Upper Arlington council passes personnel-code change, approves salary amendments and liquor-license transfer

Upper Arlington — At the city council’s final meeting of 2025 on Dec. 15, council members approved a third‑reading amendment to the city personnel code and voted to authorize salary adjustments for three direct reports, after hearing a short finance report and one public comment.

The council voted to pass Ordinance 44‑2025, an amendment to Chapter 155 of the Upper Arlington Codified Ordinances. City Attorney Shulman told council that one proposed change previously in the draft — relating to injury leave — had been removed at the request of the human-resources director and, in Shulman’s words, “there’s been no substantive change to what you’re voting other than that removal.” Shulman said the removed item was expected to be permanently tabled rather than reintroduced.

Finance staff had opened the meeting with a November report, noting year‑to‑date revenues were “still up almost 4% for the year” despite a recent run of refunds in the $20,000–$30,000 range. The finance director invited questions from council and reported generally solid results through 11 months of 2025.

Council also moved forward on Ordinance 49‑2025, the first-reading ordinance authorizing salary amendments for the city manager, the city attorney and the city clerk. A member of the public, identified on the record as Mr. Jenkins, urged caution and criticized aspects of the city’s master-plan media work as a possible “vanity project,” saying the first two salary increases “come to about $40,000.” Council members who spoke in support of the ordinance cited 2025 accomplishments — including work on the new community center — and praised the three direct reports for their performance; following discussion, the motion to adopt the ordinance passed.

The council also considered three notices from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control for new D2/D3 permits (for businesses identified in the notices) and registered no objections on the record. Council approved a request to transfer a liquor license from the T. Rex location to Buckeye SSC UA LLC (Sunny Street, 4733 Reed Road) for economic-development purposes after a motion, second and vote in favor.

The city manager provided a brief update on an isolated water intrusion at the new community center that staff and the fire department addressed quickly, and the meeting closed with formal commendations for two departing council members and an adjournment.

Votes at a glance - Ordinance 44‑2025 (personnel code amendment): motion passed (third reading). City Attorney Shulman explained one proposed injury‑leave change was removed at HR’s request and is being permanently tabled. - Ordinance 49‑2025 (salary amendments for city manager, city attorney, city clerk): motion passed (first‑reading action taken tonight to authorize the change); public comment was received and council discussion supported the increases. - Liquor‑license transfer (T. Rex → Buckeye SSC UA LLC, Sunny Street at 4733 Reed Road): transfer motion passed.

What it means Council’s actions finalize a personnel‑code amendment and move ahead with salary changes for three senior staff members; the votes also cleared a liquor‑license transfer and confirmed no objections to two new liquor‑permit notices. Financial reporting indicated stable revenues through November 2025, with a modest uptick year‑to‑date despite some recent refunds.

Next steps The ordinances recorded votes and will be handled according to normal ordinance‑adoption procedures; council did not indicate additional public hearings on these items at this meeting.