Cheviot mayor cites roadwork, property sale and asks council to review equal pay for staff

Mayor Sam Keller delivered the State of the City report at the Cheviot City Council meeting on Jan. 6, outlining infrastructure work completed last year and urging the council to review an equal-pay proposal for administrative staff.

Keller said the Harrison Avenue "road diet" project has been completed and followed by additional roadway work. He also said the city secured Hamilton County funding to purchase the Cappel's building (ownership transferred to the city in 2022), which the city later marketed and sold for redevelopment; renovation of that property is currently under way.

Keller told council that contract negotiations are pending for the police, fire and public-works departments and that the city faces challenges retaining employees compared with neighboring jurisdictions. "I ask council to consider equal pay raises for administrative staff," he said, noting the matter will be reviewed by the Finance Committee.

The mayor's update places administrative pay and employee retention alongside the city's push to keep infrastructure projects moving and to facilitate private redevelopment of city-owned property. No specific dollar amounts or effective dates for pay proposals were provided at the meeting.

Also noted during the administrative reports: a pre-construction meeting is scheduled this week for Harding Avenue and Homelawn Avenue resurfacing, but a start date has not been set.

The council took no final action on pay increases at the Jan. 6 meeting; the Finance Committee will take up the issue at a scheduled meeting on Feb. 3.