pick ourselves up from a loss in 2009, and we had to do everything we could to reach voters,” she said. That tax increase played a role in the city receiving an MIG 1 rating for shortterm notes from Moody’s Investors Ser-
vices last year, the highest rating possible, Schmenk said. Marysville’s safety services made a concerted effort to deal with drugs on the streets in 2010, she continued. Chris “Our police division Schmenk continues to be aggressive in the fight against illegal drugs,” she said. “During the spring of 2010, grand jury indictments were returned on 12 individuals. This investigation, which began in late 2009, involved trafficking in heroin and prescription drugs within the city of Marysville. Investigators seized 110 doses of heroin, along with approximately 105 unit doses of prescription drugs, including Oxycontin and Percocet.” Schmenk said some significant infrastructure work was accomplished last year, including the completion of the North Main Street sanitary sewer project, completion of the city’s storm water management policy, substantial completion of the city’s Job Ready Site, the completion of an agreement to provide water and sanitary sewer
service with the Jerome Village Community Authority, reducing the city’s water hardness, along with other projects. Building a new municipal court and police facility will take much of the city’s focus in the coming year, she added. “The devil can be in the details, but (city staff) will work out the issues, and we are confident that we will emerge with the best possible facilities for our community while keeping to our modest budget,” she said. Infrastructure improvements in 2011, such as preparing for the new water treatment plant to come online, will also be a focus, Schmenk said. “As the economy rebounds, we hope our city will realize additional smart growth, as our new water reclamation facility is designed to meet the needs of this optimistic future,” she said. “We will continue to work hard with our economic development director, Eric Phillips, to market our Uptown and our entire community as an ideal place to live, work and play.” Schmenk concluded by thanking the city council and the city staff for their support. “I have an ever-growing sense of respect
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