BUCYRUS— Bucyrus City Council Clerk Todd Hill is speaking out against the latest developments in the ongoing feud between the Bucyrus City Administration and council president Kurt Fankhauser.

Fankhauser announced Tuesday evening during the regular council meeting that he has put Hill was told to work from home until further notice and that he has requested the Crawford County Sheriff‘s Office conduct an investigation into a security camera that has been in place in the council clerk’s office for several years as part of the security of the public City Hall building. There are several other security cameras throughout the building.

“The security camera has been there for years, since before Fankhauser was council president. It is pointed at my computer but has never bothered me. I go to work to do my job to the best of my ability for the city and the citizens. I don’t have anything to hide so I have never paid any attention to it but Kurt thinks it is being used against him somehow.”

Hill said the feud between the city’s administration and Fankhauser has gone on long enough.

“Both sides have some amount of blame, although my boss shares most of it,” Hill said. “Not only is it affecting city business, now it has affected my job.”

The council clerk positions pays about $50,000 per year and Hill is still being paid while not being able to work.

“The taxpayers are paying me to sit at home at the direction of the council president. I need to be in the office to be able to do most aspects of my job so essentially, I am getting paid to stay home and not work. It is not fair to the taxpayers of Bucyrus or to me. I want to do my job,” said Hill.

In his decades as an award-winning journalist and now his five years as the city council clerk, Hill said he has never filed for unemployment benefits until he was required to do so last year as part of the CARES Act job-sharing program due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The allegations that Kurt Fankhauser has made against me are unequivocally false. I have never in my life quit a job until I already had another one lined up. I did not sign up for this and to have my reputation tarnished because of a political feud that does not even involve me,” said Hill. “I want to do my job and need to be in the location where I can do it properly.”

Hill said the issue currently at the root of Fankhauser’s decision to request an investigation into the security camera issue is purely a political issue.

“There have been private meetings involving the city administration, the fire chief, and the health and safety council committee chair to discuss the details of the city taking over the ambulance service. The meetings are perfectly legal but Kurt should have been invited to them since he is on the ambulance committee. He has not been included which is the reason he is angry and using this investigation to get back at the administration. This is being done, though, at the expense of the taxpayers, the operations of the city, and my job,” said Hill.

Hill was ordered by Fankhauser to turn over the key to his office and to stay home until further notice.

Hill said he worked in his office, even as the pandemic hit and the Bucyrus City Hall was closed to the public.

“Even though the public could not come in, all employees still worked in our offices. City business was still being conducted but currently, I cannot get in my office to do my job,” Hill pointed out.

The person in the council clerk position is appointed every two years by the seven voting members of the Bucyrus City Council. The council president does not vote on any legislation unless there is a tie. The council voted unanimously in January of 2020 to renew the employment contract of Hill. He has worked in the position since 2016. Fankhauser was not elected to the position of council president until January 2020 and his term will end at the end of this year. So far, no one has filed a petition to run against him in the general election in November. Independent petitions are due to be turned in at the Crawford County Board of Elections on May 3, the day before the primary election.

Councilmember Doug Foght released the following meeting notice on Wednesday afternoon:

Special Bucyrus City Council Meeting

The Bucyrus City Council will meet in special session on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, 500 S. Sandusky Ave., Bucyrus. The meeting has been called by Council Members Mark Makeever, Doug Foght, C. Aaron Sharrock and Kevin Myers for the limited purpose of discussing the following:
• Attorney Conference: Conferences with an attorney for the public body concerning disputes involving the public body that are the subject of pending or imminent court action; (ORC Section 121.22(G)(3))
• Make any committee referrals as is necessary.

The public is invited to attend this meeting. The meeting will be recessed into executive session.

To read the latest statement by Fankhauser, click here for the story.