The Columbus Dispatch

The Columbus Dispatch

LONDON, Ohio

The first customer through Casey’s drive-thru during Patrick Closser’s mid-afternoon shift on a recent Tuesday told Closser how his kids’ morning dentist appointments went. That’s the kind of thing you discuss with the owner of your neighborhood carryout.

A few minutes later, though, another customer came through and wanted to know what Closser plans to do about filling the empty storefronts downtown. That’s the kind of thing you discuss with your city’s mayor.

Closser happens to be both.

He says the fact that he owns the carryout – and works a shift there every day, often still wearing his dress clothes and signature bow tie because he just came from city hall – will help him achieve one of his top goals as the city’s first new mayor in 24 years.

“I really want to open up communication with residents. We want to find out what they’re thinking and hear their suggestions for London because we have a bright future ahead,” said Closser, 37. He was the London City Council president before he took office in January after longtime Mayor David Eades didn’t seek a seventh term.

Customers have asked Closser how to get a construction permit, offered suggestions for new recreation programs and even lodged a few complaints.

“People who maybe don’t want to come to an office and sit across a desk can pull through here and have their voices heard,” he said.

Closser’s isn’t the only new face at City Hall. Glenn Nicol, who retired as assistant police chief in Marysville three years ago, became London’s chief in January. And Joe Mosier is the new safety-services director, a position that oversees much of the day-to-day operations of the city.

Mosier, who has a business background and did a stint in the city auditor’s office, said even though the mayor’s position is technically part-time ($30,000 annually), Closser is a full-time mayor.

“My job is to manage as directed by those elected,” Mosier said. “Pat Closser is in charge and is the face of this city. I want to make that clear.”

Yet all three men say their individual goals align: to take a city that lost a lot in the midst of a recession, restore it and advance it.

Closser aims to end deficit spending. This year’s revenue is estimated at almost $3.9 million, but the city’s general fund budget is nearly $4.2 million. In his first few days, he cut about $70,000 by not replacing the retiring tax director and divvying up those duties.

He is working with the career center and schools to expand a workforce development program to aid the local labor pool, and he plans to focus on recruiting businesses and industry to increase the tax base.

Still, what he hears the most from residents are questions about how to curb the drug problem. That’s a concern of Nicol’s, too. London, like every city, must address its heroin issue, the police chief said.

He has adjusted officers’ shifts to get more people out during what he considers the most critical times, and he is working to make the department more visible and approachable, and less reactive.

And Nicol is considering adding a dog unit because he thinks it is a deterrent to crime.

He also has updated policy manuals and established a set of guiding principles – stewardship, integrity, fortitude and empathy – that officers must follow.

“There’s a lot of change happening here,” Nicol said. “It’s an exciting time to be in London.”