OPERS insurance rule leading Marblehead Mayor Bird to step down after 20 years

MARBLEHEAD - Marblehead Mayor Jacqueline Bird said she is stepping down sooner than she wants because of a frustrating rule of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS).

When her term ends on Dec. 31, she will say goodbye to a job she has cherished for 20 years. Her departure will end the Bird family legacy that has impacted the village since the 1950s.

Jacqueline’s father, Robert Bird, served on village council from 1952 to 1956 and was mayor of Marblehead from 1956 to 1980. Her brother, Thomas Bird, served on the village’s Board of Public Affairs from 1998 to 2012 and was president of the board when he died in 2012.

Bird has served village since 1997

Jacqueline served on village council from 1997 to 2004 and was mayor from 2004 to the present. In total, the Birds served the village for 69 years.

“My council told me it’s an end of an era,” Jacqueline said.

Robert Bird and his wife, Marian, were born and raised in Marblehead, and Robert only left to serve in WWII for four years. When Jacqueline was born, her family was living on “Millionaire’s Row,” so named because it was the only street in the village with indoor plumbing.

Robert was mayor when Jacqueline was born and remained in the position through her childhood.

“When I was finally old enough to vote, he didn’t run again,” she said. “He passed away in 1996, and he never knew I got involved in the village.”

Jacqueline was the first mayor sworn in at the Marblehead Lighthouse. The day was cold and snowy, but she was determined to begin her tenure under the light.

“It was my choice. The lighthouse is such a beacon for the village, and I thought it would be neat to be sworn in there,” she said.

Bird holds two jobs besides mayor

Jacqueline’s service to the village isn’t ending the way she wants. She is planning to retire sometime in the next few years from her two other jobs. She has been employed as the director of The Marblehead Bank since 2007 and as the Director of Social Services for the Ohio Department of Veterans Services at the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky since 1985. Her position as a state employee qualified her to participate in OPERS. She had planned to seek another term as mayor.

“When I talked to OPERS, they said I could retire and run for mayor, but if I got elected again, I would have to pay for my own insurance,” she said.

Jacqueline receives $6,000 annual pay as mayor, and her estimated insurance costs would be more than $13,000 annually, saying she has no choice but to leave the mayor’s office.

The Bird family has greatly impacted the village. Robert joined forces with former village councilman Bob Boytim to bring a Class III surface water system to the village in 1959. The system has been in continuous operation ever since.

Mayor worked to secure land for Clemons Park

Jacqueline was instrumental in helping the village acquire land that became Clemons Park.

“We worked on that for years and kept applying for grants. I wouldn’t let it go,” she said. “The reason I pushed that was because it was the last piece of land within the village limits that could be open to the public. Residents and visitors have an open area to get to Lake Erie.”

Jacqueline helped transition the village clerk job from an elected to an appointed position to create better consistency in the clerk’s office.

“Our audits are clean, and Marblehead was the first town in Ohio to have an Online Checkbook,” listing all village business transactions online, she said.

Jacqueline also had a hand in the merger of the Marblehead and Lakeside fire departments.

“It was for the health, welfare and safety of our community,” she said. “We realized we could accomplish more as one and provide better service.”

Jacqueline is saddened by her forced departure from the mayor’s office.

“Many tears were shed because I care about every citizen in this village,” she said. “I’m thrilled our president of council, John Starcher, has decided to run for mayor. John has been my righthand man. If I didn’t have John, I wouldn’t have made it 20 years.”

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at  sheritrusty4@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: Marblehead Mayor Bird says she is stepping down due to OPERS rule