Politics or saving money?

Council members will talk to local governments about their administrative staffing.

BY D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

SALEM — Council is on the brink of eliminating the city safety director’s position, even though a council committee is just starting to study the issue.

Council on Tuesday gave the second of three readings to the ordinance that would abolish the post.

Councilman Justin Palmer had introduced the legislation to save money.

But Councilman Clyde Brown announced that members of the rules and ordinances committees will talk to local communities on whether such posts are combined or separate.

Palmer is a Democrat. Brown and the other members of the rules and ordinances committee, Mary Ann Dzuracky and Dennis Groves, are also Democrats.

Brown said that they will talk to officials in Niles, Alliance and East Palestine about their structures.

New Republican Mayor Jerry Wolford — who beat Brown in last year’s election — has named Greg Oesch as the safety director and Steven Andres as service director.

The safety director’s post pays about $8,200 a year, and the service director is paid about $51,000 annually.

Brown has called committee meetings at 7 p.m. next Tuesday and at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 19, right before council’s next regular meeting. Council could give the third reading during the regular meeting.

Brown said “it’s hard to say” whether the committee will wrap up its work before the council session.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Mark Pietzrak of Salem asked council to table action on abolishing Oesch’s job.

“It seems this is politicking,” Pietzrak said.

But Wolford had Pietzrak named during the meeting to a vacancy on the city’s board of zoning appeals.

Wolford also tried to appoint a new member of the planning commission. But Brown pointed out that a city ordinance gave the right to appoint a member to the commission. Brown said outgoing member Bob Hodgson had done a good job and was likely to be reappointed.

Andres and Oesch gave lengthy reports to council on a variety of issues. The most interesting seasonally is that Andres said the city would quit mixing grit with road salt. He said the grit clogs the spreader, collects at intersections and then clogs street drains.

Andres said using more road salt will cost more but will be worth the cost.

wilkinson@vindy.com