Trustees told to pay $46,090 after state finds prevailing-wage shortfall on Norwich fire station

Durland L. Workman, chairman of the Norwich Township Board of Trustees, and the board in December 1981 confronted a state finding that the township owed $46,090.59 in back wages for labor on the new Norwich fire station. The Ohio Department of Industrial Relations informed the trustees in a Dec. 8, 1981 letter that an inspection showed instances where laborers received less than the prevailing wage and that $46,090.59 was due; the agency warned it would take legal action if the amounts were not satisfied.

The finding prompted outreach from the Auditor of State and the Franklin County prosecutor. A Dec. 16, 1981 letter from the Auditor’s office and a Dec. 14 opinion from the county prosecutor urged payment in order to comply with Chapter 4115 of the Ohio Revised Code and to avoid statutory penalties. In advice recorded in the minutes, the prosecutor advised that although the township had relied on earlier legal counsel, that advice was erroneous and the safest course was to pay the computed back wages and obtain a written statement from the state that the matter was settled.

Trustees then voted to issue a check for the $46,090.59 figure to McKnight Development to cover the difference identified by the state. The minutes record a motion to write the check and that the motion carried after discussion. The minutes do not show an itemized disbursement to individual workers; the Department of Industrial Relations letter recommended payment be supervised so each affected employee got the appropriate amount.

The prevailing-wage finding and trustees’ approval to satisfy the amount brought a legal close to earlier contract decisions: the board had previously awarded the new fire-station contract to McKnight Development after opening multiple bids and approving construction change orders. The minutes show trustees had also sold the No. 1 firehouse at public auction and were coordinating related tasks such as paving, inspections and final acceptance of the new building.

The department’s Dec. 8 letter stated, in part, that payment of the back wages and a written assurance of future compliance would permit the matter to be settled “to the satisfaction of all concerned.” The prosecutor’s office advised the trustees that payment would avoid the risk of statutory penalties and recommended paying the $46,090.59 to the prime contractor under the supervision of the Department of Industrial Relations so that each laborer would receive his share.

The board’s action resolved the immediate administrative risk identified by state reviewers; the minutes show trustee votes recorded as ‘‘Aye’’ on the motion authorizing the payment. The file in the minutes includes the department and auditor letters and the prosecutor’s recommendations dated December 1981.