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NEWTON FALLS -- After a Trumbull County judge ruled last month a council meeting held Sept. 11, 2023, was invalid and not an official meeting, village council on Wednesday went back to give first reading to motions that previously did not pass.
Law Director Jeff Limbian said council needs to give two readings on items from the September meeting to finalize items and "clean up business for 2023."
Fourth Ward Councilman Kevin Rufener said the ordinances have been officially and properly documented on the agenda as unfinished business from 2023.
"We are going back and cleaning up the ordinances that were null and void after the Sept. 11 meeting was deemed an illegal meeting. They only had one reading and they needed two readings. We are closing the books on these previous ordinances," Rufener said.
The four ordinances that needed readings include the hiring of Brad Bryan as law director, water treatment plant remote terminal unit upgrades, transfer of funds and financial appropriations.
Clerk Michael Acomb said the four ordinances never passed because first reading occurred Sept. 11.
Because council in January hired Limbian as law director, the second reading on the motion to hire Bryan is void. Bryan served through the end of 2023.
Finance Director Sean Housley said the appropriations and transfer of funds are done annually and have been addressed.
Acomb said second reading and public hearings will be held at the Feb. 21 meeting.
Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean O'Brien ruled the $30,000 salary increase for former Village Manager Pam Priddy that would have brought her pay to $90,000 was invalid as part of the court ruling.
On Sept. 6, a meeting was adjourned abruptly before council could address all five ordinances on the agenda.
The court decision states that other ordinances brought up at the Sept. 6 meeting can be reconsidered "in an appropriate manner."
On Sept. 11, a "special" council meeting took place that contained the exact same agenda items from the Sept. 6 meeting.
Former Mayor Ken Kline, who resigned at the Sept. 11 meeting, said it was illegal because a special meeting cannot be a duplicate or continuation of a previous meeting. He said the special meeting being conducted was in violation of the village's own charter.
In November, Councilwoman-at-Large Julie Stimpert filed a temporary injunction against Priddy's pay increase ordinance.