Fostoria council approves OPBA labor pacts, corrects contract term and appoints Damon Smith as finance director

The Fostoria City Council unanimously approved two labor agreements with the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association: a contract covering regular full-time patrol officers and detectives, and a separate agreement covering dispatchers.

The patrol officers’ agreement was adopted with terms initially stated as running through January 31, 2028 but corrected on the record to end Dec. 31, 2028 after a council member noted the typo and the council amended the motion to change the concluding date. The corrected patrol contract term now runs Jan. 1, 2026 through Dec. 31, 2028. The dispatchers’ unit contract was adopted for June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2029. Both motions were moved by Councilmember Layman and carried on unanimous roll calls.

In miscellaneous business the council also appointed Damon Smith as director of finance and adopted the related ordinance adjusting the compensation structure for the finance director. The appointment was moved and seconded, the council suspended the three-reading rule, and the appointment carried unanimously as Resolution 2026-22; the compensation ordinance was adopted as Ordinance 2026-23 after an amendment to correct a salary figure.

The meeting record shows no dissent on the labor pacts, the appointment or the compensation ordinance. Council directed staff to finalize the labor agreements’ administration and to record the appointment and compensation changes in personnel files and the city payroll system.

Next steps: city administration will implement contract terms for the patrol and dispatch units and finalize onboarding and payroll for the new finance director.