Open-meeting violation is alleged

By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- A councilman has charged that city officials violated Ohio's open-meeting laws in forming the Quaker Community Fire District.
Councilman Justin Palmer said at Tuesday's council meeting that city records show the law firm of Roetzel & amp; Andress of Akron billed the city for work it did starting March 12, 2004.
The city and Perry Township eventually formed the district to eliminate their fire departments and form the Quaker district to serve both jurisdictions.
Palmer, who was elected to council along with Earl A. Schory II and Clyde Brown in reaction to the plan, said, "The legal invoices show that the billing for the work on the labor and fire district issues began more than three months prior to the first public mention of the idea. This would lead any rational person to be interested in possible violations of the Ohio Open Meetings Act."
Palmer said the law firm's bills on the issue topped 80,000. As part of the fire district agreement, the city lost an additional 25,000 the township paid the city for police dispatching, he said.
Councilwoman Mary Lou Popa, who was among the council members who created the fire district, said she took issue with Palmer's saying the effort began in secret.
The documents Palmer obtained show that the law firm's first billing summary reads, "Reviewed various SERB [State Employment Relations Board] materials in preparation for meeting, attended meeting [with another lawyer from the firm] and city officials; discussed joint fire district."
The city officials were not named in the billing.
SERB officials eventually ruled that the city broke state law in eliminating the fire district in midcontract, which effectively killed the district that never operated.
Water customers
In other action, Councilman Steven Andres said the city's utilities commission may attempt to find new customers along the waterline that runs from the city's treatment plant to the federal prison in Elkton. The city will lose about 275,000 in revenue from the switch by the Columbiana County commissioners to the Buckeye Water District as the water provider to the prison.
wilkinson@vindy.com