NEWTON FALLS — Village officials are planning to split the current law director / prosecutor position held by attorney Jeff Limbian into two separate part-time positions.

Council members at Wednesday’s meeting said it would be best for the position to be separate, noting the high case load the prosecutor has in Newton Falls Municipal Court in addition to the work as a law director.

Council will begin advertising for candidates for the law director position.

Second Ward Councilman Brian Axiotis said the amount of work for the prosecutor has increased in recent years.

“I feel we need to split the duties. We need to see what applicants we can get,” he said.

Some residents at the meeting said the positions should be held by the same person.

Resident Julie Lemon said the positions should not be separated due to needing to pay two people instead of one.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

In other business, council approved an agreement with OHM Advisors for the development of a comprehensive plan for the village.

Village Manager Jamie Vernaccini said OHM will seek grants to cover costs for the plan.

Councilwoman-at-Large Julie Stimpert said there will be input from residents, schools and historical groups when planning for the future.

Resident Brian Kropp, who was elected as councilman for the 1st Ward, said a new strategy will benefit planning for the future of the village.

“The village needs a map and directions. I see the plan as a good thing to serve as a map to move forward for the next 20 to 25 years,” Kropp said. “I hope when preparing the plan there will be community engagement and input.”

Some other residents said the previous comprehensive plan sat on a shelf and was not used by past councils.

Resident John Baryak said the money for a plan should be spent elsewhere.

ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE

Also, council approved the village manager to negotiate for the sale of certain electric infrastructure and transmission equipment owned by the village to strengthen and secure the village’s electric power infrastructure.

Axiotis said the sale of the transmission lines will help keep utility rates for electricity down.

Axiotis said the village can explore the option of selling the transmission lines to Amp Ohio, with the money to be used for the electric fund.

He said generating money from the sale could lessen the need for higher utility rates.

“We have to at least explore this,” he said.

Third-Ward Councilman Bob Burke said he spoke with officials from Niles, where they have sold transmission lines, and learned they were satisfied with the decision.

“This is a no-brainer to help the village,” Burke said.

Baryak said he is against the sale of what the village owns, saying there is no reason to do it.

Lemon said the transmission lines are an asset to the village.

THIRD WARD SEAT

In other matters, Stimpert said because no one filed for council’s 3rd Ward seat, applicants will be sought from that ward to serve in the position.

Burke, who currently serves in the seat for which he was appointed by council, chose not to seek reelection. Burke replaced Brenda Persino.

The person appointed would serve the remainder of the term into 2027, and if they wanted to continue, would need to run in the November 2027 election for another term.