The Toledo City Council meeting started this week by talking about EMS. Emergency Services Director Greg Johnson spoke about the agenda item.

What he proposed was taking the one full-time paramedic, Jimmy Hicklin, down to part-time, and then hiring three more part-time workers. The part-time positions will pay between $20 and $25 an hour depending on the worker’s certification. This change will put EMS over budget, but the council thought it was necessary and approved the change.

A resolution for the FY25 City of Toledo employee wages passed with council member Vesely being the only no vote. A resolution to transfer some funds was approved.

The Public Works Department reported that a pipe at the water plant, which had dropped production recently, is in need of repairs. The blower is back at the sewer plant and working. There have been pump issues at the lift station and the downtown storm sewer is fixed. A current project of replacing part of the water main on West High street revealed the fact that water and sewer pipes were criss-crossed over each other, so they will need to be rerouted. The department is also learning the Silversmith program which allows work orders to be sent to iPads, instead of handing out paper copies.

Police Chief Dan Quigley reported that between June 10 and June 23, the department responded to 103 calls to service, and affected eight arrests. Of those 8 arrests, there were 16 charges filed, including one individual with 6 counts of indecent exposure. One individual was arrested twice within thirteen hours, and two other individuals had arrest warrants. There were also two juvenile referrals. Officer Vern Jefferson completed Defense Tactics Instructor certification, a first for an officer at the Toledo Police Department. Officer Dickinson completed firearms instructor recertification, and Officers Ryan and Dickinson attended ARIDE certification. The department completed training on the use of stop sticks. The Durango is again having problems and is in the shop. Officer Dickinson is nearly complete with his field training, then will be out on his own.

City Attorney Michael Marquess reported that nuisance abatement reviews are scheduled for July 2. The City Clerk is working on year-end reports.