Trustees' dispute centers on parks employee

AUSTINTOWN -- A dispute among Trustee Lisa Oles, fellow board members and the township administrator over a possible disciplinary hearing against a parks employee dominated the trustees meeting Monday night.
Oles wanted the matter to be immediately debated in public, but Trustee Bo Pritchard said it should be discussed in executive committee. Trustee David Ditzler said he wanted more information on the issue before he would be comfortable voting on it, so the issue died without a second.
The dispute deals with a Parks Department employee who wanted compensation for hours worked on a Saturday in conjunction with a volunteer cleanup at Wedgewood Park. Pritchard said that the project resulted in the removal of eight dump truck loads of litter and debris being removed from the park and that a paid parks employee was needed to drive the truck.
Oles said that the employee had demanded time-and-a-half pay for working Saturday. Pritchard said that the employee was given four hours off Friday in exchange for working four hours Saturday and was not paid time-and-a-half. But Oles was not satisfied with the solution.
Pritchard said that township employees answer to the board of trustees, not any one of its members. "You're grandstanding, Lisa, again," he said.