GRAND RAPIDS – Residents in the Northwest Wood Ambulance District will be asked to replace a current
4-mill levy in May.
During Monday’s council meeting, Councilman John Berry reported from the ambulance board that it will
seek a three-year replacement of its present levy. Voters in Grand Rapids and Washington townships, as
well as the villages of Grand Rapids and Tontogany, will see the levy on the May 3 ballot.
"It’s the same thing they have now, just a replacement," Mayor Judy Keifer confirmed with
Berry. She questioned about the ambulance board’s previous roll-back on the levy and why the election is
being held in May.
"Valuations are going down so much," answered Berry.
But Village Administrator Chad Hoffman asked if the ambulance board had received anything from Wood
County Auditor Mike Sibbersen confirming that property values are going down.
Berry just replied it was "apparent" that they are.
"That’s a lot of supposition," responded Hoffman.
The levy charges 40 cents for each $100 of valuation of a property. The first collection of the levy, if
it passes, will be during calendar year 2012.
Hoffman reported from a three-hour training he took with the Ohio Attorney General’s office regarding the
state’s public records law. He said if any paper is presented during an executive session, it becomes a
public record. Even if a paper is shown to council members during an executive session, but not
distributed, it becomes a public record.
"Executive sessions are basically discussion," he emphasized.
Even Fiscal Officer Karen Rader’s laptop used to take council minutes has become a public record.
Persons requesting copies of public records which have information blackened out must be told what has
been blocked, such as a Social Security number, a person’s home address, etc.
Also during the meeting, council:
¥ Held an executive session to discuss the purchase of property, after which no action was expected.
¥ Recognized Otsego High School government students Samantha Ayer and Jennifer Tolles who were there as
guests.
¥ Heard from the sheriff report there were 53 events in the village in February, with 25 of them being
traffic violations.
¥ Asked sheriff deputies to be on the lookout for skateboarders using sidewalks downtown and older youth
gathering at the school playground at night.
¥ Heard from Councilwoman Carolyn Erdody the Town Hall Board of Control renegotiated the contract for the
Grand Rapids Arts Council.
¥ Approved the purchase of three new tires for the village’s F-350 truck at a cost of $609.84.