Northfield council approves settlement with OPBA over health-care payroll deduction grievance

The Village of Northfield council voted unanimously May 11 to approve a Settlement Agreement with the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association related to a grievance over health-care payroll deductions.

The issue was addressed after an executive session called by Law Director Brad Bryan to discuss collective bargaining and litigation. After the session, Councilmember Renell Noack moved—seconded by Gary Vojtush—to add the proposed Settlement Agreement to the agenda; Bryan told council the OPBA had not approved the agreement until after business hours on Friday, which is why it was not on the published agenda. The council approved adding the item by roll-call vote.

Gary Vojtush then moved to approve the Settlement Agreement; Noack seconded. The roll-call vote on the approval recorded votes in favor from Jesse Ferko, Renell Noack, Gary Vojtush, Nick Magistrelli, Alan Hipps and Kevin Lewis. The motion passed.

Law Director Brad Bryan had earlier requested the executive session to permit council discussion of collective bargaining and pending litigation related to the matter. The transcript does not specify financial terms of the settlement, the precise grievance language, or implementation steps; those details were not provided at the public meeting and are recorded here as not specified. The clerk recorded the votes and the meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.

Next procedural steps were not announced during the meeting; council minutes indicate the settlement was approved and will be implemented according to the agreement reached between the Village and the OPBA.