Rossford confirms Richard Sirocco as fire chief and swears in new police officer

Rossford City Council on Jan. 27 approved Mayor's appointment of Richard Sirocco as the city's fire chief and publicly swore in a newly hired police officer introduced as Richard Doan, who was presented to the council with family in attendance.

The council voted to confirm the mayor's nomination of Richard Sirocco as fire chief after a motion and second. The motion passed on a voice/roll-call vote with all members present voting aye: Echol, Oberdorf, Toth, Reynolds, Owen and Tinney.

Councilwoman Reynolds said she wanted to thank the outgoing chief and staff for their work during the transition. "I just wanted to express my endless gratitude to Chief Vasek for the hard work that he's put in with our department," Councilwoman Reynolds said. She called the appointment part of "onward and upward" for the department.

Mayor [name not specified] introduced the new police officer as "Officer Richard Doan" who goes by Ricky and asked him to stand for a public oath. During the introduction, the mayor said the officer "graduated from the Police Academy at Owens, top of his class" and noted the officer had won a "heart of a champion" award while at the academy and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Toledo. The officer was sworn in during the meeting; the oath included a pledge to support the U.S. Constitution, the laws of Ohio and the charter of the city of Rossford.

Lieutenant Ralph Veil was cited by the mayor as pleased with the new hire and council members and attendees were invited to welcome the officer and his family.

No further formal actions were recorded at the time concerning lateral hires, pay, or contractual terms for the hires; the appointment vote and the public swearing were the formal outcomes recorded in the meeting minutes.

The council moved to an executive session later in the meeting under the statutory authority stated on the agenda to consider the employment of a public employee.