ATHENS, Ohio — Amid budget concerns, Athens City Council adopted a resolution Monday, Feb. 2, to institute a hiring freeze.
The Finance and Personnel Committee discussed the hiring freeze resolution, R-03-26, in the council’s committee session, before adopting it during a regular session that immediately followed. (Two weeks worth of meetings were combined, as last week’s meeting was canceled due to weather.)
The resolution requests “all elected officials institute a hiring freeze for all full-time positions until a review has taken place.” It states that the freeze is necessary “to prevent our general fund balance from dropping below our cash balance policy minimum, and to ensure the medical fund maintains the necessary cash on hand to meet all obligations.”
Neither City Auditor Kathy Hecht nor Treasurer Josh Thomas were present Monday night.
The hiring freeze, effective through Dec. 31, is intended to “alleviate any need for” layoffs, requiring a detailed “position review” of each position.
“This is critical that we do this at this point in time,” Mayor Steve Patterson said, adding that the city’s self-funded healthcare benefits are a main driver of pressure to maintain a balanced general fund.
Council member Alan Swank, 4th Ward, noted the resolution is without “teeth”and that it states that “some vacant positions will, by necessity, be advertised and filled.”
The resolution amounts to “a request” — by the mayor, law director, auditor, treasurer and the president of council — to institute a hiring freeze,” Swank said. “They don’t have to do it.”
Patterson said the city’s ability to maintain its general fund — including nearly 200 full-time jobs — depends upon voters’ adoption of a 0.2% city income tax increase in the May 5 election.
The 0.2% income tax increase would raise the tax from 1.95% to 2.15%, generating an additional $1.8 million for the general fund annually. The general fund covers personnel costs for city departments such as police, fire, law director, court, code enforcement, streets, arts, parks and recreation, and the mayor’s office.
Patterson said he, Service-Safety Director Andy Stone, and Human Resources Director Ron Lucas will look at each full-time position to determine whether it needs to be filled or can remain vacant.
“This is really letting the public know that we are looking closely at employees for the city of Athens,” Patterson said.
Asked by council member Paul Isherwood, At-Large, if he could institute a hiring freeze on his own, Patterson said, “I can.”
The hiring freeze would not affect part-time or seasonal positions, such as lifeguards at the city pool, Patterson added. Part-time employees do not receive benefits including healthcare coverage.
Council member Beth Clodfelter, At-Large, spoke in support of the hiring freeze.
“It’s never a good thing when you have to implement a hiring freeze,” Clodfelter said. “But to me, a hiring freeze is much better than actually cutting jobs. And that may be the kind of decision the city has to face. The budget really is tight.”
Auditor Hecht did not immediately return a request for comment regarding the city’s cash reserves.
Public dim on proposed streetlight utility
The City and Safety Services Committee discussed Monday a proposed new utility fee for streetlights. That fee would cost households an additional $30 annually, or $2.50/month. The topic received substantial discussion once again Monday night, including pushback from audience members.
No action was taken to move the streetlight utility fee forward as an ordinance. It will be discussed again as an agenda item during an upcoming council committees meeting.
The proposal is a way for the city to pay for the 700 streetlights that the city leases from American Electric Power, as well as another 400 city-owned lights. Those lights cost $160,000 per year to electrify.
If adopted by the council, the proposed streetlight fee would generate an additional $167,000 for the city. The fee would be paid by 4,772 residential account holders, 597 commercial accounts and 11 industrial accounts.
Aaron Thomas, resident of Avon Place, said the cost of living for those who want to work and retire in the city is a growing burden. He said some city jobs have remained unfilled because city workers have difficulty living in a city where some housing units rent for $1,800 per month.
Thomas said though it doesn’t seem like much, $30 more per year on a city bill is the same as some basic needs, such as “two gallons of orange juice and a pound of bacon.” He noted that a considerable proportion of city residents are on fixed incomes.
Combined with existing levies and the city’s proposed income tax increase, utility costs make it increasingly difficult for people in a city where the median household income is under $50,000, Thomas said.
“We have to watch how much tax we put on citizens in this town to keep this town running,” Thomas said.
He added that even parking fees affect citizens and noted that Athens is generally more expensive to live in than other areas of Southeast Ohio, such as Jackson and Logan.
Despite a higher poverty rate and median household income than both Jackson and Logan, Athens is a more expensive place to live, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and MIT’s Living Wage Calculator.
Holden Hodges, of Richland Avenue, said the city should view the streetlight utility proposal as a regressive tax — one with a higher impact on those with lower incomes. The city should consider making the streetlight utility fee a “progressive taxation strategy,” a tax that is higher for those with higher incomes.
Swank said the city may be able to secure a better rate for its streetlights electricity from Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, a nonprofit aggregator that offers bulk-negotiated natural gas and electricity rates to its members. Swank said one option is to buy, rather than lease, AEP-owned streetlights in the city.
Michael Wood, 3rd Ward, said there is no guarantee the streetlight utility rate charged to city customers would not increase considerably over time.
Patterson said a solar array with a microgrid could be an answer for reducing costs of the 400 city-owned streetlights, but there would be an “upfront cost” for the conversion. Patterson described a microgrid as a large battery that collects solar energy during the day and stores it at night.
In other matters Monday:
- The council heard first reading of an ordinance — but voted against suspending the rules for immediate passage — to allow the city auditor to reduce 2026 year-end appropriations. The ordinance would allow Hecht to identify line items in the budget that could be cut to reduce spending, something typically done later in the calendar year. With Hecht absent Monday, Swank and other council members said they did not feel comfortable adopting the ordinance without being able to ask questions. They mentioned the high cost of paying a $750,000 income tax refund to an unnamed business due to a state-mandated net operating loss carryover law, through House Bill 5 passed in 2014.
- The council also heard first reading of Ordinance 05-26 to authorize the auditor to make interfund transfers for various payments. Clodfelter asked why a general fund line transfer to the cemetery fund was $73,000, which seemed high. Patterson said he would look into it.
- The Planning and Development Committee, chaired by Swank, moved forward a proposal to annex property into the city to allow expansion of Hugh White Honda on Columbus Road. The related ordinance will require three readings and a public hearing March 16. The committee also heard that the 317 Board is seeking to rezone three acres on Dairy Lane from educational zoning to R-3, multifamily housing, to build approximately 15 housing units serving clients who need “sober living” environments. The project’s timeline has been slowed at the request of the developer, Swank said. The forthcoming ordinance is likely to come in March and will include an April public hearing.
- The Transportation Committee discussed the city’s progress on an intergovernmental relations agreement with Athens Township for the city to control and maintain Theatre Lane. The item is related to the annexation of property for the expansion of Hugh White Honda.
- Community members including Mary Abel mentioned that Gwyneth Philips, of Athens, 25, will make her Olympic debut Friday morning with the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team in Italy. Philips was a standout hockey player at Northeastern University and currently plays for Ottawa Charge. She helped complete a 4-3 gold medal game victory over Canada in the 2025 World Championship. Abel said Philips is more than worthy of recognition by the city.
Athens City Council’s next regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9 at Athens City Hall, Council Chambers, third floor, 8 E. Washington St. Meetings are also streamed online. Regular sessions are on the first and third Mondays of the month; committee meetings are on the second and fourth Mondays.
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