Xenia council ratifies AFSCME contract, launches citywide streetlight assessment and approves caboose acquisition

Xenia City Council on Jan. 23, 2025, ratified a three‑year labor agreement with AFSCME Local 101, voted to begin the process of a citywide streetlight assessment, accepted ownership of a historic red chassis caboose for $1 from the Greene County Historical Society and approved several other measures, including an ordinance introduction to rezone 234 Dayton Avenue and a resolution allowing a stipend for the municipal court chief probation officer tied to a recovery‑court grant.

The AFSCME tentative agreement—described by city staff as a three‑year contract negotiated in good faith—was ratified after the union informed the city it had approved the deal. City Manager and staff told council the agreement had been reviewed by finance and legal staff; council then voted to authorize execution of the contract. Council recorded the motion, and the vote carried.

Council also approved Resolution 2025‑004, initiating the statutorily required resolution of necessity to begin a citywide streetlight assessment process. City staff said the assessment would replace several smaller, preexisting lighting districts and would allow the city to shift the roughly $245,000 annual streetlight cost now paid from the general fund to property assessments. City staff provided an illustrative estimate of about $12 per $100,000 of appraised property value (for example, about $12 annually on a $100,000 appraisal), and said the assessment would be levied on all property types (residential, commercial and industrial). Staff said the process requires public notice and an objection period, and that assessments would likely be certified to the county in…