MILLBURY – Lake Township employees can blame the wretched winter weather for less money in their pockets.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the trustees voted to give full and part-time employees, who are non-union and
non-probationary, a one-time bonus in lieu of raises for 2014.
Full-time employees will receive $750 and part-time employees will get $500.
Fiscal Officer Vicki Schwamberger said the bonuses will cost the township $8,000. There are nine
full-time employees and two part-time.
After the meeting, she and Trustee Chairwoman Melanie Bowen said the winter weather, which depleted the
road department fund, was partly to blame for the trustees not awarding raises.
"This (bonuses) was a better option for us due to the economy," Schwamberger said.
Police officers, who are in a union, received a 2.5 percent raise this year. They are in the last year of
a three-year contract.
The vote on the bonuses was taken after a 90-minute executive session.
After the session, the board also voted to hire Joseph Sujkowski for $13 an hour as a full-time cemetery
worker. Trustees Chairwoman Melanie Bowen said the township received 25 applications for the job.
Also at the meeting, the trustees:
• Approved annual appropriations for 2014 totaling $4.8 million. The largest funds are police with $1.6
million, the general fund with $1 million and fire with $949,300.
• Decided to send the village of Walbridge a "formal" letter asking for detailed plans about
the Union Street improvement project. The village has received two grants for repaving and improving
curbs from Main Street to Martendale Place. Bowen said a small part of Union Street, where the fire
department is located, is owned by the township.
• Heard Schwamberger ask the trustees to consider going to an automatic deposit system for payroll
instead of issuing checks.
• Approved paying the Wood County Emergency Management Agency $3,376 for its proportionate share for
2014, based on 6,753 residents.
• Approved spending $1,241 with W.W. Willliams, Lemoyne, for emergency repairs to a Kohler generator used
by the dispatch center.
• Voted to buy parts for two salt spreaders for $998 from Tom Newell Sales, Upper Sandusky.
• Adopted a policy for indigent burials. The new Ohio Revised Code language states an indigent person’s
income does not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty line as revised annually by the United States
Department of Health and Human Services. Trustee Richard Welling said there have been three indigent
burials that the township has been responsible for in the last 10 years.
• Heard February department reports. The police issued 20 citations. EMS had 92 calls and the fire
department had 90 calls. The road department worked 176 hours of overtime. The cemetery had 13 burials.
Zoning received $300 and issued one permit.