Versailles adopts drinking-water protection plan and unanimously approves emergency levies for fire, EMS

Versailles Village Council on May 28 adopted a drinking-water protection plan required by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and, in the same session, approved emergency tax levies for fire protection and emergency medical services by unanimous votes.

The council approved Resolution No. 25-26, appointing a Drinking Water Protection Team and endorsing the 2025 Drinking Water Protection Plan. Village Administrator Francis told the council a source-water plan must be filed with the Ohio EPA and that the legislation needed to be submitted by June 1. The council moved to declare the measure an emergency, suspend the rules, and read the resolution by title three times before approving it.

Council members then considered two separate levy resolutions. Resolution No. 25-27 would levy a tax in excess of the ten-mill limitation for fire protection; Resolution No. 25-28 would do the same for Emergency Medical Services. For each measure members moved to declare the resolution an emergency, suspend rules, read by title and adopt. Each measure passed on unanimous voice votes recorded in the minutes as "all yeas." Present council members were Mr. Griesdorn, Mr. Steinbrunner, Mrs. Dieringer, Ms. Shaffer and Mr. Weaver; Mr. Paulus was absent.

The council cited the statutory notice process in discussing liquor-licensing rules earlier in the meeting; the transcript also records a cited statute when the council reviewed a D3 liquor-permit notice (Ohio Revised Code Section 4303.26(A)).

What happens next: the drinking-water protection plan will be filed as required with the Ohio EPA and the levy resolutions, having been adopted as emergency measures, were carried by unanimous vote. The meeting minutes record each adoption but do not include further procedural details such as effective dates or ballot timelines in the transcript.