Salem council votes against new position
A councilman said the mayor has no authority to create and fund positions.
SALEM — A split council has voted not to recognize the creation of the new deputy director of service/safety post held by Greg Oesch.
“I don’t think the position has ever been created,” Councilman Earl A. Schory, a lawyer, said at Tuesday’s council meeting. “How can we set a salary for this nonentity position?”
Schory, and fellow Democrats Dennis Grovers, Mary Ann Dzuracky and Clyde Brown voted to reject the salary. Under the proposed pay ordinance, Oesch would have been paid $704 a month.
Democrat Justin Palmer voted with Republicans Rita O’Leary and David Nestic to pay the position.
Palmer had earlier fought against funding Oesch’s appointment as the city’s safety director. Council eventually eliminated the position.
The city for many years has had a full-time service director and a separate part-time safety director.
In response, Republican Mayor Jerry Wolford and Service Director Steven Andres created the new deputy director of service/safetypost under Andres.
Palmer eventually changed his mindto work with the administration on economic development for the city.
But Schory argued that the new position was created under the Ohio Revised Code, not by council. Schory said that the creation of the post without the approval of council could create liability problems for the city. He said it is council that creates and funds jobs, not the administration.
Oesch wasn’t present. Wolford left the meeting without comment.
In other action, city Auditor James Armeni said he is waiting for information on whether Salem police officer Austin French’s bachelor’s degree is recognized by educational officials in Louisiana. French has received about $2,000 in extra pay from the city because he obtained a degree from LaSalle University in Mandeville, La., that was discredited after French received his degree.
wilkinson@vindy.com