Whitehall City Council Committee Meeting – October 27, 2026

The Whitehall City Council held its committee meeting on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, starting at 6:30 p.m. and adjourning at 7:20 p.m. The agenda listed five pieces of draft legislation, all of which received first readings, and the meeting also included a presentation from the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, discussion of a prior meeting's conduct, and reports from each standing committee. No meeting minutes were available; this summary is based on the agenda and transcript.

Presentation: Ohio Domestic Violence Network

• Jacqueline Hughley, staff representative for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN), presented an overview of survivor services, including help obtaining IDs and birth certificates, and gift cards for gas, food, and clothing for job interviews. She noted that housing is a major challenge for human trafficking survivors because of criminal backgrounds or documents taken by traffickers.
• Hughley highlighted Franklin County member programs in ODVN's human trafficking project, plus ODVN work on traumatic brain injury, strangulation, and suffocation led by Rachel Ramirez; prevention efforts led by Glenn Harris; and policy work led by Maria York.
• Hughley said ODVN member programs assisted over 75,000 survivors in 2025 but had to turn away about 50% of survivors because programs were at capacity. Member programs answered over 121,000 crisis calls, texts, and web chats.
• A council member thanked Hughley, called this year 'exceptionally awful' and record-setting for domestic violence cases, referenced a fatality report distributed at the annual press conference, and noted recent meetings on domestic violence prevention with Glenn Harris and the mayor.

Council Conduct Discussion

• A councilor raised an incident from the previous week's meeting, saying she read a public roll call as permitted by a rule introduced by another councilor and was then cursed at and screamed at by that councilor inside and outside the building. She said police were needed so she and another councilor could get to their cars and called for consistent accountability and transparency.
• Another councilor confirmed witnessing one councilor use a profanity-laced insult toward another councilor while on camera, saying this also violated council rules and should be addressed consistently.
• Councilor Adkins responded that he left the previous meeting because rules were being broken and he did not want to associate with that behavior; he said he was not angry when he left.
• The council president acknowledged the points, stated that cursing will not be allowed and rules must be followed, and asked for continued decorum.

Committee of the Whole – First Readings

• Resolution 045-2026: A whistleblower protection and fraud reporting policy under 2 CFR 200.217, 41 U.S.C. 4712, and Ohio Revised Code Section 117.103, with the mayor asked to incorporate it into the employee manual and declaring an emergency. No discussion; introduced and seconded for adoption on November 4, 2026.
• Resolution 046-2026: A deposit policy under Ohio Revised Code Section 9.38 for timing of certain public money deposits, declaring an emergency. No discussion; introduced and seconded for adoption on November 4, 2026.

Administration and Financial Management

• Ordinance 109-2026: Supplemental appropriation and fund transfer of $269,300 from General Fund 101 to Capital Improvement Project Fund 311, then to Capital Improvement Expense Account 311.000.54000. Chairperson Elmore said parking lot and improvement expenses exceeded the capital improvement fund balance, and the transfer is tied to end-of-month transfer percentages not funded in November and December so bills can be paid before January. Introduced and seconded for adoption on November 4, 2026.
• Ordinance 110-2026: Supplemental appropriation of $272,931 to Water Break Repair Expense Account 101.950.59800 to pay the City of Columbus for water line repairs. Elmore reported water breaks increased from 40 in 2023 to 92 last year; the youngest pipe is 61 years old, some lines date to 1928, and the city has about 350,000 linear feet of water line with about six replaced in the past three years. Introduced and seconded for adoption on November 4, 2026.
• Ordinance 111-2026: Supplemental appropriation of $40,000 to Building Lot Maintenance Expense Account 101.950.53300 for city hall interior and exterior expenses, including carpet and LPT replacement after basement flooding from a major storm. Elmore said the funds will finish out 2026 and are separate from water break repair. Introduced and seconded for adoption on November 4, 2026.
• Ordinance 092-2026 (third reading), creating Chapter 170 to establish minimum city contract awards to minority businesses, was postponed to November 4, 2026; Attorney Nicodemus is working on it.

Other Standing Committee Reports

• Community and Elder Advocacy: No drafts or pending legislation. Chairperson Harcar thanked ODVN and noted October is both Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
• Community Standards and Enforcement: No drafts or pending legislation.
• Economic Development: No drafts or pending legislation; Councilor McCann opened the committee in the chair's absence.
• Infrastructure, Maintenance and Services: No drafts or pending legislation. Members discussed ongoing road and waterline construction; Hamilton Road/Fairway Boulevard to Broad Street will have a temporary surface over the winter with final paving in the spring, and two lanes will be open by winter. A councilor asked about the new restaurant expected to serve a Swiss mushroom burger; site development and entitlements are still in progress.
• Public Safety: No drafts or pending legislation. Members reminded residents to be careful near construction zones, noted a vehicle had driven into a construction zone at night, and urged extra caution during trick-or-treat on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.
• Parks and Recreation: No drafts or pending legislation.

Key Outcomes

• All five draft legislative items received first readings and were introduced and seconded, with suspension and adoption scheduled for November 4, 2026: Resolutions 045-2026 and 046-2026, and Ordinances 109-2026, 110-2026, and 111-2026.
• Ordinance 092-2026 remains postponed to November 4, 2026.
• Council discussed, but took no formal action on, the prior meeting's conduct incident.
• The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.