By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
The new Galion City Council may be less than a month old but already it is dealing with some more upheaval.
Galion citizens voted last November to overturn the city’s charter and just this past May they voted in a new statutory government. So while most of Council has been learning the ropes since being sworn in on May 31, four other Galion city employees resigned from their positions.
City manager administrative secretary Diana Sorrick, purchasing and human resources secretary Marcy Porter, part-time secretary Cheryl Bartz and Chief Building Inspector Matt Ross all recently resigned from their positions.
The four did not provide two-week notices but did give short letters of resignations. They did not all resign at once. Sorrick was the first to resign on June 3 followed soon after by Porter and Bartz. Ross resigned from his position last week.
“I think they did what they thought they needed to do,” said Councilman Jon Kleinknecht. He appreciated everything Sorrick, Porter, Bartz and Ross did over the years for Galion.
Kleinknecht knew coming in that there would be roadblocks and that they might stumble a bit but they would “just have to work our way through it.”
Councilman Mike Richart expressed similar sentiments. “It’s unfortunate that these folks chose to resign,” said Richart.
Richart said the situation was a bump in the road but it wouldn’t stop the new government from moving forward. Richart believed Mayor Tom O’Leary had a handle on the situation and commended him for doing a great job.
“I think we have outstanding employees at the city levels,” said Richart. He added that he appreciated everyone who has stayed on throughout the transition period.