WCPO 9's Sam Harasimowicz covers Clermont County. If you have a story that you'd like Sam to look into or a news tip, email him at Sam@WCPO.com.
BATAVIA, Ohio — As some people in the Village of Batavia are pushing for the village to be dissolved, council passed an emergency ordinance to ensure employees would be paid some of their salaries if the village is eliminated.
During Monday's Village of Batavia Council meeting, council members went into executive session after public comment. Less than 20 minutes later, council members voted on the emergency ordinance, which waived the readings and then voted to approve it.
Thursday, Village administrator Chip Stewart explained what the ordinance will do.
The ordinance will provide non-elected village employees up to 12 months' salary, but only if the village is dissolved, according to Stewart. It also does not include benefits. Stewart said that it is in place to help employees feel at ease with the unknown future for the village.
"This is for retention purposes so and gives an incentive for the employee to stay employed with the village pending the outcome of the dissolution vote, if applicable.
It gives the employee an assurance that the village values their employment and dedicated service to the village residents."
A village statement posted to Facebook explained that it is not a "blanket one-year payout." It will pay employees based on pay earned before Election Day. If an employee has worked for two months, they would get two months' pay and so forth.
Watch to see what we learned from the Village of Batavia's administrator about the ordinance:
The largest workforce within the Village of Batavia is its police department, followed by public works.
The village has dealt with potential dissolution in recent years. If enough signatures are received, it would become an issue that village residents would decide on their November ballots.
Batavia resident James Belew said he doesn't expect the dissolution effort to be successful.
"I think people like the quaint village," Belew said.
This ordinance has been discussed online, with the Signal 99 Facebook page questioning its creation and a lack of documentation.
Stewart explained that the process to begin this ordinance began through an email sent by a council member asking their legal team about the legality of this kind of retention contract.
That email is protected by attorney-client privilege, according to Stewart.
The village's legal team brought the ordinance to the council on Monday.
We asked Belew for his thoughts on transparency from village officials.
"That's something that I think can be corrected with just some community participation and people just kind of keeping a closer eye on the village. It doesn't need to dissolve because there needs to be change," Belew said.
The total cost for the employee pay if the village is dissolved would be approximately $1.3 million, according to Stewart.
Have a story idea or tip for WCPO 9 Clermont County reporter Sam Harasimowicz? Email him at Sam@wcpo.com.
