OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Gahanna Civil Service Commission Organizational and Regular Meeting, February 11, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Wednesday, February 11, 2026
BodyGahanna, Ohio
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateWednesday, February 11, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 16:35

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right.

0:00

Good evening, everyone.

0:02

Welcome to the 2026 organizational meeting for the Civil Service Commission serving the City of Gehana.

0:08

If you are watching and wondering why I, the mayor, uh uh Mayor Jadwin sitting in this seat.

0:13

I typically do not run these meetings.

0:15

However, because it is the organizational meeting, uh, it is my obligation to run the meeting until a chair is elected for the new year.

0:22

Uh so we will do that momentarily, but before we proceed to that, uh that step we do have an oath of office to administer for a returning uh reappointed board member.

0:34

Uh so Brian Wright.

0:35

Uh thank you for agreeing to serve another term.

0:38

So I want to ask you, sir, to to join me and actually bring your oath of office if you would.

0:43

And we'll stand in front of the flag and administer the oath.

0:46

I should know it off by heart by now, but do you want to read it?

0:49

Let's see if I can do it without so please raise your right hand, repeat after me.

0:54

I state your name.

0:55

I Brian Wright.

0:56

Do you solemnly swear?

0:56

We solemnly swear that I will support and defend.

0:59

That I will support and defend the constitution and laws.

1:02

The constitution and laws of the United States of America.

1:05

The Constitution and Statutes.

1:07

The Constitution and Statutes of the State of Ohio.

1:10

Of the State of Ohio.

1:11

And the charter and ordinances.

1:12

And the charter and ordinances.

1:14

Of the City of Geahana.

1:16

And that I will faithfully.

1:17

And that I will faithfully.

1:18

Honestly.

1:19

Honestly.

1:20

And impartially.

1:21

And impartially.

1:22

Discharge the duties.

1:23

Discharge the duties.

1:24

As a civil service commission member.

1:26

As a civil service commission member.

1:27

For the City of Gehana.

1:28

For the City of Gehana.

1:30

To which I have been appointed.

1:31

To which I have been appointed.

1:32

So help me God.

1:33

So help me God.

1:34

Congratulations.

1:34

Thank you.

1:35

Thank you for your service.

1:36

I appreciate it.

1:41

All right.

1:42

Now we will officially call this meeting to order.

1:46

And our first order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:49

Mr.

1:49

Delberto, will you lead us, please?

1:51

And that Pledge of Allegiance.

1:52

Everybody please rise, face the flag.

1:56

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

2:01

And the Republic for which it stands one nation under liberty and justice for all.

2:10

Please be seated, everyone.

2:14

Mr.

2:14

Clerk, please call the roll.

2:16

Dialberto.

2:17

Yes.

2:17

Vitaly?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████56%
Procedural██████████████████████████████████42%
Public Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Gahanna Civil Service Commission Organizational and Regular Meeting, February 11, 2026

Note on date discrepancy: The agenda and raw transcript indicate this meeting occurred on January 15, 2026, not February 11, 2026, as specified in the summary instructions. The summary below reflects the actual content from the January 15 meeting but uses the instructed date in the title.

The meeting was held in two parts: an organizational meeting to swear in a reappointed commissioner and elect officers, followed by a regular meeting that included a Human Resources report on civil service activities in 2025 and plans for 2026.

Organizational Meeting

  • Oath of Office: Mayor Laurie A. Jadwin administered the oath of office to Brian H. Wright, who was reappointed to Seat 1 for a full term (January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2028). Seat 4 remains vacant pending appointment.
  • Call to Order and Roll Call: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Donato D'Alberto. Roll call: Donato D'Alberto (present), Sheila Vitale (present), Brian Wright (present), Kylie Cooper Cyrus (absent).
  • Election of Chair: Sheila Vitale nominated Donato D'Alberto, who accepted. Motion by Vitale, seconded by Wright. Vote: 3-0. Donato D'Alberto elected chair for 2026.
  • Election of Vice Chair: Donato D'Alberto nominated Sheila Vitale, who accepted. Motion by Wright, seconded by D'Alberto. Vote: 3-0. Sheila Vitale elected vice chair for 2026.
  • Adjournment: Organizational meeting adjourned at 6:06 PM.

Regular Meeting

  • Call to Order: Chair D'Alberto called the regular meeting to order.
  • Additions/Corrections to Agenda: None.
  • Approval of Minutes: Motion to approve the Civil Service Commission minutes from January 30, 2025 (item 2026-0011). Motion by Vitale, seconded by Wright. Vote: 3-0. Minutes approved.
  • Hearing of Visitors: No speaker slips were submitted.
  • New Business: None.

Official Reports – Human Resources (2026-0012)

Ben Nolan, Human Resources Manager, presented the 2025 year in review and 2026 civil service examination plan.

2025 Civil Service Staffing Snapshot:

  • 119 employees in classified civil service positions.
  • Largest classifications: Police Officer (48), Parks Maintenance Worker I (11), Communications Technician I (8), Service Maintenance Worker III (8).

2025 Civil Service Examinations:

  • Total of 30 examinations conducted (safety and non-safety).
  • Safety examinations: Police Officer (3 times), Lateral Police Officer (11 times), Communications Technician I (7 times), Communications Technician II (1 time), Police Lieutenant (1 time, via assessment center and oral board under FOP agreement).
  • Non-safety examinations (written and scored by Bowling Green State University's Institute for Psychological Research and Application): Service Maintenance Worker I (1), Fleet Technician (1), Forestry Foreman (1), Facilities Maintenance Coordinator (1).
  • Recruiting efforts included job postings on NTN, Handshake, Ohio Municipal League, HBCU Connect, Ohio Latino Affairs Commission, and city social media, plus attendance at job fairs including the annual women-focused multi-jurisdictional law enforcement career fair.

2025 Civil Service Hires:

  • Division of Police: 5 Police Officers, 1 Police Sergeant, 2 Police Lieutenants, 2 Communications Technician I.
  • Parks and Recreation: 4 Parks Maintenance Worker I, 1 Forestry Foreman, 1 Facilities Maintenance Coordinator (completed probation).
  • Public Service Department: 2 Facilities Maintenance Worker II, 1 Fleet Technician, 2 Service Maintenance Worker I, 1 promoted Service Maintenance Worker II, 2 Customer Service Specialists.

2026 Civil Service Examination Plan:

  • Police Officer: Posting February 1–28, 2026; 3 anticipated vacancies.
  • Communications Technician I: Posting February 1–28, 2026; 0 vacancies (to build an eligible list).
  • Facilities Maintenance Worker I: Posting December 1–31, 2025 (already conducted); 5 vacancies to fill before moving to a new building.
  • Service Maintenance Worker I, Parks Maintenance Worker I, Customer Service Specialist: Posting November 1–30, 2026; 0 anticipated vacancies (to build eligible lists).
  • Non-safety examinations will again be written and scored by Bowling Green State University.
  • Police Officer and Communications Technician I processes will follow 2025 structure.

Discussion of Recruiting Challenges: Commissioner Vitale asked about difficulty recruiting police officers, referencing a previous comment. Ben Nolan responded that while it remains a national issue, Gahanna has filled all Communications Technician vacancies for the first time in a while and is down to only three police officer vacancies, indicating the city's efforts are paying off. Chair D'Alberto added that the introduction of lateral police officer hiring (not done in the past) has opened the door to attract quality candidates and helped fill many vacancies.

Key Outcomes

  • Donato D'Alberto elected Chair, Sheila Vitale elected Vice Chair for 2026.
  • Minutes of January 30, 2025, approved unanimously.
  • The Human Resources 2025 report and 2026 plan were received and acknowledged by the Commission; no formal vote was taken.
  • The regular meeting adjourned at 6:18 PM.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the 2026 organizational meeting for the Civil Service Commission serving the City of Gehana. If you are watching and wondering why I, the mayor, uh uh Mayor Jadwin sitting in this seat. I typically do not run these meetings. However, because it is the organizational meeting, uh, it is my obligation to run the meeting until a chair is elected for the new year. Uh so we will do that momentarily, but before we proceed to that, uh that step we do have an oath of office to administer for a returning uh reappointed board member. Uh so Brian Wright. Uh thank you for agreeing to serve another term. So I want to ask you, sir, to to join me and actually bring your oath of office if you would. And we'll stand in front of the flag and administer the oath. I should know it off by heart by now, but do you want to read it? Let's see if I can do it without so please raise your right hand, repeat after me. I state your name. I Brian Wright. Do you solemnly swear? We solemnly swear that I will support and defend. That I will support and defend the constitution and laws. The constitution and laws of the United States of America. The Constitution and Statutes. The Constitution and Statutes of the State of Ohio. Of the State of Ohio. And the charter and ordinances. And the charter and ordinances. Of the City of Geahana. And that I will faithfully. And that I will faithfully. Honestly. Honestly. And impartially. And impartially. Discharge the duties. Discharge the duties. As a civil service commission member. As a civil service commission member. For the City of Gehana. For the City of Gehana. To which I have been appointed. To which I have been appointed. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you for your service. I appreciate it. All right. Now we will officially call this meeting to order. And our first order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Delberto, will you lead us, please?

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com