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Amherst council advances multiple labor and pay ordinances, removes longevity clause from several job ordinances and adopts mobile-vending rules
Summary
The Amherst City Council unanimously moved a slate of labor and compensation ordinances to later readings, voted to remove Section 11.1 (a longevity calculation) from several employment ordinances at the mayor’s request, and adopted a mobile-vending ordinance (O25-29). Votes were largely 6–0; details for each ordinance were sent to second or third readings as recorded.
The Amherst City Council on Nov. 24 advanced a series of labor contracts and compensation ordinances to further readings, approved an amendment deleting a longevity clause from several job ordinances, and adopted a mobile-vending ordinance.
At the start of the ordinances block, the council moved item 6a — an ordinance approving a collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees for 2026–2028 — to a second reading; the motion passed on a unanimous roll call vote. The council likewise voted, without discussion, to send items 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e and 6f (covering salaries, benefits and collective bargaining agreements for various units and the 2026 interim budget) to the second reading, each motion passing 6 to 0.
A second group of ordinances (items 7a through 7j), largely focused on wage rates, benefits and conditions of employment for specific city positions, was moved to third reading by unanimous roll calls. Among those were ordinances addressing the auditor’s salary (7a), wage and benefit changes for nonbargaining employees (7b), pay for the Office on Aging director (7c), and compensation for utility and water-pollution supervisors (7e).
The meeting recorded several procedural amendments at the mayor’s request concerning Section 11.1, a clause describing how longevity is calculated relative to regular base pay and overtime. The mayor asked that Section 11.1 be removed from the ordinances affecting the fire chief (7h), the police chief and lieutenant (7i), and the full-time civilian police administrator (7j). Council members moved and seconded amendments to remove Section 11.1 from items 7i and 7j; each amendment was approved by roll call vote, 6 to 0, and the amended ordinances were then sent on to the third reading.
On third reading, the council adopted item 8a, which amends Chapter 1153 of the codified ordinances of the City of Amherst regarding mobile vending. The clerk recorded the ordinance as O25-29. The motion to adopt was seconded and passed by unanimous roll call, 6 to 0.
Council actions were procedural and unanimous for the items recorded at this meeting; formal adoption occurred for item 8a. Other items were advanced for further consideration at subsequent readings. The council also accepted administration reports and adjourned at 7:33 p.m.
Quotes from the meeting capture the tenor of the session: "I would like to remove that," the mayor said when asking to delete Section 11.1 from multiple ordinances. Auditor Brenda L. Phillips noted of the city's fiscal reporting, "This award is presented for excellence in financial reporting," after the city received the Ohio Auditor of State Award with Distinction for fiscal year 2024.
Next steps: most of the labor and compensation ordinances were advanced to second or third readings as noted; item 8a has been adopted as Ordinance O25-29. Future council agendas should list the amended versions of affected ordinances for third-reading consideration and possible final votes.
