Amherst City Council adopts package of salary ordinances, bargaining agreements and interim 2026 budget

The Amherst City Council on Dec. 8 unanimously adopted a series of ordinances setting salaries and benefits for city positions, approved multiple collective bargaining agreements and passed an interim 2026 budget on an emergency basis.

Council moved quickly through a long agenda and approved consent minutes before taking up several reappropriation and salary ordinances. The council approved ordinances to reappropriate funds for medical insurance claims and to cover higher-than-normal police overtime through the remainder of 2025, and accepted donations appropriations for the police department from the American Legion and B and R Corporation.

Council members also approved a package of collective bargaining agreements covering multiple units for 2026–2028, including agreements with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and with the full-time and part-time patrol units and dispatcher units represented by the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. Each bargaining agreement was presented with an emergency clause and adopted following motions to suspend rules; every vote reported in the transcript was 7-0.

The council suspended the three-reading rule and adopted the 2026 interim budget on an emergency basis after the auditor asked the body to act so the interim budget (Item A2555) could be delivered to the county before the end of the year to remain in compliance. “That is something that we do need to get to the county before the end of the year, so we want to stay in compliance,” the auditor said while asking the council to consider suspending rules and approving the budget that night. The council approved the suspension and then adopted the interim budget, with the clerk recording the final ordinance number as part of the clerk’s usual process.

The meeting also included adoption of numerous wage and benefit ordinances for nonbargaining employees and individual positions — including the auditor, treasurer, fire department leadership and various department supervisors — all carried unanimously. Several items explicitly declared emergencies so they could be adopted on shortened timelines, and the council repeatedly used the motion-to-suspend-rules process to act that evening.

Mayor remarks during administration reports noted operational matters: leaf pickup had been mostly completed, snow-removal equipment was ready, and the administration thanked staff for finalizing the pay and benefit ordinances before the new year. The mayor also acknowledged departing council and administration members and welcomed Treasurer-elect Lehi Miller to the meeting. “The employees are gonna appreciate knowing what their wages and benefits are starting in the next year so we can hit the year running,” the mayor said.

No members of the public addressed agenda items during the public-comment portion of the meeting. With routine business completed, the council accepted administration reports, acknowledged receipt of the November reports from the auditor and treasurer, and adjourned at 7:32 p.m.

The ordinances and agreements adopted at this meeting were recorded in the clerk’s office and carry ordinance numbers as announced in the meeting transcript. Any interested party may consult the clerk for the formal ordinance texts and the finalized ordinance numbers.