Council approves emergency ordinances fixing pay typo and updating administrative code

Oakwood City Council on Jan. 5 approved two emergency ordinances: one to correct pay rates on the city’s 2026 personnel pay schedule and another to update the Oakwood Administrative Code to reflect departmental and staffing changes.

Vice Mayor Steve Byington introduced Ordinance No. 5,026 to correct a typographical error in the recently adopted 2026 personnel pay schedule. Byington said the typo produced an inadvertent shortfall of $4.40 per hour in the maximum pay rates for two job classifications — the HR administrative assistant and accounting specialist #2 — and moved that the council adopt the ordinance as an emergency measure to ensure an accurate pay schedule for 2026. The motion was seconded and passed on a roll call where all five members voted yes.

Byington then introduced a second ordinance to amend multiple sections of the Oakwood Administrative Code so the code aligns with the city’s current organization and staffing. The amendments remove obsolete references (including an outdated Department of Water designation and the assistant/deputy city manager position), clarify that public works has a director separate from the city manager, authorize delegation of certain clerk duties to a zoning administrative assistant, and update merit system job titles to current usage. Byington moved emergency adoption for the reasons stated; the council approved the ordinance by roll call with unanimous support.

Both ordinances were presented as emergency measures, which the council said required a four‑fifths vote. Clerk Lori called the roll for each ordinance and Duncan, Byington, Turban, Jackson and Dorf recorded “yes.”