Minutes

Oakwood City Council Work Session
January 22, 2024

The Council of the city of Oakwood, Ohio met in a work session on Monday, January 22, 2024 in the second-floor meeting room at the city building, 30 Park Avenue. The Mayor of the City, William Duncan, presided.

Council members in attendance were Mayor William Duncan, Vice Mayor Steve Byington, Councilmember Rob Stephens, Councilmember Leigh Turben and Councilmember Healy Jackson. Staff in attendance were City Manager Norbert Klopsch, City Attorney Rob Jacques, Finance Director Cindy Stafford, Clerk of Council Lori Stacel and IT Consultant Josh Flannery.

Mayor Duncan called the work session to order at 5 p.m. City Council began the meeting by setting up their oakwoodohio.gov email accounts on their devices to address issues with automatic email forwarding and to establish additional security measures when accessing their city email.

At 6:16 p.m., Mrs. Stafford, Ms. Stacel and Mr. Flannery finished assisting with the IT work and departed the meeting. Thereafter, Mayor Duncan led a discussion on the following agenda items:

  • COUNCIL COMMITTEES
    • Court Liaison, Mrs. Turben
      • Court Finances: Mr. Klopsch commented on the spreadsheet sent last Friday to City Council providing a history of court revenues and expenses. Staff will conduct a survey of fees and court costs in Dayton area courts to see if Oakwood increases are warranted. Mr. Jacques noted that the Judge must authorize any changes; Council cannot do this.
    • Finance, Vice Mayor Byington
      • 2024 Budget: Mr. Klopsch referenced the 2024 City Manager Budget Message given to City Council last Friday. Mrs. Jackson recommended a minor edit which will be made.
      • 2.41 Mill Levy: Mr. Klopsch reviewed the schedule of tasks/events in preparation for placing the 2.41 mill property tax levy on the March 19, 2024 ballot.
      • Property Tax Valuation: Mr. Klopsch commented on a comparison of property valuations from last year to this year showing a 27% increase in Oakwood property values.
    • Law & Minutes, Mrs. Jackson
      • Marsy’s Law: Mr. Jacques commented on a recent Dayton Daily News article about the Kettering Police Department and Marsy’s Law. He provided an overview of Marsy’s Law regarding victim confidentiality and public records.
    • Safety & Traffic, Mr. Stephens
      • Right-of-way Management: Mr. Klopsch reported that the Safety Department sent letters today to three property owners in Oakwood informing them that they must remove basketball hoops placed on public roadways. Mr. Klopsch also reported on the disposition of one of the two public right-of-way violation cases involving the tenants at 303 Wonderly. The first case resulted in a $20 fine plus court costs. The second case will be adjudicated sometime in the next few weeks.