Battle brews in Salem over future of post
The administration is eyeing a new position for the safety director.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM — Mayor Jerry Wolford has dug in for a long battle with council.
Wolford on Thursday vetoed council’s vote to abolish the city’s safety director’s position.
Wolford had appointed fellow Republican Greg Oesch, a former councilman, as safety director.
As councilman, Oesch tried to abolish the fire department to create a fire district with Perry Township, a move eventually vetoed by the State Employment Relations Board and a judge’s order.
Steve Andres, a Democrat who also favored the fire district and backed Wolford for mayor, was appointed service director.
But council voted along party lines to combine the safety director’s duties with the service director.
Wolford said he is researching the law to see if an assistant’s position can be created for Oesch under the service director’s post.
Wolford added, “We’re not going away.”
In a statement, Wolford said his objections to the vote were based on safety and liability issues and what he said was incomplete information given to council by the rules and ordinances committee.
The committee, chaired by Democrat Clyde Brown, checked with municipalities in the area and said it found only three that had both a safety and service director. Wolford defeated Brown for the mayor’s spot.
Wolford said, “It is my firm belief and opinion that abolishment of the office of safety director in the city of Salem places the safety and welfare of the citizens of Salem in a compromising position.”
He said he had checked with communities that lacked a safety director and heard officials complain about being overworked.
The safety forces, he added, are unprepared to deal with a major safety crisis in the schools or the Salem Community Hospital.
Wolford said Oesch, who runs an alarm company, is working on a more proactive drug enforcement training plan, upgrading equipment for the police, and training for police and fire departments in case of a massacre similar to the killings at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999.
Wolford warned that by eliminating Oesch’s post, “each individual council person could become liable if the health and welfare of the citizens is compromised. The fact that your action on this ordinance may inhibit completion of plans for the safety of our schools, hospital, and overall community should not be taken lightly.”
Generally, officials are liable only for their actions as elected officials. But Wolford said that when he was elected to council many years ago, he was told to increase his personal liability insurance, and did so.
When asked for comment on the mayor’s statement, Brown laughed.
Brown said he was already researching how soon the veto can be overridden. He said he will respond later.
Democratic Councilman Justin Palmer, who suggested the safety director’s position be eliminated to save money, said, “These veiled threats are just that: scare tactics.”
wilkinson@vindy.com