Trustees honor outgoing fiscal officer, welcome new

by Dan Holland

April 4 township trustees meeting

Richfield Township Trustees passed a proclamation of appreciation to longtime Fiscal Officer Laurie Pinney who was defeated in the Nov. 7, 2023 election by newcomer Vik Sandhu.

“Laurie was appointed as Richfield Township Fiscal Officer Aug. 13, 2003, so she served for 21 years and she did extremely well,” said Trustee Chair Don Laubacher during the meeting. “Some of her major accomplishments were the bonds that she spearheaded to finance this [administration] building.

“Anytime I sat down with Laurie, it was obvious that she knew these numbers extremely well, and she knew the finances very well.” he added. “I always appreciated how she never wanted to charge the residents any more than was absolutely necessary. We always had very clean audits, and I really appreciated her service to this township.”

The text also contains recognition of her many years as zoning inspector, added Trustee Vice-Chair Janet Jankura. “She did a fine job in that position and on that team. One thing I always appreciated about Laurie is that she always pitched in whenever something was needed on the team, whether it was her role or not.”

Fiscal

The township will be changing accounting systems. According to Laubacher the previous Ohio Township Accounting System was free but was no longer being serviced. He said the township contemplated a change for a few years and decided to change to a new system, Unified Accounting Network, with the change in fiscal officer.

“The OTAS accounting system was a great system in its time, but it was getting outdated,” explained Laubacher. “So, with the change in fiscal officers, we decided to switch to UAN, which is a much more modern system that is quite suitable for a township like ours. … I think it will give us a lot of advantages from a reporting standpoint.”

Sandhu added that he is looking into moving the township checking account with Huntington Bank into a money market account or other appropriate financial products to generate interest income.

Administration

Township Administrator Mindy Lott shared that bid results for the 2024 township road program, which will see a continuation of work in Glencairn Forest, was awarded to Perrin Asphalt. The company’s bid result of $562,000 came in far below the $660,000 previously approved by trustees. The net difference may free money for Cardinal Asphalt to perform additional repair work on Dewey Road and Turnbury Drive, with the associated costs on Turnbury to be reimbursed by Cleveland Water.

Trustees also conducted a public hearing prior to the regular meeting, during which they approved proposed zoning text amendments to add or modify definitions for stockpiles, temporary use, and breezeway.

In other business, trustees approved:

  • A purchase of 250 tons of road salt from Cargill at a cost of $12,126.
  • A payment to Sedgwick consulting to represent the township as a third-party administrator for the state worker’s compensation program through the Ohio Township Association at a cost of $920.
  • Forwarding a $250 NOPEC Community Sponsorship Program Award to the Bath-Richfield Kiwanis for Richfield Community Day. Laubacher, who serves as president of the organization, abstained.
  • Drafting a letter to The Richfield Times to thank residents for passing the Fire/EMS levy in March.
  • The use of ADP as a third-party payroll provider for a period of at least two months.
    • A proclamation to commemorate the 150th anniversary of The Akron Summit County Public Library.
  • A 2024 renewal proposal from Wichert Insurance with EMC and Travelers Insurance for the annual premium of $21,248.