Fostoria enters Discover class-action lawsuit

FOSTORIA — Fostoria City Council on Tuesday night approved an ordinance allowing the city to participate in the Discover Card Merchant Class Action Settlement, which is a proposed fund of up to $1.22 billion for businesses that were overcharged by Discover's alleged misclassification of consumer cards as commercial cards between 2007 and 2023.According to the lawsuit, higher interchange fees resulted from the misclassification. Agencies that accepted Discover during that period have until May 18 to file claims at website www.discovermerchantsettlement.com."I have no idea," Mayor Don Mennel said of whether Fostoria has any funds to recover. "It's worth a shot. It's probably one of those things that will take two or three years to get resolved. We just feel it's important that we enter it just in case there is money there. We have no idea whether there will be or not."Mennel noted during the meeting that the Ohio Department of Health will have a mobile unit at the Fostoria Learning Center, 342 Perry St., between 10 a.m., and 6 p.m. Members of the public will be able to receive flu shots, have various health screenings done and have other matters addressed.Council heard first readings of proposed measures regarding the vacation of a road portion, a fire/ambulance contract, the auctioning of various materials and the reappropriation of funds. No proposals to waive the three-reading rule prior to passage could be made due to a lack of a quorum, with council members Tom Baker and Sue Lehmann absent. Council excused both absences.Finance Director Steve Dandurand told finance committee members prior to the council meeting that the city is drawing close to petitioning the state auditor's office to be released from the fiscal emergency status which it has had since 2016. Dandurand has said that he does not plan to stay on as finance director beyond the expiration of his contract in October. With that in mind, the finance committee has tentatively scheduled a second February meeting, on the 17th of the month, to move toward finding Dandurand's replacement.