NELSONVILLE, Ohio — Nelsonville City Council gave the council clerk a raise and appointed a city auditor at its regular meeting April 13.
Council member McCray Powell said that a “quirk” in the city charter meant before it could increase Council Clerk Erica Padgett’s pay, the council had to reappoint her to the position. So within the same meeting, the council accepted her resignation, then reappointed her, both actions made unanimously.
“We’ve had a very active clerk and we wanted to pay her in line with the hours she’d been serving the city,” Powell said.
The council also unanimously appointed Brian Elkins as city auditor. Council members Nic Joseph Saul and Cameron Peck expressed enthusiasm for Elkins’ appointment.
Elkins ran as a write-in candidate for city treasurer last fall. Elkins said he has previous public service experience and is “glad to take on that role.”
In other business, the council also adopted four ordinances, including one that would increase sewage rates by 3% percent for Nelsonville residents.
The council moved Ordinance 13-26, to a second reading that is an amendment to a previous ordinance that would modify the existing agreement to improve the waste water collection system and increase “the fee, project schedule, and standard terms and conditions for additional professional services.
The council also adopted an emergency authorized acceptance of a grant for the Nelsonville dog park.
In addition, during public comment, Jo Anne L’Heureux shared that Nelsonville’s OhioHealth Urgent Care has expanded hours, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.
The council approved three full-time firefighters, promoted from part time, and the addition of a new police dog, a German shepherd named Alex.
The council also entered into executive session to discuss the ongoing legal dispute between it and the other Nelsonville City Council, which meets at The Lodge at Hocking College.
The council that meets at Hocking College consists of individuals who ran for Nelsonville city offices in the 2025 general election. The legality of those offices is currently under legal dispute because they came into existence via Issue 23, a voter-led initiative that abolished the Nelsonville City Charter and created new offices starting Jan. 1 of this year.
However, Nelsonville City Council repealed Issue 23 in August 2025, but by then the board of elections had already approved candidates to run for new, Issue 23-based city offices. In the meantime, although both councils operate separately, no legal opinion has been rendered to indicate which council is the city’s legal governing body.
Nelsonville City Council meets at 7 p.m. every other Monday of each month at Nelsonville City Hall, 211 Lake Hope Drive, Nelsonville.
Keri Johnson contributed to this reporting.
