Judges talk PIVOT, request funding

TIFFIN – At Tiffin City Council's first meeting of the year Monday, Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court Judge Rhonda Best and Seneca County Common Pleas Court Judge Damon Alt attended to discuss the PIVOT Recovery program and request additional funding from the city. Alt began by giving an overview of the program, which, according to him, is a "multi-jurisdictional specialized docket court." Both the Seneca County Common Pleas Court and Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court participate. Judges Alt, Best, and Steve Shuff are certified as "specialty docket court judges" by the Ohio Supreme Court. The certification process happens every three years and the next one will take place by the end of next year. The program takes participants about 15 months to complete; however, it can be completed in a shorter or longer period. "Our focus is on the best interest of an individual participant, completion of the program and their recovery," Alt explained. The four cornerstones of PIVOT are: show up, work hard, communicate and honesty. The program consists of five phases with phase one being 60 days and phases 2-5 being 90 days each. Participants in PIVOT sign a participant agreement, stating the rules and requirements of the program. Some requirements are undergoing random drug and alcohol testing, following program rules and meeting all the phase requirements. Alt said programming consists of cognitive skills, various groups, probation officer and case manager meetings. As participants advance in the program, requirements are less in the last two phases because those phases focus on utilizing the skills learned. The program incorporates rewards and sanctions for good behavior and bad behavior, respectively. "The purpose of PIVOT recovery program is not only to treat the participants but to change them as people. (To) make sure they have safe and stable housing, gainful employment, rebuild relationships with their family and loved ones, develop pro-social activity and assist them in their own recovery to prevent recidivism," Alt said. The three judges recently sent a letter to city council requesting funding for PIVOT. "Any allocation of funds from the city of Tiffin would be greatly appreciated because we are always looking to make sure we have the program in place," he shared. "We have already scaled back the program because we no longer have SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) funding, which is often funding to get the program started. There is no additional SAMHSA funding coming from the federal government, so the judges have been looking for local funding and grant opportunities. Seneca County Commissioners have allocated two-thirds of all future opioid settlement money through the OneOhio Foundation to the PIVOT program. Alt shared that the program also received $180,000 through the OneOhio Foundation. The judges have also reached out to the city of Fostoria to see if council can provide any additional funding along with continuing to apply for grants. Judge Best then discussed statistics about the program. "What I've noticed since I've been in the court is that the best intervention we can do is at the misdemeanor level," she said. "Get people early before things get out of hand, it's a really good time to intervene." Out of 34 participants, 21 participants have municipal court cases. There have been at least four program graduations since the county has taken over funding of municipal court participants. Best shared that when she took over as municipal court judge, she noticed there had not been much interaction between the municipal court and PIVOT and decided to change that. Council plans to discuss funding PIVOT at its next meeting. On another matter, Law Director Zach Fowler then reported on what his office did last year. He began by explaining what he does in his position, which is to be the legal advisor, attorney and counsel for the city is subject to the direction of council and shall represent the city in all court proceedings or before any administrative board or body, according to the city charter. The prosecutor's office for the city returned to direct oversight by the law director last year. That office includes an administrative, full-time prosecutor/assistant law director and part-time prosecutor contracted by the Seneca County Prosecutor's Office. The prosecutor's office has 133 open cases, having closed 241 cases in the last year. Of the 133 cases, 68 are traffic, 61 are criminal, three are traffic and one is civil. Fowler shared that city prosecutor Andy Boucher does a great job. "Andy is well appreciated," he said. "I think he is what I was looking for in a prosecutor." On the civil side of the department, the law director drafted 107 ordinances and 43 resolutions last year. He also handled civil litigation and real estate issues. The office's goals for 2025 are to continue to keep the codified ordinances updated, to create a welcome packet for new members, to attend seminars throughout the year, to continue to convert paper files to electronic and to hire or contract for a part-time prosecution in June. Council then passed the following resolutions and ordinances. Resolutions 25-1: authorizing the sale during calendar year 2025 of municipally owned personal property which is not needed for public use, or which is obsolete or unfit for the use for which it was acquired, by internet auction, according to Ohio Revised Code section 721.15(d) and declaring an emergency. 25-3: approving the mayor's reappointment of Mark Somodi to serve a three-year term on the ADA Advisory Committee from Jan. 1, 2025, until Dec. 31, 2027. 25-4: approving the mayor's reappointment of Amber Clason to serve a three-year term on the Architectural Board of Review from Jan. 1, 2025, until Dec. 31, 2027. 24-5: approving the mayor's reappointment of David Culp to serve a five-year term on the Julia M. Weller Memorial Commission from Jan. 1, 2025, until Dec. 31, 2029. 25-6: approving mayor's reappointment of George Fretz Jr. to serve a four-year term on the Park and Recreation Board from Jan. 1, 2025, until Dec. 31, 2028 25-7: approving the Mayor's reappointment of Danny J. Iannantuono to serve an unexpired term on the Park and Recreation Board from the date of this resolution until Dec. 31, 2027. 25-8: approving the mayor's reappointment of Jeff Kuhn to serve a six-year term on the Sewer Review Board from Jan. 1, 2025, until Dec. 31, 2030. 25-9: approving the mayor's reappointment of Christy Wiser to serve a five-year term on the Tree Commission from Jan. 1, 2025, until Dec. 31, 2029. 25-10: approving the mayor's reappointment of Dr. Susan Carty to serve a five-year term on the Tree Commission from Jan. 1, 2025, until Dec. 31, 2029. 25-11: approving the mayor's reappointment of Joan Martin to serve a four-year term on the Tiffin Recreation & Beautification Endowment Fund Board from Jan. 1, 2025, until Dec. 31, 2028. 25-12: approving the mayor's appointment of Dr. Nathaniel Beres to serve a five-year term on the Seneca County Board of Health from Jan. 1, 2025, until Dec. 31, 2029. Ordinances 25-1: amending the 2025 Budget Ordinance 2024-94 to provide funds for expenditures approved in 2024 for projects that were not fully completed in that year and must be carried over into 2025. 25-2: to amend the Civil Service Regulations for the Police Department's promotion requirements by amending Sections 149.031 and 149.032 of the Codified Ordinances and declaring an emergency. 25-3: to amend Section 143.03 of the Codified Ordinances to allow a new firefighter to obtain the Firefighter II certificate at an accredited program similar to the Ohio Fire Academy and declaring an emergency. 25-4: amending Section 2 of Ordinance No. 2024-95, the City pay ordinance, to correct the minimum wage amount for 2025 and declaring an emergency. The next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at city hall, 51 E. Market St., Tiffin.