BOARDMAN Seditz put on unpaid leave and must finish treatment

When he returns to work, he will enter a last-chance agreement with trustees.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The township's administrator has been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending completion of an alcohol-treatment program.
After a roughly three-hour executive session at the conclusion of their regular meeting Monday, trustees voted 3-0 to continue the employment of Curt B. Seditz, 42, township administrator since 1996, according to Elaine Mancini, trustee chairwoman.
There's another year on Seditz's contract with the township.
"He's on administrative, unpaid leave, and upon successful completion of EAP [Employee Assistance Program], he'll return to work," she said. "At that time, we'll enter a last-chance agreement with him."
Mancini described the agreement as a contract that stipulates that if Seditz is involved in any other alcohol-related incidents while a township employee, "there will be no hearing, no nothing -- you're done."
Seditz pleaded no contest and was convicted last week in Struthers Municipal Court of driving under the influence.
His license was suspended for six months, and Judge James Lanzo ordered him to pay a $350 fine. Seditz also agreed to attend driving school in lieu of jail time.
Arrest details
A Poland Village police officer arrested Seditz on Aug. 31 after observing Seditz's pickup truck weaving on state Route 170. A breath test administered at the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Canfield Post indicated a blood-alcohol level at twice the legal limit.
Seditz took vacation time after the arrest, awaiting trustees' decision regarding his employment.
When Seditz was arrested in 2000 and charged with DUI, a charge that was later reduced to reckless operation, trustees imposed a three-day suspension without pay. Seditz had been driving a township vehicle when the car left the road, struck a utility pole and rolled onto its side.
He has not had a township vehicle since the accident in 2000.
Because each employee assistance program is tailored to the individual, there's no time frame in place for when Seditz is expected to return.
Christina Griffith, deputy administrator, has been performing the day-to-day administrative duties since Seditz's arrest.