SWANTON TOWNSHIP – It’s not unusual for a fiscal officer to reallocate money from one fund to another. But since her election to office in November 2025, new Swanton Township Fiscal Officer Mindy Curry has found a need to relocate funds multiple times.
“This is to document expenses properly and put them in the correct fund account,” Curry told township trustees during their March 10 meeting, as they acknowledged and approved a slew of transfer requests.
As an example, Curry said the previous administration was paying for garbage pickup out of the Roads and Bridge Fund instead of the General Fund. Legal expenses were being paid out of the Legal Salary Fund instead of the Accounting and Legal Fees Fund. And water service was coming out of the Operating Supplies Fund instead of the Water and Sewage Fund.
“We’re having to reallocate funds to be where they’re supposed to be,” Curry said, explaining that she has worked with the state auditor in order to make the township fund account numbers compliant.
Trustee Matt Beil said that, in the process, it was discovered that the township has spent $700,000 in the past five years for legal services.
“That was the prior administration. It will be a stretch if we spend $30,000 a year,” said Beil, explaining that all entities have some type of legal expenses.
Curry shared that the appropriation budget for legal fees included $150,832 for 2025; $100,000 for 2024; $200,000 each for 2023 and 2022; and $275,000 for 2021.
Resident Mike Tye expressed concern that the township might be headed into a shortfall, but Curry said that funds were in place to pay the bills, and that trustees were simply reallocating from one fund to another.
“We’re not in a bad position. We’re just moving stuff around to be compliant. The auditor said we need to do this,” Curry said, adding that many of these reallocations were verified by the state auditor.
Now that the funds are allocated in the correct area, Curry can work on submitting the permanent budget, which is due to the county auditor on March 31. Trustees approved her request to hire traveling Fiscal Officer Anthony B. Pranger at the rate of $45 per hour to assist with the finalization of the 2026 permanent budget. A contract was also approved with Charles E. Harris and Associates for $700 maximum to assist with the year-end financial statements and tax returns.
“Once the budget is ready for review by the trustees, a special meeting will be held for the trustees to approve it. The public is welcome to attend,” she said, adding that a special notice will be posted at swantontwp.org.
During the meeting, the trustees also:
-Listened to Beil say that a contract with Whitehouse Fire Department is set to expire. WFD covers the southern portion of the township while Springfield Township Fire covers the north. A new contract is expected to increase the cost dramatically, but specifics are not yet in writing. Fire and EMS coverage is paid for out of a 1.4 mill fire levy and 1 mill EMS levy that were approved in 2001. Beil plans to meet with Whitehouse and other surrounding fire departments to look at options to present in the coming weeks, but he cautioned that it will likely mean a levy.
-Thanked roads maintenance supervisor Anthony Peet and Mike Stinson for their work in fixing headstones in the cemetery. Peet explained that a tombstone jack is able to pick up a maximum of 15,000 pounds and allow time for the ground to be leveled. He estimates that 96 – some dating back to the early 1800s – need to be reset.
-Listened to a presentation by Laurie Manning of Hylant Group on options for insurance to cover property and vehicle liability through Ohio Plan Risk Management.
-Heard Trustee Bill Anderson say that the township now has a map of 911 calls from the county dispatch. A four-year rolling average of the number of calls coming into the call center from Swanton Township is used to figure how much should be paid for its 911 bill. Previously, calls were erroneously added to the call list, but that has been whittled to just five, added Beil.
– Listened to an update on the annual meeting with the Lucas County Engineer. Some upcoming projects include roundabouts at the intersections of Monclova and Wilkins roads and Providence-Neapolis-Swanton and Archbold Whitehouse roads. Both begin in June and will have 45-day closures posted on the township website. The trustees also learned that the township can request, at no charge, to have a traffic study to determine the correct speed limit on Reed Road, where 25 mph signs were improperly placed. Unless otherwise marked all township roads are 50 mph or 55 mph. Yellow horse crossing signs were also determined to not meet standards.
-Learned that the zoning board approved the use of temporary signs for the Greens at Oak Openings.
-Heard from Trustee Mike Nowicki that Zoning Commission members interviewed four qualified candidates for the zoning inspector position. After offering the position to one candidate, the board learned that he had a conflict of interest, and are now working with another candidate.
-Heard that T-Mobile is looking at adding additional cells onto the tower at SR 295 and Monclova Road.
-Listened to an update on the Arrowhead Lake Mobile Home Park violation letter sent in December to the owners – who have not responded or taken any action to correct violations. Nowicki said John Borell, the county’s assistant prosecuting attorney, is looking at options, and will attend the April meeting to share more, Nowicki said.
-Heard that Anderson is looking at a cemetery information management system to streamline the burial records that are currently kept in eight log books dating back to the 1800s.
-Learned that the Metroparks will have volunteers out in Oak Openings through October, monitoring birds, frogs and turtles. Beil said he will meet with the Metroparks quarterly to share ideas, including the best locations for gravel lots along Girdham Road, which is a major destination for birders in the spring.
-Appointed Bruce Wholf to the Zoning Commission.
-Approved a contract with Falcon Forge AI to assist in compliance with state requirements on cybersecurity. The township must be compliant, or at least show significant progress, by July 1 in order to avoid state penalties.
-Agreed to get quotes for updating the website, and to create a Facebook page for the township to make announcements. The township hall will now have internet service and a landline with the number (419) 826-9730.
-Heard that a previous trustee has not returned a key to the township hall as requested. The board agreed to have the locks redone on all the township buildings.
-Listened to James Stewart, of 12613 Airport Hwy., say that semi trucks are entering the business at 12545 Airport Hwy. at all hours of the night and idling for hours just 33 feet from his property, causing diesel smoke to come into his home. Trustees agreed that the new zoning inspector would look into it.
