Silver Lake council approves appropriation changes, equipment financing and intervenes in AT&T tariff case

The Village of Silver Lake Council on Jan. 21, 2025 voted unanimously to approve a series of budget amendments, fund transfers and contracts, including financing for a municipal Vacall vehicle and a contract to re-roof the Service Department building.

Council President Matthew Plesich presided as Finance and Appropriations chair Suzanne Garrett explained Ordinance 7-2025 to adjust appropriations after several police cruiser equipment purchases were encumbered in 2024. Clerk-Treasurer Sean M. Housley told council the administration recommended using part of the fiscal-year 2024 surplus to increase transfers and cover a larger down payment for a Vacall vehicle; Housley said the Village selected a financing quote that did not require the vehicle VIN to lock in terms because the unit is still being built. Mrs. Garrett moved to suspend the rules and adopt Ordinance 7-2025; the motion passed on a roll-call vote of 6–0.

The council then adopted Ordinance 8-2025, moving $25,000 from the General Fund (1001) to Accrued Liabilities (1002), $160,000 from the General Fund to the General Capital Fund (4101), and $40,000 from the Water Fund (5010) to the Water Capital Fund (5011), among other transfers. Housley said those transfers were discussed in last year’s budget process, but that an additional $120,000 for the Vacall would come from an approximate $300,000 general-fund surplus at year-end 2024. Mrs. Garrett moved to suspend the rules and adopt Ordinance 8-2025; the motion passed 6–0.

On planning and utilities, Council adopted Resolution 9-2025, which names the Village as an intervener supporting the Ohio Municipal League’s challenge to an AT&T tariff application at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Law Director Patricia Ambrose Rubright said the OML alerted municipalities that a community asking AT&T to relocate facilities in the right-of-way could be required to bear relocation costs under the tariff as written; the resolution directs the Village to participate in the PUCO proceeding. Mr. Kaplan moved to suspend rules and adopt the resolution; the motion passed 6–0.

Council also approved Ordinance 10-2025 to authorize the mayor to contract with the Summit County Legal Defender’s Office for calendar year 2025. Rubright said the updated contract sets the rate at $230 per case and shifts billing to monthly rather than twice yearly; the total 2024 expense to the Village was less than $2,000. The ordinance was adopted 6–0 after a motion to suspend the rules.

Finally, in Public Improvements, the council authorized Ordinance 4-2025 to award a contract to the Kozlowski Company to re-roof the Village Service Department. Engineers and service staff reported the roof area is about 8,000 square feet and that forty-to-fifty-year shingles were specified; council discussed metal roofing, building age and whether the pole-barn structure will outlast the shingle warranty. The re-roof ordinance was adopted 6–0.

Votes at a glance

• Ordinance 7-2025 (appropriation amendments; emergency): suspended rules and adopted 6–0. Mover: Suzanne Garrett; second: Phil Kaplan.

• Ordinance 8-2025 (fund transfers; emergency): suspended rules and adopted 6–0. Mover: Suzanne Garrett; second: Phil Kaplan.

• Resolution 9-2025 (support OML challenge to AT&T tariff; emergency): suspended rules and adopted 6–0. Mover: Phil Kaplan; second: Betsy Meyer.

• Ordinance 10-2025 (Legal Defender contract; emergency): suspended rules and adopted 6–0. Mover: Phil Kaplan; second: Betsy Meyer.

• Ordinance 4-2025 (Service Department re-roof; second reading then adopted): suspended rules and adopted 6–0. Mover: Chris Scott; second: Phil Kaplan.

Why this matters

The funding and transfer decisions make capital purchases and down-payments immediately available and use a portion of the Village’s 2024 surplus to finance equipment. The OML-backed resolution places Silver Lake alongside other Ohio municipalities challenging how AT&T’s tariff treats relocation costs for utilities in public rights-of-way — a matter that could shift relocation expense onto local taxpayers depending on PUCO rulings.

What’s next

Council instructed administration to proceed with the Vacall purchase under the selected financing terms and to execute the Legal Defender contract; the re-roof contract will move forward with the contractor selected. The PUCO proceeding on AT&T’s tariff will proceed outside council but with the Village listed as an intervener per the adopted resolution.