ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE SALARIES AND WAGES FOR ELECTIVE OFFICES, SALARIED AND HOURLY EMPLOYEES OF THE VILLAGE, AND TO DEFINE VACATIONS, SICK LEAVE, HOLIDAYS AND OTHER BENEFITS, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY

WHEREAS, the Council for the Village of Killbuck, Ohio desires to amend the ordinance which governs the salaries and wages to be paid to officers and employees of the Village as well as other employment policies; now therefore

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Village of Killbuck, County of Holmes, State of Ohio;

SECTION l. Salaries and Wages. Except as otherwise set forth herein, the maximum salaries and wages paid by the Village for services rendered shall be as follows effective January 1, 2025 and for subsequent calendar years until changed by ordinance or other action of Village Council:

(A) ELECTED OFFICERS:

    Mayor — $750.00 per month
    Council Members — $100.00 per meeting 
    Board of Public Affairs Members — $100.00 per meeting 

    (B) SALARIED EMPLOYEES:

    Fiscal Officer Annual salary of $57,963.43
    Zoning Inspector XXXXXX

    (C) HOURLY EMPLOYEES:

    Superintendent Water/Sewer — $32.55 per hour (includes base rate of $27.55; $2.00 for Class II Water License ($1.00 for each license class level); and $3.00 for Class III Wastewater License ($1.00 for each license class level)

    Assistant – Street Commissioner & Water/Sewer — $18.28 per hour (includes base rate of $18.28 and zero dollars for licenses; upon obtaining the applicable license, the Assistant’s hourly rate may increase as follows: additional $0.50 per hour for pesticide applicator license, additional $0.25 per hour for CDL, and additional $0.50 per hour for each water class level)

    Street Commissioner — $26.00 per hour (includes base rate of $23.49; $0.50 for Class I Water License ($0.50 for each license class level); $1.00 for Class II Wastewater License ($0.50 for each license class level); $0.50 for pesticide applicator license; and $0.50 for CDL)

    General labor – all departments — Minimum Wage

    Miscellaneous and Temporary Labor — Minimum Wage

    The above pay rates for Superintendent Water/Sewer, Assistant – Street Commissioner & Water/Sewer, and Street Commissioner shall not apply to new employees unless otherwise determined by the Village. All new employees shall be assigned a pay rate at the time of hire at the recommendation of the Mayor, with the advice and consent of Council and the Board of Trustees for Public Affairs in the case of the Water and Sewer employees. 

    The above pay rates will be in affect starting December 23, 2024

    The Fiscal Officer is authorized without further Council action to make any future adjustments necessary to ensure Village compliance with Federal and State minimum wage requirements. 

    ATTENDANCE TO VILLAGE MEETINGS:

    The Water and Sewer Superintendent and Street Commissioner shall each be paid for two (2) hours at the effective hourly rate applicable to each for any Village meeting at which such person is required to be in attendance. Village Council, or the Board of Public Affairs in the case of the Water and Sewer Superintendent, shall determine, in its sole discretion, as to whether attendance at a particular meeting is required.

    SECTION 2. Definitions; Pay Dates.

    (A) Work week is defined as a period beginning at l2:01 o’clock A.M. Monday morning and ending Sunday night at l2:00 o’clock midnight. An employee shall be considered full-time if regularly scheduled to work more than thirty hours per work week.

    (B) Daily time sheets shall be maintained in all departments and the same shall be turned into the Fiscal Officer, on a bi-weekly basis. The Fiscal Officer shall also maintain her own daily time sheet and shall turn in the same to the Mayor and Council, on a bi-weekly basis. The Fiscal Officer shall compute the earnings of each employee, and shall pay hourly employees four (4) days after time sheets are turned into the Village Fiscal Officer, or the first business day thereafter. The Village Fiscal Officer shall be paid on a bi-weekly basis. The Mayor shall be paid on the first day of each month, for the previous month, and all Council Members shall be paid quarterly.

    SECTION 3. Vacations and Holidays.

    Vacation time shall be granted to full-time employees in accordance with the following schedule:

    After 12 months continuous service 80 hours each year
    After 10 years continuous service. 120 hours each year
    After 20 years continuous service. 160 hours each year

    Effective April 1, 2021, and each year thereafter, Fiscal Officer Linda Campbell shall be granted 160 hours vacation time.

    Vacation requests shall be submitted to the Mayor, or to the Board of Trustees for Public Affairs in the case of the Water and Sewer employees, for approval.

    Employees may carry over from one year to the next accrued and unused vacation leave up to a maximum of sixteen (16) hours. Vacation leave accrued and unused in excess of the sixteen (16) hours that can be carried over shall be paid to the employee at the employee’s regular pay rate. 

    In the event that an employee decides to terminate employment with the Village and gives two (2) weeks’ notice of such termination, the employee will be paid for any unused vacation time remaining. If the required two (2) week notice is not given, the employee will not receive payment for unused vacation.

    (B) Full-time employees will be paid for the following legal holidays:

    New Year’s Day, Labor Day, President’s Day, Thanksgiving, Veteran’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Christmas Day, July 4th, Personal Day, Juneteenth, Columbus Day 

    In the event an employee is required to work on one of the above listed holidays, the employee shall be compensated at a rate of one and one-half (1 ½) times per hours worked.

    SECTION 4. Sick Leave.

    All full-time employees shall receive twelve (l2) days (i.e., 96 hours) of sick leave per year; however, unused leave shall not accumulate in excess of ninety (90) days (i.e., 720 hours) for any one employee. Sick leave time may be used for time off work for an employee’s own illness or medical, dental, or vision appointments or procedures, and also may be used for time off work for an employee to attend to the illness or medical, dental, or vision appointments or procedures of a family member of the employee. 

    Effective April 1, 2020, Fiscal Officer Linda Campbell’s sick leave time shall be the total sick leave time remaining from her employment with Holmes County, Ohio. Fiscal Officer Linda Campbell shall not accumulate additional sick leave time with the Village until her sick leave time balance falls below 720 hours.

    Each sick leave absence shall be substantiated by a written statement from the employee, and delivered to the Mayor, or to the Trustees for Board of Public Affairs in the case of the Water and Sewer Employees; provided, however, that in their discretion the Mayor or Board of Public Affairs may request a physician’s certificate from the employee for absences due to illness or treatment. A physician’s certificate shall be required for all absences of more than three (3) consecutive days.

    In the event that an employee decides to terminate employment with the Village and gives two weeks’ notice of such termination, the employee will be paid for 25% of sick pay which has accrued as of the date of termination, not to exceed the ninety (90) day maximum as provided for in Section 4, herein. If the required two (2) week notice is not given, the employee will not receive payment for sick time accrued. This provision for a 25% pay-out of sick pay shall apply only to full-time employees with at least two years of full-time employment with the Village. 

    SECTION 5. Other Benefits.

    (A) All officers and employees shall receive a travel allowance of the federal rate per mile for travel on Village business and shall also be reimbursed for up to twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per day for meals while traveling on Village business. In order to receive such reimbursement for mileage and/or meals, receipts shall be turned in to the Village Fiscal Officer no later than thirty (30) days after the occurrence of such travel and/or meals.

    (B) The Village of Killbuck currently provides life insurance up to $50,000.00 and health insurance to its full-time employees. Such insurance coverage shall be effective upon the first day of the month following the employee’s start date. 

    The Village of Killbuck also currently provides employees health insurance coverage under The Village of Killbuck group health plan. Employees are required to pay 10% of the monthly health insurance premium for single plans, and 15% of the monthly health insurance premium for family plans. 

    If a Village employee’s spouse is eligible for group health insurance through his or her employer, then he or she (the spouse) shall not be eligible to obtain coverage under The Village of Killbuck group health plan. Employees must complete a “Spousal Carve Out Affidavit” form or other similar form provided by the Village and/or the health plan to indicate the employee’s spouse’s eligibility for participation in The Village of Killbuck health plan. 

    The Village also provides all employees with the option to participate in dental and vision insurance plans. Employees are required to pay the total cost of the dental and vision insurance plan premiums, if the Employee elects to participate in said plan(s). 

    In addition, the Village of Killbuck provides all employees with the option to participate in a Flexible Savings Plan on the terms applicable to said Plan. 

    Pursuant to Village of Killbuck Resolution No. 2021-016, the Village of Killbuck also offers eligible employees the option to participate in the Plan under the Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Program administrated by the Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Board. 

    The Village of Killbuck will set aside a maximum allowance of three hundred dollars ($300.00) per fiscal year for each employee to be used towards the costs of dental or eye appointments. Said allowance may not be used for an employee’s family member. A copy of a dated, paid receipt from a dental or eye professional must be submitted to the Village Fiscal Officer to receive reimbursement. All receipts must be submitted on or before December 31 of each year and only expenditures from the current year shall be considered. Any unused portion of the allowance will not be carried over to the following year. The Village of Killbuck reserves the right to amend or terminate this policy at any time in its sole discretion.

    (D) The Village, or its Board of Trustees for Public Affairs, may, from time to time and with prior approval of Village Council or the Board, as the case may be, pay, or reimburse the employee for paying, Continuing Educational Expense. Such approval is in the absolute discretion of the Council or Board. Continuing Educational Expense is intended to be for the benefit of the Village and its residents by enhancing the skills, expertise and certifications of the Village employees in anticipation of the employee’s continued service to the Village. For that reason, upon an employee ceasing to be employed by the Village for any reason, the employee shall reimburse the Village for all Continuing Educational Expense paid to an employee or on an employee’s behalf within a period of two (2) years prior to the date of employment termination. Such reimbursement shall be made within thirty (30) days of the date of termination, and the employee’s final paycheck or any other sums due the employee may be held pending reimbursement. Coursework or training required by local, state, and federal agencies that is required to maintain current licensure levels or job position may be exempted by the Village, or its Board of Trustees for Public Affairs.

    “Continuing Education Expense” shall mean all funds advanced for: (1) tuition; (2) room and board; (3) books and other educational materials; (4) testing, application, registration, certification or similar fees; and (5) mileage and other out of pocket expenses of the employee related to the class, training or certification in question.

    (E) Each full-time permanent and part-time permanent employee shall be granted three consecutive working days of bereavement leave with pay upon the death of a member of the employee’s immediate family. Bereavement leave shall not exceed twenty-four scheduled work hours. Compensation for bereavement leave shall be equal to the employee’s base rate of pay. Part-time permanent employees shall be granted bereavement leave based on the number of hours they would have normally been scheduled to work.

    (F) The Street Commissioner, Water & Sewer Superintendent, Fiscal Officer and Assistant- Street Commissioner & Water/Sewer each shall be entitled to an annual Uniform Clothing Allowance which shall be used to purchase clothing for the employee to wear while working for the Village. The amount of the allowance shall be $500.00 per year. 

    SECTION 6. Work Schedules; Overtime; Compensatory Time.

    1. Except as set forth herein, daily and weekly work schedules for all employees except for the Water and Sewer Departments shall be at the direction of the Mayor and Council. The Assistant Water and Sewer Plant Operator shall work from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with a half-hour lunch. The Superintendent of the Water and Sewer Plant may adjust said work hours in his discretion. The Superintendent of the Water and Sewer Plant shall work eight (8) hours per day and shall have the discretion to set said hours. Work schedules for the Water and Sewer Department employees shall be at the direction of the Board of Trustees for Public Affairs. In the event any hourly employee of the Village works hours in excess of eight hours in one day, the employee may choose to receive overtime pay at a rate of one and one-half (1 ½) times the employee’s current hourly rate, or compensatory time off. Compensatory time shall not accumulate in excess of six (6) weeks but may be carried over from year to year. No hourly employee shall work additional or overtime hours, meaning hours in excess of those regularly scheduled, without the consent of the Mayor, or the consent of the Board of Trustees for Public Affairs in the case of Water and Sewer Department employees. The Mayor or the Board of Trustees for Public Affairs shall provide written notice to the Fiscal Officer as to the amount of authorized overtime to be paid. Compensatory time earned during the bi-weekly pay period shall not be utilized during the same period in which it was earned.
    1. The Village Fiscal Officer shall work sixty-four (64) hours bi-weekly. The Village Fiscal Officer shall work additional hours per week, as needed, and shall be compensated for any additional hours worked in excess of sixty-four (64) hours bi-weekly at an hourly rate of straight time. 

    SECTION 7. Probationary Status.

    All new employees shall work a ninety (90) day probationary period, at the end of which period the Mayor shall recommend to Council whether or not Council should grant permanent appointment. The Board of Trustees for Public Affairs, in the case of Water and Sewer Employees, shall make the determination as to whether to grant permanent appointment for such employees. Pay increases shall not be given during the probationary period. The granting of permanent status at the end of the probationary period shall not be considered a contract of employment, either for a particular duration or under particular terms and conditions. All employees of the Village shall be considered “at will” employees unless a written employment contract is approved by resolution of Council and executed by the Mayor and Village Fiscal Officer or unless specifically otherwise provided by statute.

    SECTION 8. The purpose of this Ordinance is to set forth in a single act of Council the employment policies of the Village. Unless otherwise set forth herein, any prior inconsistent act of this Council is hereby repealed. This Ordinance shall not affect contract services unless specifically set forth herein. 

    SECTION 9. This Ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety for the reason that the action herein incorporates pay for positions required to ensure continued services to Village residents; therefore, this Ordinance shall take effect on January 1, 2025. 

    Passed at a meeting of the Village Council this 20th day of December, 2024.

    SIGNATURES ON FILE