Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser has responded to the letter sent to him from Bucyrus City Council President Kurt Fankhauser, regarding the closure of the Bucyrus City Building due to the latest COVID-19 situation. The Mayor’s responses are in bold letters.
Dear Mayor Reser,
I have at least 2 council members and possibly 3 refusing to attend virtual council meetings until City Hall is opened back up. This lacks the quorum of 6 required to pass legislation with waiving of the 2nd and 3rd readings. And it lacks the quorum of 5 to pass legislation as emergency.
That is a shame and I am sorry to hear that it, if it is indeed true. No Council members have reached out to any of us in the Administration stating their objection to the temporary closure of City Hall. We already have precedent for meeting by “Go to Meeting” (Spring) and, although we all want to meet in person, now is the time to get the work of the City done and keep safe and healthy at the same time. I would hope that the “2 and possibly 3” council members change their minds so we can make sure that our PD and FD are funded properly.
Question from me on this $95,000 of “additional Cares Act Funds.” When were we notified of this and how were we notified and what line item is the administration “suggesting” that we as council appropriate this too? Also when is the deadline for this? There is a lack of transparency from the your office on what is going on at city hall right now especially in regards to city finances and several council members are not comfortable with passing of financial legislation without meeting in person.
Regarding the $95,000 additional Cares Act Funds….We were notified on Monday by our County Auditor of the additional monies. City Auditor Schifer called for the appropriation right away. How can we be more transparent? Transparency has been a hallmark of our Administration all the way back to the announcement of putting our checkbook online. I was one of the very first Mayors to sign up for the State of Ohio program. We also follow Sunshine laws, as you well know.
I fully stand behind council members on all of this. There needs to be transparency with city government. The public has a right to attend meetings in person. I am not going to deprive them of that right. City Hall and everything in it is an “essential service” to the citizens of Bucyrus and should be the LAST place in Bucyrus to close down not the first. If any of the city employees are worried about catching Covid-19 then you need to find a way for them to work from home and/or install additional plexi-glass barriers at City Hall.
With all due respect, I must admit that you are an expert at “straw-man” arguments, making up exaggerated, if not false claims and implying that you have the support of Council. I believe that City Council is made up of good people who understand that COVID-19 is a real and widespread threat and our city workers and our citizens deserve to be kept as safe as possible from the virus. I am not sure why this is not seen by your as common sense. A concern for your constituents shouldn’t be hard to accept.
As Far as I know Bucyrus City Hall is the only government building in Crawford County that has been closed to the public. This is a dis-service to the public and is un-necessary. City Hall was shut down once before and look where we are, it backed up a ton of city business and it didn’t stop the virus at all from ending up here. What is the point of closing city hall if every other business in Bucyrus is still open? This will not change anything.
Many City Halls throughout the State are closed as well as local bank lobbies, the public library and, beginning Monday, the County offices. Regarding your claim that closing “backed up a ton of city business” couldn’t be further from the truth. Our staff is top-notch and handled all business in a professional and timely manner, and, I may add, in a socially responsible manner as COVID-19 spread quickly.
And as far as the your proclamation of when and how Bucyrus City Council will meet, you do not have any authority to tell the Legislative Branch of government how we will handle our meetings. You can-not prevent the legislative body from meeting as we see fit, that would be a violation of the Ohio Constitution. I am requesting that you immediately fully open Bucyrus City Hall back up. If you refuse then council may look into any legal means it has to over-ride your decision to keep city hall closed.
You are correct! I am not telling City Council how to handle your meetings and I am not violating the Ohio Constitution (another straw man). I am only saying that City Hall is closed for two weeks and hopefully by then we will be at a point where we can safely allow residents to enter City Hall without putting them or our staff at risk of contracting COVID-19. I believe that you are in a small minority of people who don’t think COVID-19 is real. Look around you. Ask the hospital staff if it is real. Our ICU is full and the hospital is filling up. Ask Kate Siefert and staff at the Health Department if it is real. You can be a denier but wouldn’t it be much better to lead with the safety of the citizens who elected you as a top priority? Our Administration has decided to put their safety first! Yes, some inconvenience for City Council will be experienced but it will be short-lived.
I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. There is much to be thankful for this year—in spite of COVID. We have so many people who have risen to the occasion putting others ahead of their needs. They will be remembered for their unselfishness. They are my heroes.
I pray for all of our citizens, including our elected officials, that we do all we can to help on another in our time of need. COVID-19 will be a memory before too long.
Mayor Jeff Reser
Council member C. Aaron Sharrock (D), Ward 2, has also responded to Council President Kurt Fankhauser’s letter to Mayor Reser regarding his opposition to closing the Bucyrus City Building.
Kurt:
With the fact that you are in extreme opposition to the Mayor’s choices as to how to handle the current situation, what are your thoughts as to how to keep everyone safe in meetings? You have yet to wear a mask and have not even shown an attempt in trying to space out seating for the safety of all involved. Can you tell me your thoughts as to how you would be trying to keep everyone else safe if we were to continue in person meetings?
-aaron
Nobody on council has told me that they don’t feel safe being in meetings. You volunteered to take Yocums spot knowing that council was meeting in person and not wearing masks so you know what you were getting into when you signed up.
Kurt Fankhauser
City of Bucyrus Council President
Here is the response to the letter to the Mayor and Kurt’s response to Council member C. Aaron Sharrock.
I asked a question that got a very closed answer. You stated we needed to be forthright and not hide things but now you are choosing to hide the names of people who state they won’t do the job as requested by administration for the safety of all concerned. First of all we all need to work together for our community. You are threatening the city and the people of the city with not getting needed funds because “two people on finance” (still unnamed) will refuse to do their duty in the position in which they were elected. Have you put this thought in context? It’s like dealing with children, if you won’t do it my way I’m not playing with you. This is a safety concern that was started At the National and then State level which is being carried out at the local level.
- Since you have chosen to call me “nobody” I would like you to refer back to an email response I made a little over a week ago. Everyone else saw it so I would be shocked to think you ignored a city email. I asked about the desks and the face shields. I will say most people won’t stand up to you when you choose a stance but I have no fear of doing so. So if you want to tell me “I knew what I was getting when I signed up”, you forget that just because something is going on, does not make it right. You also are taking the low numbers previously and ignoring how quickly they are jumping currently. I have also been asked when we would be going to zoom (style) meetings by several people in my ward who would normally attend meetings but haven’t felt safe.
Several banks have made the move to close lobbies, schools are returning to online learning, and the mayor has made a declaration. This is not just council’s safety you want to ignore. Sadly you have chosen to make things unsafe for everyone to get what you want. You personally won’t be hurt when we don’t get funds because of “standing ground” but what will the members of the population feel about what you are giving away?
-aaron
Crawford County Now will post more responses to Council President Kurt Fankhauser’s letter to the Mayor if we get them.