(Posted April 14, 2017)
By Amanda Ensinger, Staff Writer
In an effort to continue to recoup funds, Mount Sterling Village Council is discussing ways to reduce expenses.
The board discussed passing a resolution to suspend pay raises for village employees and also considered establishing a percentage of the health insurance premiums that employees will have to pay.
“At this time, we will not be voting on these resolutions,” said Mount Sterling Mayor Lowell Anderson. “We need to have further discussions about these items first.”
Council plans to re-evaluate these resolutions at its next meeting.
Council also did not vote on a proposed resolution to contract for the position of village law director, saying they also needed to talk about this further, too.
Council heard a presentation by Madison County Public Health about insect protection for the summer.
“We have applied for the Ohio EPA 2017 mosquito grant to help you this summer,” said Jennifer Michaelson, director of environmental health for Madison County Public Health. “The grant would help with spraying, as well as staffing and mileage.”
According to Michaelson, each community in the county is responsible for their own mosquito spraying. Most communities only spray in areas that are nuisance areas or receive a lot of complaints.
If approved, the grant would provide Mount Sterling with $4,000 towards mosquito prevention, as well as $4,000 for Plain City and West Jefferson.
Michaelson said they also plan on using larvicide on abandoned pools, boats and rain barrels throughout the village this summer.
“Any containers that can’t easily be dumped will receive this,” she said. “This won’t fix the issue of the standing water, but it will avoid a mosquito issue.”
Michaelson said they will continue trapping mosquitoes this summer and testing them for Zika and other dangerous diseases.
“I also want to remind people the best way to protect themselves from mosquitoes and ticks is to wear repellent,” she said. “If people don’t want to wear this, then long pants and a long shirt is the best protection.”
For information on Mt. Sterling, visit www.mtsterling.org.
