WILMINGTON, Ohio — At the Sept. 19 Wilmington City Council meeting, several items were discussed, including a proposed salary increase for police officers to remain competitive with other law enforcement agencies in the area.
Safety Director Nick Eveland informed council that he plans to ask for an adjustment to city police officers’ salaries after learning from Wilmington Police Chief Bob Wilson that the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office is hiring, with a starting salary range of $69,640 to $76,960 ($33 to $37 per hour, based on experience). In comparison, the Wilmington Police Department’s starting salary is around $50,000 or $25 per hour.
“When our prospective candidates can go to work for somebody else here in the county for $15,000 a year more starting out, we’re kind of behind the curve here, folks,” said Eveland.
Benefits like medical coverage starting on an officer’s first day of work and a pension help to make the Wilmington Police Department competitive. However, according to Eveland, the department “is doing an awfully lot of overtime right now, and overtime is very expensive. If we get more people in, the overtime comes down, so that’s going to offset some of the costs.”
City auctioning retired vehicles and equipment
The city will be auctioning off retired vehicles and equipment through GovDeals.com, including a 1993 International 4900 dump truck, a 1995 Chevrolet 3500 heavy-duty flatbed dump truck, a 2001 Wildcat Spray Patcher, a John Deere 1508 Rotary Cutter and a Woods MD106-5 three-point rotary cutter.
GovDeals is an auction site like eBay, but the sellers are government agencies across the United States looking to sell off their surplus items.
The city’s vehicles will be put up for auction the week of Oct. 21. Potential buyers will have a 15-day bidding window, and the winner will have 10 days to finalize their purchase.
“Many of those items are eligible for historical plates if somebody could find a use for them and get them,” said council member and finance committee chair Bob Osborn.
The distribution of auction proceeds will vary by department.
“For enterprise departments like sewer, water, street or sanitation, the funds will go directly back into their respective departmental funds. For all other departments, the proceeds will be directed to the general fund. In either case, the money will remain earmarked for future departmental purchases or projects,” Service Director Mike Crowe told the News Journal in an email.
Water main replacement on Doan Street
The City of Wilmington is applying for a grant through the Ohio Public Works Commission’s State Capital Improvement and Local Transportation Improvement Program to replace the water main on Doan Street.
“In that particular area, we’ve got a lot of smaller-like four-inch cast iron mains that are in disrepair,” said Crowe.
According to Crowe, the project will proceed regardless of whether the city receives a grant. Construction is expected to start July 1, 2025, and will be completed by the end of that year.
The water main replacement will cover Doan Street from South Street to Belmont Avenue, South Walnut from East Short Street to Doan Street, and all of East Short Street.
Fiber internet coming to Wilmington
David Kramer, senior director of Corporate Strategy and Development at Altafiber (formerly known as Cincinnati Bell), presented the company’s plans to expand up the I-71 corridor by building a high-speed backbone ring from Cincinnati to Columbus, which will pass through Wilmington.
A backbone is essentially the main highway for internet data. It’s a core network that connects cities and regions, allowing large amounts of information to travel quickly between them. This infrastructure makes high-speed internet, phone calls and other data services possible by ensuring that data can move over long distances without slowing down. Without the backbone, the internet wouldn’t be nearly as fast or reliable.
Altafiber recently completed fiber installation in Blanchester. They’re now working south of the Wilmington city limits, with plans for a “fiber-to-the-home” project throughout the city set to begin around mid-2025.
According to Altafiber’s website, about 6,500 homes and businesses can sign up for the company’s Fioptics internet as construction is completed. Fiopitcs internet offers upload and download speeds of up to 2 gigabits per second.
Other areas included in Altafiber’s expansion plans are Sabina, Jeffersonville, Mount Sterling and Greene County.
To sign up for updates on when internet services will be available, receive construction updates, or notify Altafiber of construction issues or concerns in your area, visit altafiber.com/offers/pre-release-wilmington.
Public comment policy briefly debated
At the end of each Wilmington City Council meeting, those in attendance can participate in a public comment session, where they can sign up and speak for up to three minutes on any city issue of their choice.
During this session, Mayor Pat Haley raised a point of issue after Greg Pitzer addressed the council, requesting the chain of custody records related to a destruction order involving his daughter Casey Pitzer’s rape kit. The body of 32-year-old Casey Pitzer was found in a retention pond near State Route 73 and U.S. 22&3 about a week after she disappeared in March 2013.
“The rules of council are that comments are supposed to be directed to City Council, and week after week, I’m questioned,” said Haley.
Council President Matt Purkey referred to previous legal advice he received after a public comment policy review and was told that “three minutes is three minutes is three minutes.”
According to Law Director Justin Dickman, the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Constitution do not require City Council to have a public comment session during meetings.
“However, we do need to enforce it equally for all parties to receive three minutes. So long as there’s not threatening speech or inducing a panic in that speech, any speech is permitted in this three-minute public comment section as long as we have it,” said Dickman.
The city’s public comment policy was previously debated during the May 18, 2023, City Council meeting, after some council members expressed concerns that individuals in attendance made accusations against city officials and staff.
The next Wilmington City Council meeting will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at the City of Wilmington Municipal Building Council Chambers, 69 N. South St.
