By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The City of Greenville was recognized by Ohio Auditor Keith Faber with the Ohio Auditor of State Award at the Greenville City Council meeting on Tuesday.

According to Joe Braden, west regional liaison for the Ohio Auditor’s Office, the office audits nearly 6,000 entities and very few are eligible to receive the award. Local governments and school districts must meet rigorous criteria in order to receive the award.

Braden shared financial information must be shared on time and must not contain any findings or recoveries, material citations or material weakness. There should also be no significant deficiencies in the uniform guidance findings or any questioned costs. The entity’s management letter must not contain comments for ethic referrals, questioned costs less than the threshold for uniform guidance, lack of timely reports submissions, bank reconciliation issues, failure to obtain a timely single audit, any findings for recoveries, public meetings and public records issues, and no other financial concerns or any other concerns.

Braden said, “This award represents the hard work of all the city of Greenville employees, all your council members, mayor, your safety service director and everyone who strives each day for accounting excellence.” He further stated, “I would especially like to recognize Roxanne Willman, your city auditor, for her outstanding leadership, professionalism and her exceptional commitment to fiscal integrity.”

Willman said, “I just want to let everybody know, this is the work of everybody.” She continued by praising those in her office as well as the rest of the city’s staff for making the award possible.

Many of the council members expressed their appreciation to Willman and her staff for being fiscally responsible.

Safety Service Director Ryan Delk explained the city would like to move forward with purchasing body cameras for the police department. They would also purchase new in-car cameras and would get unlimited cloud storage for the videos. The city is also moving forward with the option to get Bluetooth batteries for the tasers that would turn on every camera in a 50-foot radius when the taser is activated. The cost is approximately $140,000 and includes installation. The city has applied for an $85,000 grant but won’t know the results until next year. However, if the city can’t enter into a contract before Dec. 15, the price would increase three to five percent next year. Delk is optimistic the city will receive the grant.

Greenville Police Chief Eric Roberts explained the current in-car cameras have reached the end of their lifespan. He pointed to a recent arrest where he said that audio with the video would have been helpful for a successful prosecution. He explained in the current age, people expect perfect audio and video.

Chief Roberts added, “I want to personally thank Lt. Flanery. You all are elected to be stewards of the taxpayer money. He has went well above and beyond to save us money and to find the best product. Unfortunately, this may be his last hurrah because we are testing for his position. He abruptly decided to retire soon. This is an example of the outstanding work he did for me. It makes my job a lot easier when I have someone like that working for me.”

Greenville City Council agreed and approved a resolution authorizing the city to enter into a contract with Axon and purchase the cameras.

Following the meeting, Delk was asked for information about the gas leak at North Main and Spring Streets. They will be holding a meeting to determine who is at fault. Omni Fiber is claiming the gas line was marked wrong. “There’s a lot of finger pointing going on right now,” said Delk. The gas leak was reported at 11 a.m. and wasn’t shut off until about 9:45-10 p.m. He pointed out this was a four-inch gas line, and it did not have a shutoff. Residents in the area were asked to voluntarily evacuate until the gas was shut off.

Delk was also asked if the city is looking into a moratorium on dispensaries with the recent adoption of recreational marijuana. “We’re doing a lot of research on dispensaires and recreational marijuana. We’re going to come up with a plan. We already have one in place for the medical side.” He said the administration will be presenting its plan to council either by the end of the year or at the beginning of next year. However, Delk said the city’s law director, Michael Rieman, believes the limitations the city set for medical marijuana dispensaries will also be in effect for recreational marijuana. Delk said there are very few places in the city where a dispensary can be placed because of the proximity to schools and churches. He added that one of those spots is currently in the process of being occupied by a restaurant.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].