Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Village council in Walbridge hosted a special meeting on April 28, where members unanimously approved the full-time hirings of Seth Austin and Matt Sell.
Austin is being hired as a police officer at Step 1 pay, or $20.95 per hour, while Sell joins the maintenance department at Step 3 pay, or $21.78. Both are effective immediately.
“In the maintenance department, we were looking for a full-time person to replace somebody we lost, so (Sell’s hiring) brings us back up to full staffing,” Walbridge mayor Ed Kolanko said. “The hiring of Seth Austin does help get our staffing numbers back up in the police department, but we are still lacking individuals. We are still looking for staff to get us back to full-time.”
In related news during the same meeting, council voted 4-2 against the hiring of Eric Zakrzewski as a full-time police officer pending a recent arbitration hearing.
“There is some arbitration issues regarding a situation that he has with Perrysburg, and I think council would like to see the results of that before moving forward,” Kolanko said. “We’re still actively looking to find staff to fill vacancies.”
The next regular council meeting in Walbridge is slated for May 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the administration building.
