Rossford city department heads will receive pay raises in the new year.
Council voted unanimously at a meeting Monday evening to set the following rates:
•Public works superintendent, $69,789 to $84,043;
•Finance director, $95,000 to $104,500;
•Fire chief, $76,370 to $84,043;
•Police chief, $76,370 to $84,043;
•Assistant fire chief, $22.10 per hour to $24.30 per hour;
•Parks and recreation director, $59,110 to $70,023;
•Parks and recreation assistant director, $18.40 per hour to $20.24 per hour;
•Clerk of council, $6,000 to $8,500;
•Planner/economic development director, $100,000 to $110,000;
•City administrator, $105,000 to $115,500;
•Law director, $80 per hour to $120 per hour.
Councilman Chris Heban thanked the department heads for their work, congratulating them on the raises.
“They are much deserved and overdue,” he said.
In a related matter, council heard the first reading of an ordinance that would increase pay rates of council members from $3,000 to $7,000 annually.
Mayor MacKinnon supports the council pay raises.
“I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and I know the type of work you put in,” he said. “It’s only right that you, and the department heads and the employees are compensated fairly.”
He noted that the raises would not take effect until after the election of November 2022.
In 2023 and beyond, pay rates will increase by either 3 percent or the percentage increase of the consumer price index, whichever is less.
Council also heard the first reading of an ordinance that would raise the mayor’s salary from $7,000 to $15,000.
Councilman Larry Oberdorf believes the mayor’s pay rate also should be increased.
“This is so long in coming for you–all you’ve done for the city in economic development,” he said. “You deserve many times more than $15,000.”
Pay rates for the mayor and council have not changed in more than two decades.
In 2013, council voted to change the city charter and increase the salaries for council and mayor, but voters rejected those decisions in the November election.
Other Business
In other business, council:
•Approved the mayor’s appointments of David Ember of Riverside Drive to the civil service commission for a term ending December 31, 2025, replacing Ray Miller; and Don Taylor of Eagle Point Road to the board of zoning appeals, for a term ending December 13, 2026, replacing Kevin Brown.
•Updated the city’s credit card policy with the following changes–purchases of $250 or more require a prior purchase order; no alcohol may be charged when traveling or for business meetings; and the city will not reimburse employees for city expenses charged on personal credit cards.
The finance department will keep a list of all credit cards and fleet fuel cards assigned to employees. Credit lines will be evaluated annually.
•Adopted a disaster recovery plan for the city’s financial information in case of a cyberattack or natural disaster, as recommended by the state auditor’s office.
The plan is meant to ensure the city can still access its financial system in case of a disaster.
The information technology consultant has worked with the city’s financial software provider, Software Solutions (SSI), to ensure financial records are backed up on the on-premise server and with cloud backup.
“This hybrid approach reduces the downtime in case of a ransomware attack,” the plan states.
The city has several protections on the locked server and system which are monitored by the IT consultant.
In case of a natural disaster or other impediment to access the finance office, the IT consultant and SSI can arrange for access from another location. Paper copies of documents also could be reprinted from the system.
•Updated the city’s purchasing policy that was adopted in 2019.
Council will not hold a second meeting in December, so the next meeting will be Monday, January 10 at 6 p.m., in the municipal building, 133 Osborn Street, and is open to the public.