Typo leads to probate judge appointing new Madison Twp. trustee

Apr. 25—A typo on the bond required for a township trustee to take office means the Butler County Probate Court judge will appoint a new Madison Twp. trustee to replace Alan Daniel who was ousted on a corruption conviction.

Madison Twp. Trustee Brian McGuire told the Journal-News a series of unforeseen circumstances conspired to render their pick for Daniel's replacement ineligible to serve. As a result, Probate Court Judge John Holcomb will make the appointment,.

McGuire is hoping he'll pick their choice, Clearcreek Twp. Police Chief John Terrill.

McGuire and Trustee Jeff Willoughby appointed Terrill on March 3 — within the 30-day window they had by law to replace Daniel who resigned Feb. 6 — and he took the oath of office on March 15. However the Ohio Township Association Risk Management Authority (OTARMA) dated the bond March 16 instead of the appointment date.

"Two of the things a new trustee has to do, number one is they have to be appointed, take the oath of office but they also have be bonded by OTARMA," McGuire said. "Unfortunately there was a clerical error."

He said OTARMA admitted the mistake but the Butler County Prosecutor's Office told them they needed to vacate the position again and start over. By the time they were notified both of them were on vacation and couldn't get it done in time, so now it's in Holcomb's hands.

"We're hoping that he sees the mistake, the clerical error, and goes ahead and appoints John Terrill as a trustee," McGuire said.

Appointing replacements when a vacancy occurs is up to the two remaining trustees unless they cannot agree within a 30-day timeframe, then the responsibility shifts to the Probate Court judge per state law.

Holcomb told the Journal-News he hasn't been officially notified by the prosecutor's office he needs to make the appointment, he knows it's coming.

"If the two trustees are in agreement then I would likely respect the intent of the statute and appoint the person they agree on, even though the 30-day window is closed," Holcomb said. "I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel."

The last time the court appointed a trustee was in April 2016 when former Probate Court Judge Randy Rogers appointed Susan Berding to the Fairfield Twp. board after trustees Shannon Hartkemeyer and Joe McAbee could not agree who should fill the vacancy created by John McGinnis.

Daniel pleaded guilty Feb. 13 to two misdemeanor counts of using or authorizing the use of authority or influence of office to secure anything of value. In exchange for the guilty plea, the remainder of the charges, three of them felonies, were dismissed.

He was sentenced to 200 hours of community service, three years probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser insisted Daniel resign his township position as part of the guilty plea. He had already resigned as a Butler County Board of Zoning Appeals member.

The guilty pleas pertain to Daniel voting on zoning variances for properties his son, Todd Daniel owned at the corner of Keister and Middletown Germantown roads, clearing the way for a new Dollar General store and voting on road department raises when he should have abstained because his son is the township road supervisor.

Terrill told the Journal-News OTARMA issued a replacement bond with the corrected date and they could have used that, but in light of the Daniel turmoil he wanted a completely clean appointment process.

"I just was more comfortable, with the previous issues that were over there, I don't want to get into any of that really," he said. "But with the previous issues I just felt it would be a cleaner way on my part to start off, rather than having conflicting bonds and creating an argument."

New trustee needed in Ross

Ross Twp. is also in the throes of finding a replacement for Trustee Jen Patterson, who announced she will step down effective May 31 after a year on the job. This is the third time the board has had to appoint a peer in the past year.

Patterson was emotional when she made the announcement at a trustee meeting a few weeks ago. She said when she applied to the township to take over after long-time Trustee Tom Willsey's died, they had a family meeting and "not everybody in my house was on board at all."

"I said here's the deal, you have an obligation to serve, and we also have a family obligation so we'll continue to evaluate and we'll see how things fall," she said about her family discussion. "We have been wickedly upside down for about probably four or five months now, for family/township life balance."

She said "I would love to stick it out" but just can't.

Patterson and Trustee Keith Ballauer also had to replace Ellen Yordy when she retired in December after serving 19 years. They picked John Fisher, a county and township zoning board member and health science advisor in the pharmaceutical industry.

Ballauer told the Journal-News previously they would likely cull Patterson's replacement from the field of nine candidates remaining during the last search, but he and Fisher agreed after an executive session last week to open up the field.

"I think it's important to see who's interested and who's not interested out there," Fisher said. "I thought it was important to open it up. I think the more applicants we would have, the best fit we could find."

Township Administrator Laurie Kile said current applicants are Russ McGurrin, David Young and Jerry Stevison. She is accepting applications until May 15.

Ballauer said he hopes to have a new trustee on board by the beginning of June. He reiterated his previous thoughts about board appointments, saying he and Fisher "are put in a very strange position that we're interviewing and making a decision to put somebody in an elected seat."

St. Clair Twp. trustees also had to fill a board vacancy in the past year after 30-year board veteran Tom Barnes passed away in December. Trustees Dustin Gadd and Judy Valerio chose John Johnson, 62, a community leader in the Sharon Park neighborhood who is a pastor and counselor at the Cobblestone Community Church in Oxford.