Council approves full-time assistant law director position amid staffing gap

The Tallmadge City Council voted to convert a part-time assistant law director position to full time and to appropriate $40,000 for the remainder of the year to fund the change.

Law Director Rebecca Raber told council the part-time assistant law director had given notice and would leave in July, creating an immediate vacancy. Raber said the law office's workload has increased because of additional video records requests (body-worn and cruiser camera footage), municipal prosecutions, and interdepartmental legal work. Raber said outsourcing some review work has been necessary but that a full-time in-house attorney would provide more capacity and reduce the need for outside counsel on smaller matters.

Raber asked council to approve an additional appropriation of $40,000 for the remainder of the year and said the amount includes funds for benefits at a band-8 salary midpoint; she said actual hiring choices would determine the long-term budgeted rate. Council members discussed whether to delay adoption until full attendance; Raber and several members said approving now would allow advertising and interviewing so a hire could be in place close to the ordinance's effective date. The ordinance passed 4-0.

Raber described specific drivers: expanded record requests and a new state law capping fees for video production, which increased the department's review workload. She said the part-time arrangement previously limited the applicant pool and that a full-time posting would likely yield more candidates and greater retention because of benefits.