The Genoa village solicitor has resigned after more than two decades of service.
 Attorney Cindy Smith said she handed in her resignation March 2 to Mayor Mark Williams. She gave the village a month’s notice before leaving.
 In the job she held since 1988, Smith has offered legal advice, attended council meetings, and served as a member of the Village Records Commission, according to the Genoa village Web site.
 Last year, she earned $20,384 for the position, according to fiscal officer Charles Brinkman. The first $500 covered her retainer and the remainder went toward an hourly rate and mileage, he explained.
 “She has said her workload has increased,” Williams said, noting the solicitor’s chief reason for leaving. “… She has said it is just too much.”
 Her decision comes amid a time of turmoil for the village. The past year and half has been laden with a number of problems. Just a few examples include a harassment suit filed by a bar owner against the village police department, other complaints regarding the police chief’s ticketing practices, an employee uprising over changes in the staff handbook, as well as four challengers ousting incumbents in the November 2009  council elections. Once of those challengers was Eric Hise, the bar owner who had sued the village.
 In a telephone interview, Smith confirmed she is only leaving because of the workload.
 “This has been evolving for me for some time now,” she said.
 Two years ago, she closed her private practice. However, besides handling Genoa village business, she works as an assistant prosecutor three days a week at a Perrysburg office.
 Regarding her personal life, she pointed out her children are teenagers now and more active in school and extra curricular programs. The village’s night meeting schedule conflicts with a lot of their events, she said.
 “That’s really the real purpose of why I am doing it. Most working moms can appreciate that,” Smith said.
 Resigning as solicitor also will allow her to free up time for her own interests.
 “I do a tremendous amount of volunteer work and now I can devote even more time to it,” Smith said.

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