The Jerome Township Board of Trustees adopted one new procedural policy, but chose not to act on another.
The policy adopted will reduce the number of meetings at which department heads are in attendance, but the trustees did not vote on a policy that would outline how funds are spent on legal fees.
Trustee Chair Megan Sloat said during the meeting Tuesday that she realized department heads often share only a short report but sit through “very long” trustees meetings.
She proposed asking department heads, which include the office manager, roads superintendent, zoning inspector and fire chief, to submit a written report rather than attending meetings in person.
Sloat said the reports would be submitted to the trustee who acts as a liaison for that department, on a deadline set by that trustee. She was in favor of a suggestion from Trustee Wezlynn Davis to shift that responsibility to the township administrator once the position is filled.
The written report would be read aloud at the trustees meetings by the person who received the report, Sloat explained.
She said department heads could be asked to attend certain meetings in person. For instance, the zoning inspector would attend all meetings with a public hearing related to zoning.
Davis was agreeable to Sloat’s proposal, adding she felt the new policy would be more respectful of the department heads’ time.
Trustee Barry Adler, however, said he felt written reports would be appropriate for some department heads but not others.
Adler said he did not see a need for Office Manager Debbie Bollinger or Roads Superintendent Breht Fillinger to regularly attend trustees meetings.
On the other hand, Adler said Zoning Inspector Eric Snowden and Fire Chief Douglas Stewart are generally actively involved in meetings regardless of whether they are personally sharing a presentation.
Adler also worried that trustee liaisons could disprove the request of department heads who desire to attend a meeting, though Davis said she feels that is unlikely to happen.
Sloat encouraged Adler to allow the board to give the policy a trial run and revisit it if necessary.
Ultimately, Adler dissented in a 2-1 vote that approved the policy.
Later in the meeting, Adler underlined his argument to have department heads regularly present.
Snowden left the meeting prior to the discussion of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Comprehensive Plan update. After a number of questions were posed during discussion, Sloat called Snowden and asked him to return to the meeting.
Adler said it was “just an example” of the importance of having department heads available to share their expertise.
His fellow trustees, though, did not vote on a policy Adler proposed which would create guidelines for the use of private legal counsel.
The discussion arose after the board voted, at the suggestion of Fiscal Officer Robert Caldwell, to encumber $2,100 for a purchase order to cover additional legal fees incurred in the month of August, as well as $25,000 from the zoning fund and $5,000 from the general fund for legal costs for the rest of the calendar year.
Davis and Sloat voted in favor of the encumbrances, while Adler abstained.
“I am concerned (by) the excessive expenditures for legal fees,” Adler said.
Through August, $83,806.40 has been expended on legal services in 2022, Caldwell explained in an email to the Journal-Tribune. He added that 87% of this amount was for zoning, while the remainder is divided between the general fund, fire district and police district.
According to a legal expenses summary provided by Caldwell, $107,037.85 was spent by the township in 2021. Again, the majority – $100,385.84 – was paid from the zoning fund.
Sloat said during the meeting that she expects to see a lower level of legal fees in the future, as the township is experiencing rapid economic development at the moment.
Adler still asked the trustees to consider a policy that would require the township to first seek legal guidance from the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, then pursue the consultation of private legal counsel if the wait for the county’s free service is too long.
Davis emphasized that private legal counsel is sometimes required in cases in which there could be a conflict of interest between the county and township, including matters surrounding the Joint Economic Development District (JEDD).
Sloat agreed that the prosecutor’s office is not appropriate legal counsel for most economic development matters.
While Adler said he agreed with both of his fellow trustees comments, he said he would like to put guidelines in place to determine when a conflict of interest actually exists.
“I am unwilling to not trust our staff” to make that determination, Davis responded.
In other business:
– The board approved the development plan for the Homestead at Scotts Farm.
The 248 single-family home development to be located on approximately 139.38 acres on Brock Road was initially approved by the board of trustees, then struck down by residents in a referendum vote.
However, stakeholders of the development were among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against Jerome Township which resulted in a consent decree that required approval of the development plan.
Attorney for the township Julie Donnan, with Brosius, Johnson and Griggs, said the vote of the trustees is essentially an “administrative act.”
“If a majority of the trustees were to vote to deny, it would result in another lawsuit, quite frankly,” she said.
The trustees voted 2-0 to approve the development plan, as Adler abstained.