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Canal Winchester prepares for city status
(by Linda Dillman - March 03, 2010)
Canal Winchester is preparing for cityhood in anticipation of the results of the 2010 United States Census.
Once it is officially determined the village has met or surpassed a 5,000 resident threshold to become a city, the Ohio Revised Code changes Canal Winchester's classification to city status and wheels are set in motion affecting operations.
Canal Winchester Fiscal Officer Nanisa Osborn prepared a document outlining impacts of the transition and distributed a draft copy to Canal Winchester Village Council at its March 1 meeting. She credited the first Charter Review Commission for foresight in developing a charter invaluable in the transition to city status.
"Due to the charter, Canal Winchester will be exempt from many statutory requirements that may have dramatically changed day-to-day operations," wrote Osborn. "This is not to suggest that there will not be recognizable changes in municipal operations, policies, and procedures."
Osborn noted some of the items village officials will need to address in regards to city status in the next few months include: civil services and collective bargaining for employees; transitional powers and duties for elected officials; increased responsibilities for state highways; and the creation of a health district.
The transition does not affect relationships with Madison, Violet, or Bloom townships.
According to Osborn, establishing a health district would be "expensive, with the state providing very little financial support...most revenue would come from the city's general funds, fees for services, and potential grants."
Canal Winchester could contract or combine with an existing health district.
According to Osborn, the charter-presently under review by the current Charter Review Commission for potential revision-as adopted by voters, will remain in effect once the village reaches city status. The commission is scheduled to meet on March 18 at 6:30 p.m.
"The changes brought about by the transition to the City of Canal Winchester can be both exciting and rewarding for our community," wrote Osborn.
Water bill changes
"I am frustrated with the changes in the water bill," resident Michele Ballinger told council. "I expected my bill to be due on the 15th. I cannot recall my water bill being due on any other day than the 15th. I opened it on the 13th and it said it was due on the 10th."
She added, "The city wasted no time in sending out a late notice. This is not about the $6.88 that was tacked on my water bill, but the principle of the matter and the poor business practice used."
Ballinger felt the village did not go far enough in alerting residents to the change in billing dates. She said there was no notice of the impending change on the previous statement or separate correspondence alerting consumers. She also took exception to prepaid postcard-format statements mailed in a stamped envelope, calling the practice wasteful.
Osborn addressed the change in billing, which was part of a November overhaul of the village's utility manual. Water meters are read on the first of the month. Because of a labor-intensive process, village-wide readings previously took approximately 40 hours to complete. Following the installation of an auto-read system, the process now only takes two hours and enables the village to get bills out much sooner.
"When we changed the utility manual, we changed the due date from the 15th to the 10th," reported Osborn, who said the new date was hand highlighted on every one of the more than 2,500 bills sent out by Canal Winchester.
Osborn said 469 second notices, including Ballinger's, were mailed to customers, which was up 10 notices over the previous billing cycle. Statements for the previous two months are mailed out on the 4th or 5th of the month and due the 10th of the following month.
"People have 30 days to pay their bill," said Osborn. "We do work with people who have gotten into some type of difficulty."
As for the redundancy in postage, Osborn said the mailing was a result of changes at the federal level compelling the village to mail statements in an envelope. As a cost-cutting measure, the old billing format is in use until the supply is exhausted and new statements are printed.
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