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Marshall resigns VW City Council position

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Council accepted First Ward Councilman John Marshall’s resignation on Monday, largely because of health concerns.

“At this time, I do not feel as if I can give 100 percent to my position on City Council because of my health concerns and schedule of medical appointments,” he noted in his resignation letter. “When I cannot give 100 percent, I feel that it is time for me to step aside and let somebody else take over. Therefore, I am resigning from my position as First Ward Councilman effective today, September 26, 2016.”

City Council Health Service and Safety Committee Chair John Marshall gives a report on a meeting on nuisance buildings Monday evening. (Dave Mosier/Van Wert independent)
First Ward Councilman John Marshall is shown in healthier days. Marshall tendered his resignation letter on Monday, citing health concerns. (VW independent file photo)

Noting that he had enjoyed his years on City Council and thanking the voters who elected him, Marshall also thanked “those he served with and worked with over the years. I have truly enjoyed your friendship and appreciate all your help.”

Marshall also stressed that his primary reason for getting elected was to help clean up the city. “I remember how things were when I was growing up in Van Wert. People took pride in their property.”

Marshall also noted that he felt Mayor Jerry Mazur’s administration was “doing a great job in this area and I hope that they will continue on the same path.”

In closing, he asked city officials to “continue to keep me in your prayers.”

After reading the resignation letter, Council President Pete Weir was visibly emotional, noting: “I don’t have any words right now.”

When he recovered his composure, Weir had a message for Marshall: “John, if you’re listening or you’re out there, thank you for all your service and time.”

Council requested that Mayor Mazur create a proclamation thanking Marshall for his years of service to the city. Weir will also contact the Republican Party Central Committee for the purpose of having it choose a successor to serve out the remainder of Marshall’s current term, which was to run until December 31, 2017.

Prior to its regular meeting on Monday, Council members discussed the 2017 tax budget and possible ballot language for a ballot issue that would allow a portion of the half-percent income tax dedicated to street construction to also be used for sidewalk repair and replacement when a street is reconstructed.

The five Council members attending (Second Ward Councilman Joi Mergy was absent, as well as Marshall) also prepared an ordinance providing for a less stringent definition of what is a defective sidewalk. Although cracks can now be wider and more uneven, sidewalks made of bricks or pavers were both considered to be defective.

During a discussion of the 2017 tax budget, City Auditor Martha Balyeat said Council needs to come up a fix for the city’s worsening General Fund budget situation.

Balyeat said use of up to two-thirds of the .22-percent safety capital tax revenues for police and fire salaries and benefits is not a permanent solution to the problem, noting that the city would eventually be faced with either increasing revenues or cutting costs to make ends meet.

“I’m confident that we have enough for 2017, I’m fairly confident we have enough for 2018,” the auditor told Council. “After that, I don’t know.”

A good part of the problem has been cuts in state funding, including the elimination of the estate tax and a decrease in money received through the state’s Local Government Fund.

The problem with cutting costs is twofold, Balyeat said, noting first that there wasn’t a lot of room to cut costs in the current General Fund budget, while adding that cutting costs would likely also affect services.

“I think the (city) departments are actually pretty frugal,” the city auditor told Council, while Councilman At-Large Jon Tomlinson said cutting expenses would likely involve cutting jobs, since approximately 80 percent of the General Fund budget deals with personnel costs: salaries and benefits.

Balyeat also noted that, while budgeting a 15-percent increase in health insurance costs for 2017, she had lowered that to 5 percent in 2018, noting that costs could be higher than 20 percent for both those years combined.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of Van Wert City Council will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday, October 10, in Council Chambers, on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.

POSTED: 09/27/16 at 7:33 am. FILED UNDER: News