Geneva will see new faces in 2017

GENEVA — The town will have a new fire chief and two new police officers come 2017.

Fire chief John Patch told Geneva Town Council on Tuesday evening that he will be stepping down from his position at the end of the year. He will remain with the volunteer fire department and Gabe Schwartz will replace him.

Patch, who works at Berne Ready Mix, held the top position for seven years and said the time commitment is the reason for his departure.

Town council members commended Patch for his years as chief.

“Thank you for your service and we appreciated you while you were doing it,” said council president Dick Clutter

“You’ve done an excellent job with the department. I know you had to go through some rough patches there. You did a good job with it,” added Jim Timmons.

Council also approved hiring two new deputy marshals for the town’s police department.

Seth Prince was hired to fill a newly created position in the department, which council approved earlier this year to offset town marshal Rob Johnson’s transition into the full-time position of workforce manager at the beginning of 2017. As workforce manager, Johnson’s position as marshal is expected to become more administrative.

Tyler Ritter-Butz was approved to fill the position of Jeremy Snow, who has submitted his resignation to take a position with Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department. Snow’s final shift will be Dec. 23.

Ritter-Butz is a current reserve officer with the town’s police department and Prince has previously served in that capacity, Johnson said.

After lengthy discussion, council members approved for nine full-time employees to receive a $20 per month cell phone stipend next year.

At council’s November meeting, clerk-treasurer Jane Kaverman proposed the idea of Geneva’s 10 full-time employees having smartphones with data plans, which would allow them to take photos and access town’s GIS system when working in the field.

Last month, Kaverman estimated the cost to be $40 per month per employee. At Tuesday meeting, she told council the cost for an AT&T plan would come to $42.99 per month per employee for a total of $5,158.80 annually. That cost didn’t include the expense of purchasing the phones.

Currently, Kaverman said four utility employees receive a $10 per month stipend for phone usage.

Council member Agnes Schoch said she talked with four other municipalities about how they handle phones for employees. Most have stipends, and only the City of Berne provided phones for all full-time positions, she said.

“None of the other towns, other than Berne, used it in an office position other than the mayor of the town,” Schoch said, adding she understood the need of Kaverman’s proposal but wasn’t sure if all full-time employees needed town cell phones.

Schoch also brought up issues regarding liability and whether the town would institute a policy on phone usage.

“Will someone have access to check the use or anything? I just don’t want the town to get in a position where we’ve got problems,” she said. “Not that we should have, but there’s no reason to open the door for it either without being careful and having something in place ahead of time.”

During discussion, Kaverman said she’d be OK with a stipend and withdrew her position from being included in whatever decision council settled on.

However, she said a stipend needed to be more than $10 per month.

“They do use their phones a lot,” Kaverman said.

Kaverman and Johnson said all the affected employees currently have their own smartphones and data plans.

Ultimately, council members settled on the $20 per month stipend, at a cost of $2,160 per year.

“I think that’s better than the $10 (stipend),” said Clutter, who added that the town can reevaluate the cost later on if needed.

In other business, council:

•Decided that council meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. in 2017. They currently start at 6 p.m.

•Received November’s fire report, which included four first responder runs, one assist and hazardous material training.

•Heard from Johnson that town crews recently completed repairs on Geneva’s skid-steer loader and front-end loader. He reported that crews also excavated the alley west of Main Street, between Butcher and Harrison streets, because of a faulty shut off valve. Crews installed a new service tap to a residence as well as a new shut off valve and meter pit.

•Decided that Clutter and Timmons will remain council president and vice president respectively for next year.

•Were informed by Johnson that a new pump costing $5,300 will be purchased to replace a failed one at the town’s lift station behind Red Gold. He also told council the town has installed its new generator and the old one will likely be removed in the spring and be sold via auction.