The Sylvania Township board of trustees has fired the manager of the zoning department, Tim DeWitt, and promoted Daryl Graus to associate planner.
After meeting behind closed doors to discuss the personnel matter, the board announced it fired Mr. DeWitt because of a disagreement over policies with township officials. He was hired in 2008 and was paid $67,000 a year.
Discussions have been held over the last couple of months about how much staff the department needs for adequate operation, said John Jennewine, chairman of the board.
The number was determined to be two rather than three. The other employee is an assistant planner. Trustees had said the biggest saving would be realized by letting Mr. DeWitt go.
"This has been a while coming," said Trustee Kevin Haddad. "There's been conflict for several years."
Mr. Graus joined the department in 2008 as an intern and became a full-time employee in 2009. He was zoning enforcement officer and has a degree in planning. He is to be paid $46,000 a year as associate planner.
The board unanimously approved requests for funding from four nonprofit organizations.
Approved was $10,000 for the Sylvania Area Family Services Center, $3,600 for the Ohio State University Extension Office, $3,000 for the Sylvania Community Action Team, and $2,000 for the Sylvania Arts Commission. Board members from each organization gave presentations before the trustees voted.
The organizations received the same amount last year, except for the extension office, which received $400 more last year. The funding for the organizations is in the township's 2012 budget.
Contact Ashley Streichert at: astreichert@theblade.com or 419-206-0356.