OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City of Delaware Finance Committee Meeting - November 13, 2025

Meeting Portal — Thursday, November 13, 2025
BodyDelaware, Ohio
SessionMeeting Portal
DateThursday, November 13, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:34:10

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Or three o'clock, and we will call to order the Dollar City Finance Committee meeting for November 13th, 2025.

0:05

Roll call, please.

0:06

Mr.

0:07

Hoffman.

0:07

Here.

0:08

Mayor Rigal?

0:09

Yeah.

0:09

Chair Schaefer.

0:10

Here.

0:11

Item two's approval and motion summary.

0:13

Approval of the motion summary from the finance committee meeting held on November 11th, 2025 as recorded and transcribed.

0:20

Motion to approve.

0:22

Second.

0:23

All in favor say aye.

0:25

Aye.

0:27

Taken care of.

0:29

I'm assuming we don't have anything for public comment.

0:31

Yes, sir.

0:32

All right.

0:33

Jump down to review and discussion of the operating budget.

0:36

Jessica first.

0:53

So I don't go over how to do that.

0:57

Let's watch my time here.

0:59

All right.

1:00

Very good.

1:01

Well, good afternoon.

1:03

All right.

1:04

We can go ahead and jump right in then.

1:07

Um, real quick, uh, just to orient everyone with the way that our our department is staffed.

1:15

We do have three full-time staff members, myself as director, we have human resource specialist Whitney Faust, um, and then we also have human resource administrative assistant Olivia Montgomery Gray.

1:27

And uh for the past couple years, now I believe since 2023, uh, we have been afforded some seasonal hours uh to have an intern in our office during the summer months, which has been very helpful to accomplish some initiatives, um, and so we have maintained that since that time.

1:42

And then we're also requesting an additional human resource specialist position for 2026.

1:47

But I will get into a little bit more on that later.

1:50

Uh this slide kind of overviews our general functional areas of support for the city uh of note at the bottom uh of our employee breakdown.

1:58

We have 352 full-time employees, 22 permanent part-time, and for this past year we had 103 seasonal employees.

2:06

So that effectively comes out to a one HR practitioner per 159 employee ratio.

2:15

Oops.

2:17

Make sure I didn't go too far there.

2:19

Um, now I need to go back.

2:20

Clicked twice.

2:22

So I'm gonna review real quick uh some of the significant requests uh for our budget, uh starting with our professional services.

2:31

Uh as noted up here on the screen, uh we are planning to do a compensation study in 2026 for our management pay plan, permanent part-time and for council positions, um, and that with wages taking effect for 2027.

2:46

Our last study, comprehensive study, was done in 2021 for the management pay plan with changes taking effect in 2022.

2:55

Uh we did do a table adjustment back in 2024 to adjust for inflation.

3:01

Um then also as you'll remember, uh council ordinance last year uh specifies that the work will be done in in 2026 to effect changes for 2027.

3:14

Overall, our goal with that work is to keep our wages competitive with the market and retainer valued employees.

3:21

Uh we also plan for various promotional recruitment processes uh within police and fire of note there.

3:27

The fire captain promotional process does not come out of our budget, uh, but we are still responsible for facilitating that process.

3:34

Under health and safety, uh we are planning on implementing a biennial medical exam for our DOT employees.

3:41

Uh this has not previously been required, uh, but as a result of some situations that have come up, plus a uh risk evaluation.

3:50

Uh we have determined that that is necessary, uh, and we will be moving forward with that in 2026.

3:58

For development, um, we are planning to continue our manager development program.

4:02

Hard to believe, but this will be our seventh cohort for for that program.

4:06

So we are we are venturing very close to a hundred employees being through that program at this time, um, and very pleased with that program as it's continued to grow and evolve as our needs have changed.

4:20

Uh we still plan on doing our leadership development retreat and then department head and supervisor training.

4:26

That is done on a monthly basis.

4:27

The majority of that is done in-house, uh, utilizing staff across various departments, and occasionally we will bring in outside speakers on a particular topic.

4:37

And then information technology, the only noted change there is one of our uh subscriptions under NeoGov, which is our applicant tracking system.

4:45

Uh the first year of that um arrangement was in 2025.

4:49

So now that will go to the IT Rotary for 2026.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████21%
Personnel Matters██████████████████18%
Water And Wastewater Management██████████████████18%
Technology and Innovation████████████12%
Public Works███████████11%
Zoning Regulations█████████9%
Procedural███3%
Budget Equity Analysis███3%
Affordable Housing██2%
Summary of Proceedings

City of Delaware Finance Committee Meeting - November 13, 2025

The Finance Committee met on November 13, 2025, at 3:00 PM in City Council Chambers to review and discuss the proposed 2026 operating budget. Presentations were delivered by the HR Director, Planning and Community Development Director, IT Director, Fire Chief, and Interim Public Utilities Director. No public comments were received.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the motion summary from the Finance Committee meeting held November 11, 2025, as recorded and transcribed.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were offered.

Discussion Items

  • Human Resources (Jessica Feller):

    • Current staffing: 3 full-time employees plus seasonal intern. Requested an additional HR specialist (anticipated Q2 2026 start) to address a ratio of 1 HR to 159 employees versus the industry average of 1 to 100. No new full-time HR positions since 2006.
    • Planned 2026 initiatives: compensation study for management pay plan, continuing manager development program (7th cohort), biennial medical exams for DOT employees, dependent audit of health insurance, and compliance with mental health parity requirements.
    • Professional services: moving to Jefferson Health Plan for stop-loss insurance (5% cost reduction, council already approved).
    • Accomplishments: new health insurance broker (McGowan Bray Bender), updated safety policies (lockout/tagout, gravel truck, helmets, vests, gas monitoring, ceiling fans), and progress on contract negotiations (FOP completed, others underway).

  • Planning and Community Development (Sandra Periera):

    • Budget reductions: uniforms, cell phones, office supplies, and professional services (zoning code update completed in-house). Increase for travel and training to support staff education (master’s degree) and NPC 2026 conference in Detroit.
    • Staffing: 14 full-time, one intern. One retirement anticipated in June 2026 (not yet decided on replacement).
    • 2026 priorities: update property maintenance code (including pollinator gardens), implement online commercial permits, initiate South Sandusky Focus Area Plan (with Ohio State studio class), update architectural standards for historic district (awarded $25,000 grant).
    • Proposed new registries: vacant building, short-term/long-term rental, and accessory dwelling unit registries to improve code enforcement contact. Also removing contractor registration (cites administrative burden).
    • Accomplishments: zoning code and map update, Southeast Focus Area Plan completion, building code update (Part 13) coming to council.

  • Information Technology (Susie Daily):

    • Team fully staffed as of November 2025 (11 members plus shared GIS analyst from fire department). Promotions: Rachel to GIS Manager, Devin to GIS Coordinator.
    • Key 2025 accomplishments: cybersecurity program, staff certifications (Network+, Security+), new software implementations (CityWorks workflows).
    • 2026 goals: website refresh for ADA compliance (deadline April 2027), expand GIS to more departments (e.g., parking, parks, trees), camera security refresh, continued cybersecurity alignment with Ohio Cyber Reserve and NIST controls.
    • Budget structured into three categories: IT staff support, system support (rotary funds), and GIS staff.

  • Fire Department (Chief Tim Pyle):

    • Projected 2025 metrics: 7,272 responses (slight decrease), 3,400 medical transports, 85% response time within 6 minutes (up from 57% in 2012), public education reaching ~21,000 people.
    • 2025 accomplishments: Station 305 construction begins November 17, hired 2 members, graduated 6 paramedics (8 more in class), wellness program with cancer screening (63 of 80 personnel participated), community paramedic position filled (hiring service coordinator). Achieved 100% required fire inspections, eliminated cross-staffing at Station 303 (improved response times in second-busiest district).
    • Operational efficiencies: consolidated software, continued SAFER grant, cardiac equipment lease, cooperative purchasing for fifth medic unit and ballistic helmets.
    • 2026 requests: 9 personnel for Station 305 (6 firefighters, 3 lieutenants), 1 additional position to eliminate cross-staffing at Station 302 (industrial park). Other goals: response district reevaluation using GIS, pediatric emergency training, AED grant program rollout.
    • Budget line items: $50,000 for new hire/promotional testing, emergency management apportionment (5% increase), health and wellness program, paramedic school for 7+ candidates, tuition reimbursement, technology rotary, turnout gear replacement (5-year cycle), cardiac monitor leasing.

  • Public Utilities (Perry Mickley):

    • Water production: 1.7 billion gallons year-to-date (avg. 3.5 MGD). Wastewater: 1.814 billion gallons treated (avg. 4.9 MGD).
    • Accomplishments: pump/motor replacements, ventilation improvements, pressure filter installation, tank cleaning, water main replacements (South Franklin, Well Street, Stanstead, Hudson Road). UV disinfection upgrade, PLC/VFD replacement, dewatering improvements at wastewater plant. CCTV inspections (16 miles), 5,000+ locates, beaver mitigation, dam emergency plan completed.
    • Capital projects: US 23 culvert replacements, water main extensions (Bixby, Merrick, South Industrial Loop, 42), sanitary sewer rehab (CIPP lining, pump station repairs).
    • Budget: no additional staffing for most divisions; requesting one crew leader for meter reading (to manage AMI system and customer portal). Increases in IT rotary (stormwater line), outside lab testing, chemical costs, and meter replacements.
    • Utility tap-in timeline: typically within one week for new services.

Key Outcomes

  • The committee approved the motion summary from the prior meeting. No other formal votes were taken; the budget discussion serves as input for the full council’s 2026 budget deliberation.
  • Several items had prior council approval: resolution to join Jefferson Health Plan for stop-loss insurance.
  • Departments will proceed with planned initiatives pending final budget approval: HR specialist position, compensation study, registries, website refresh, station 305 hiring, meter-reading crew leader, and capital projects.
  • Fire department’s request to eliminate cross-staffing at Station 302 and Planning’s proposals for registries will be further reviewed by the full council.
  • Meeting adjourned at 4:34 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Or three o'clock, and we will call to order the Dollar City Finance Committee meeting for November 13th, 2025. Roll call, please. Mr. Hoffman. Here. Mayor Rigal? Yeah. Chair Schaefer. Here. Item two's approval and motion summary. Approval of the motion summary from the finance committee meeting held on November 11th, 2025 as recorded and transcribed. Motion to approve. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Taken care of. I'm assuming we don't have anything for public comment. Yes, sir. All right. Jump down to review and discussion of the operating budget. Jessica first. So I don't go over how to do that. Let's watch my time here. All right. Very good. Well, good afternoon. All right. We can go ahead and jump right in then. Um, real quick, uh, just to orient everyone with the way that our our department is staffed. We do have three full-time staff members, myself as director, we have human resource specialist Whitney Faust, um, and then we also have human resource administrative assistant Olivia Montgomery Gray. And uh for the past couple years, now I believe since 2023, uh, we have been afforded some seasonal hours uh to have an intern in our office during the summer months, which has been very helpful to accomplish some initiatives, um, and so we have maintained that since that time. And then we're also requesting an additional human resource specialist position for 2026. But I will get into a little bit more on that later. Uh this slide kind of overviews our general functional areas of support for the city uh of note at the bottom uh of our employee breakdown. We have 352 full-time employees, 22 permanent part-time, and for this past year we had 103 seasonal employees. So that effectively comes out to a one HR practitioner per 159 employee ratio. Oops. Make sure I didn't go too far there. Um, now I need to go back. Clicked twice. So I'm gonna review real quick uh some of the significant requests uh for our budget, uh starting with our professional services. Uh as noted up here on the screen, uh we are planning to do a compensation study in 2026 for our management pay plan, permanent part-time and for council positions, um, and that with wages taking effect for 2027. Our last study, comprehensive study, was done in 2021 for the management pay plan with changes taking effect in 2022. Uh we did do a table adjustment back in 2024 to adjust for inflation. Um then also as you'll remember, uh council ordinance last year uh specifies that the work will be done in in 2026 to effect changes for 2027. Overall, our goal with that work is to keep our wages competitive with the market and retainer valued employees. Uh we also plan for various promotional recruitment processes uh within police and fire of note there. The fire captain promotional process does not come out of our budget, uh, but we are still responsible for facilitating that process. Under health and safety, uh we are planning on implementing a biennial medical exam for our DOT employees. Uh this has not previously been required, uh, but as a result of some situations that have come up, plus a uh risk evaluation.

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