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Athens council approves parking waiver, retirement incentive, tax-code updates and a firefighters' contract
Summary
Council adopted several ordinances March 16 including a temporary parking waiver for winter break, a 2026 employee retirement incentive, municipal income tax code updates and a three-year firefighters contract; the meeting also opened citizen input for a rental-inspection study and noted local shopping-cart thefts.
The Athens City Council on March 16 approved a package of routine and administrative measures, including a temporary suspension of the continuous-parking rule, a retirement incentive program for city employees, amendments to the municipal income tax code and a three-year contract with the firefighters' union.
Ordinance 11-26 suspends Athens City Code 7.05.03 (continuous parking in the same location) from Sunday, Dec. 13, 2026, through midnight on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2027, a short-term waiver the council described as the annual, routine accommodation used when fewer people are in town.
Ordinance 12-26 establishes a 2026 employee retirement incentive the administration said is intended to reduce workforce size where appropriate and help balance revenue and expenditures amid rising healthcare costs.
Ordinance 13-26 amends Title 17 (municipal income tax) to update definitions and refund provisions to align with recent "OC" tax code additions, as presented at prior committee readings.
The council adopted Ordinance 14-26 to approve an agreement with Athens City Firefighters Local 3351 and Ohio Council 8 AFSCME AFL-CIO concerning wages and working conditions. The chair said the contract runs three years with a wage reopener later this year.
In communications, the council announced a volunteer-led rental inspection processes subcommittee established under Resolution R 0425 is seeking public input through surveys open until May 31. The announcement said there are separate surveys for landlords/property managers and for tenants, that the tenant outreach includes distribution on the Ohio University campus and city channels, and that responses will be reported only in aggregate. The chair summarized the effort: "The goal is to support the important work of the Athens code inspectors and recommend a system that maximizes efficiency and effectiveness and can serve as a model for the other university communities."
Member Swank raised a separate community concern about approximately 20 shopping carts found on Charles Street and estimated their replacement value at about $800 apiece ("$16,000" total), urging residents not to remove store property and noting managers were working to recover carts. The chair also noted a recent tour of the fire department headquarters with Chief Rhymer and praised the department's services.
Most of these measures were adopted with routine motions and a call for the vote; the transcript records adoption but does not include roll-call tallies in the meeting text.
