On the ball

By Myndi Milliken Toledo Free Press Managing Editor mmilliken@toledofreepress.com

Mediation may still be an option between Springfield Township and the Lucas County Im provement Corporation (LCIC), according to Township Board of Trustees President Andy Glenn.

LCIC, the countywide agency for economic development, was named in a lawsuit filed last week as Springfield Township’s board called for a temporary restraining order to prevent the organization from voting on a new set of bylaws. Other details of the lawsuit involve the township’s request for a judge to decide if the township took proper steps to become a member of LCIC’s executive board.

The restraining order was granted by Common Pleas Judge James D. Bates. It prevented LCIC from adopting or enacting a code of regulations until the township’s membership was confirmed or denied. Glenn asserted the lawsuit was filed as “a last resort” after LCIC authorities denied the township membership and moved to enact new bylaws without the township’s participation. While many supporting entities are on board, such as the Regional Growth Partnership, the University of Toledo, Oregon and Maumee, Glenn said Sylvania Township and a handful of other townships were not given a fair shake at membership.

At the conclusion of a lunch meeting with Commissioner Pete

Gerken on Monday, Glenn told Toledo Free Press that discussion was underway which may result in mediation between the entities.

“Overall, it was a good meeting,” said Glenn, who is in his second year as a Springfield Township trustee. “We should know soon whether there is a possibility of mediation.”

Glenn said his township followed the Ohio Revised Code, which required adoption of a resolution naming LCIC as their economic development tool and adopting a development plan. “We researched the history of LCIC and the only plan we found was from 1972, so we accepted that plan,” Glenn said, noting LCIC notified them their mem bership wasn’t official until they adopted a new plan, a move which is weeks away. “They hadn’t prepared a new plan for Sylvania, Oregon, or Maumee, so why should we be different?” Glenn said.

Gerken contends the current board changed the LCIC bylaws to structure a tighter board.

“The downside of LCIC in the structure as it existed was that it was set up for an up to 30-member board,” he said, saying it would be difficult to get anything passed with so large an executive commit tee. “LCIC wasn’t invented this last year. It’s been around for 30 years or more; [the townships] never had an interest in it prior to this.”

The disagreement caused Springfield Township to lose the opportunity to vote as a member on new bylaws governing the development of LCIC.

“Our only recourse was to ask a judge to rule whether we are members based on the resolutions we passed,” Glenn said. “They are proposing significant changes in how LCIC is used and how it will affect us in Springfield Township, which dictates that we become involved: it’s going to affect our citizens.”

Glenn said no entity joining LCIC in the 35-year history of the organization has had an individual economic development plan forced on them, but “that’s what we have to do before we can become voting members.”

Glenn said the townships and villages in Lucas County have a right to be concerned, since the new LCIC bylaws will give Toledo strong rein over annexation.

“The way they structured these new bylaws, it basically turns over all the power to a county commissioner and the mayor of Toledo,” he said, noting that state law requires expedited annexation of any property contiguous to Toledo with a sole title holder.

Gerken denied the townships were not notified of the resolution changes in time to effectively vote on a new code of regulations.

“We went out February 16 and visited, sat down for two hours with Marilyn Yoder (president of the Lucas County Township Association) and laid everything on the table and said, ‘here’s what we are contemplating.’ I thought it was fair to assume at the time that she would distribute that information.”

Gerken also said he asked

Toledo Free Press photo by Myndi Milliken

townships for their suggestions at an April 1 meeting and only received feedback from two people, both from the private sector.

“It rings a little bit hollow with me that they say they’ve never had a chance for input,” he said.

Gerken also said he specifically asked a member of the township association for his input and “he said, ‘Pete, I have to tell you, I’ve had it for a couple of weeks and haven’t even looked at it yet.’ The thing that kills everything in this county is time. People want to de bate everything to death and I’m not going to fall into that trap.”

The fear of annexation is understood, but Gerken said the LCIC takes away none of the township powers, including zoning and master planning.

“We are offering them a re source. We are taking away nothing and what we are asking them to contribute is nothing,” he said. “This thing needs to get done. We have lost median income, lost population, and we are losing jobs. If we allow ourselves to get caught up in the trap of arguing among ourselves, we are not getting anything done.”

Glenn said the lawsuit backs up a simple request to be allowed at the bargaining table.

“We are not trying to stop this from happening,” he said. “All we are saying is, if LCIC has been around for 35 years, what is the harm in waiting a few more months to get everybody involved?”

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PARK WEST

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By Dan Bumpus Special to Toledo Free Press

A WTOL Call 11 for Action investigation revealed the City of Toledo paid nearly $8 million dollars in overtime last year.

Last year, Toledo spent just over $7.9 million dollars on overtime pay. 388 city employees made $4,000 or more, just in OT. The biggest chunk is from the Toledo Police, who racked up more than $1.1 million dollars.

“There’s a lot of situations where officers are out on calls and they can’t leave in the middle of an investigation,” said Police Chief Mike Navarre. Navarre said he’s reviewing the overtime numbers himself every two weeks.

But it’s not just police overtime that’s costing the city. Others, like the Streets Department, paid more than $600,000 to its employees. The Forestry Department made more than $200,000. “The mayor is simply not going to accept excuses,” said Chief of Staff Jay Black.

Black said because of unpredictable events such as crime or storms, some overtime is a necessary evil. Black said Mayor Jack Ford is trimming overtime spending.

Here’s how much it has improved since the mayor started an OT crackdown. Those 2004 numbers are about a million dollars less than what was spent in 2003. The mayor’s office says this year, OT should be even lower.

Another investigation revealed the situation in Lucas County is similar. One employee in the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office nearly tripled his salary, thanks to OT. 340 county employees made $4,000 or more in OT last year.

Almost 200 of those employees are from the Sheriff’s Office, the single largest payer of overtime in Lucas County. The department logged $2,631,437 in overtime last year.

“The sheriff’s management of his overtime has been an issue for a long time,” said County Commissioner Maggie Thurber. She said the numbers frustrate her.

We found a social worker with the Sheriff’s Office who earned almost $81,794.81 in OT. That’s more than twice his normal salary, which is just over $41,163. Commissioner Pete Gerken said he also wants answers: “This tells me we need to manage the system a little better.”

Lucas County Jail Administrator Rick Keller said the overtime is legitimate. He told us all overtime must be approved and signed by a supervisor. A division head must okay the overtime hours before sending them to payroll.

He said the problem is a result of being understaffed.

“If all of the sudden we’re down to 35 and the minimum staffing level is 40, then I have to recall five people to meet the minimum staffing level,” he said.

News 11 has learned Sheriff James Telb is in the process of hiring 25 new employees, a move that should help cut down on the overtime.

Dan Bumpus is the consumer investigative reporter at WTOL News 11. He can be reached by e-mail at dbumpus@wtol.com.

Covenant Presbyterian Church on May 2; the United Neighborhood Residential Association at St. Jude School on June 29; and the Indian Hills Neighborhood Association at To ledo Campus Ministries on Aug. 10.

Ward said the only other meeting he attended where the plans were discussed was a neighborhood relations meeting at the university’s Driscoll Hall this year on April 20. It was attended by University President Daniel Johnson, who presented approved schematics which showed two parking lots.

A Westgate Neighbors meeting is sched uled May 15 at 7 p.m. at Hanmi Covenant Presbyterian Church, 3225 Markway Rd.

According to Klinger, the university understands residents’ concerns but said they are premature.

“This is not a funded project with the university,” he said. “It’s literally off the radar screen. It’s not a final draft, it’s not in a formal planning and development stage. The master plan is a flexible docu ment, intended to give (residents) what the concept might be.”

Klinger denied two parking lots are planned and that one calls for razing houses at Bancroft and Meadowood streets. He said one parking lot has been considered on Goddard Field to accommodate guests attending Doermann Theater on campus. Klinger said the proposed parking lot would not be open for daily use.

Black isn’t convinced.

“If they build a lot, do you think they’re going to use it only for special occasions? I think that would be somewhat naïve,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense that they wouldn’t use it daily.”

He added, “People don’t want to live next to a parking lot. That’s a fundamental concern. A parking lot’s an eyesore.”

Grachek delivered a letter to University administrators April 25 imploring them to reconsider developing Goddard Field and to work with her and neighborhood represen

tatives in achieving their goal.

She said even though plans to move forward are not imminent, “the residents are understandably concerned. I’m not setting up a battle here. The neighbors understand the university’s needs, there’s no dispute there. The university and the neighborhood have a good relationship. I hope the uni versity will do the right thing ... and make it clear they’re going to listen.”

Black said he is simply fact-finding.

“I have heard that these were prelimi nary plans, just proposals,” he said. “Essentially, we’re just trying to collect information. I want to make sure that the neighbor hood can work with the university to make sure everyone’s interests are met.”