For information on Burton Village see:
The painting and restoration of the kiosks on Main Street in Burton Village. One of the merchants pointed out to me how bad they looked. They were filled with crud and dirt and sadly neglected. Cathy Wright of Spring Street Antiques offered to repaint and spruce them up. I got permission and a key for Cathy and I bought a flat of flowers. Arrangements were made to build a second flower box to put under the other kiosk. In the summer of 2007, I talked to Sue Wayman of how we still needed a flower box for under the second kiosk by her shop. Sue had a spare one and she donated it. I bought and planted flowers. Thank you Cathy and Sue.
Website. Completion of this project ran into my second year on council and as of June, 2007, it is up and running. I update it as soon as possible and welcome any events or information you want to add to it.. Village Website
Ordinances on-line. The ordinances are on-line through our website and available for your viewing anytime. You don't have to go to the Village office or the library. They are available - without all the paper - right from your home computer.
Fire Insurance Safety. My cousin, Butch (former assistant fire chief in Hudson), informed me of a little known fire insurance protection that must be adopted before it can apply to the Village. It allows the Village to hold back a portion of the insurance money after a building burns to the ground until the owner either clears the debris away or rebuilds. I pointed out the situation to council and explained the process. Our solicitor did put it into ordinance form and it was adopted by council.
Audit Committee: I recruited and established the audit committee and turned it over to the chair of the finance committee. They met several times in 2006 and are still reviewing our finances in 2007. They made several recommendations to the council and mayor and as far as I know, most of them have been implemented. We just finished the recommended employee policy and procedure manual in July of 2007. One more draft will be made and it will go to print.
Ordinance Updates. I investigated the weeding out of our ordinances by the government class at Kent State University. I emailed back and forth with Dr. Holmes, and presented the possible options of updating our ordinances to Council. I presented those options to council and the costs associated with the update.
Re-established the Historical Review Board. This was started, stopped, started and stopped again. We have been working on re-writing the ordinances to be more in line with the needs of Burton Village. That ordinance is on third reading on October 9, 2007. It will re-establishing guidelines for this Board. Due to the fact that people were confusing the Historical District Association with the Historical Review Board, we decided to change the name of the Village board to Architectural Review Board.
Town Hall Grants. I investigated the possibility of several grants for the purchase of a historical facility for the Village for a town hall. I was not able to apply for any of them because we have to have a more definite project, but I did spend a great deal of time researching what was out there and gave council a list of possibilities.
Hitching Posts. There are now hitching posts installed between the Burton Fox Inn and Citgo. I wanted the Amish community to be able to enjoy a picnic in our beautiful park and keep an eye on their horses.
REDUCTION OF TAXES When I was on council we voted to no longer charge the residents of Burton Village a street light assessment. We realized people were losing their jobs and the economy was tough, so we tried to help even in a small way. For our action, we received a letter of commendation from then Auditor, Tracy Jemison, congratulating us on reducing the taxation of the residents.
FYI, four months after my last day on council, the following occurred:
Council minutes show us the following: On April 27, 2009 Ms. Humbert introduced Resolution 2009-10, levying a special assessment for Street Lighting, and placed it on first reading.
On May 26, 2009 the following is in council minutes: Mrs. Beaumier placed Resolution 2009-10, stating a necessity to levy aspecial assessment for the improvement of various streets within the Village by supplying electric lighting, on second reading.
And on June 8, 2009, your taxes were increased: Mrs. Beaumier moved to adopt Resolution 2009-10, authorizing and levying a special assessment to pay for street lights. Mr. Coleman seconded the motion. Roll Call: Judy Beaumier – Yes, Jeff Coleman – Yes, Linda Swaney – Yes, Gerald Rougé – Yes, Darren LaForce – Yes, Craig Ronyak – Yes. Resolution 2009-10 is adopted.
It is with great regret that I resign my council position as of January 5, 2009.
The County Prosecutor's opinion reads as follows: "Upon review of this issue, it is my opinion, and you are hereby advised that the positions are not compatible, and you will not be able to retain your position with Village Council. Ohio Revised Code section 731.12 states in pertinent part “…No member of the legislative authority shall hold any other public office…except that such member may be a notary public, a member of the state militia, or a volunteer fireman of said village, provided that such member shall not receive any compensation for his services as a volunteer fireman of the village in addition to his regular compensation as a member of the legislative authority. Any member who ceases to possess any of such qualifications…shall forfeit the member’s office.”"