City officials are following the example of Ohio University students vacationing during the summer.
Mayor Ric Abel will return from a three-week vacation after July 4th. As a full-time elected official earning a $66,702 salary, he can take time off as he chooses, said Beverly Henderson, the Athens City personnel director. A long vacation is unusual for the mayor, said city officials and Athens City Council members.
City Council President Bill Bias is the acting mayor in case of an emergency, but the mayor can be reached if necessary, said Service-Safety Director Ray Hazlett. Bias is a part-time elected official with a salary of $8,229.
The mayor and the city auditor, who are the only full-time elected officials in Athens, are comparable to administrators at Ohio University, who have five weeks of accrued vacation time each year, said City Auditor Kathy Hecht.
Hecht said she has never taken a vacation longer than one week or an extended weekend. But with the support of her experienced staff and with no council meetings to attend in August, she is considering taking some time off.
City Council members do not have official meetings in August, but are by no means off-duty, said Councilwoman Amy Flowers, D-at large. Council officials, who are employed part-time at a $6,619 salary, can be called back for meetings and are always available to hear from their constituents, council members said.
Council members work all the time'they don't just work on council night
said Councilwoman Carol Patterson, D-at large.
Councilwoman Nancy Bain, D-3rd Ward, said taking time off from meetings allows the city to catch up on policy changes.
An August recess allows them to wrap up end-of-the-year business by July and begin with budget and labor contracts in September, council members said.
Some of the Halloween issues need to be passed before August, but very little council business must be tended to before the break, Patterson said.
Councilwoman Debbie Phillips, D-4th Ward, said the break is partly a consideration for the students who are on summer break.
It's a good time of year for us to have a break because we don't want to undertake anything major while the students are gone said Phillips. When there are a lot of other folks out of town it's easier for us to take a break.
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Rebecca Black
