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Newton Falls village manager being sworn in today

NEWTON FALLS — Despite a referendum petition with 136 signatures aimed at halting a council ordinance on the hiring of a new village manager, David Lynch is scheduled to be sworn in at 8 a.m. today at the municipal building.

Mayor Lyle Waddell said Wednesday he will be the one swearing in Lynch.

He said the petitions were turned into the municipal building last Friday and by law, they have to be there for 10 days for the public to review or if someone decides they want to remove their name. Waddell said no new names can be added.

Kathy King, village clerk, confirmed the referendum petition was turned in Friday at her office. She said she will take them next week to the Trumbull County Board of Elections following the required 10-day period.

Former village manager Jack Haney left at the end of October after his contract was not extended by a 3-2 vote by council. Fiscal officer Anna Musson was handling the duties as manager the past week. She was scheduled to be done at midnight Wednesday.

Third Ward Councilman Mark Stimpert, who supported the contract for Lynch, said he looks forward to him starting.

“I look forward to him leading Newton Falls in a good direction,” he said.

Stimpert said Law Director A. Joseph Fritz informed them the referendum should not be placed on the ballot because it is not subject to referendum under the city charter and Lynch’s hiring was an administrative action, not a legislative one.

Resident Catie Karl, who circulated the referendum petition, said she is not happy with the 10-day delay or that Lynch will be sworn in regardless today.

“I am furious and livid about what is taking place. We followed the procedure to get this addressed by a referendum. I called the law director and asked for a legal opinion about this. He told me this was an administrative action, not a legislative action,” Karl said.

Karl said the referendum was against the process council used to hire Lynch and was not about Lynch personally.

“The process was what was wrong. We can’t let things like this keep happening and being done the wrong way. I, and so many residents, want things to be done the proper way and above board. We want the Is dotted and the Ts crossed,” she said. “He could be a wonderful city manager to help the community. We are just against the process.”

Karl said when she was getting signatures, some residents were afraid to sign the petition for fear of retaliation.

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