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TORONTO -- Two traffic-related issues and the use of the Civil Service Commission in hiring school personnel were among issues before Toronto Council on Monday.
First Ward Councilman Bob Bertram told council a traffic count was done from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 16 at the intersection of Franklin Street and Dennis Way by Quicksall and Associates of New Philadelphia.
The engineering firm has been hired by the city to determine whether the traffic pattern in the area near the state Route 7 interchange should be reconfigured.
Bertram expressed concern about higher volumes of vehicles there following completion of a housing development off Nebo Drive and because all three local schools and the city's new recreation center are on Dennis Way.
He said Monday he told the engineers the volume during the count might not have been typical because of the accumulation of snow that day.
He said Quicksall has agreed to conduct a second count and he expects to have results later in January.
Bertram also advised council of a company planning to do timbering in Wallace Heights and expected to transport the logs along Calvin Drive and James Way.
He said he advised the company it will need to post a $100,000 road use bond, to cover any damages to the city streets, and the city will monitor the vehicles' activity.
In other business, council received a legal opinion from attorney Matthew Baker regarding the city's civil service commission in hirings for the Toronto School District.
Baker cited Ohio Code 124:011, which states a city civil service commission will serve a school district whose territory is limited to that city.
Council President Frank McEwen noted the opinion echoes that of City Law Director Craig Allen and council agreed to forward it to Toronto Superintendent of Schools Maureen Taggart.
Taggart had approached council about waiving the Civil Service examination for certain school personnel.
She said the exam is a deterrent for some applicants at a time when the school district is having some difficulty filling service positions.
Council also approved the final reading for 3 percent raises for the city's building maintenance technician, staff in the mayor's and city auditor's offices and the first reading for 3 percent raises for a dispatcher-secretary and two dispatchers in the police department as well as a court clerk appointed by the mayor.
Retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year, the raises reflect 3 percent raises approved for the city's police, firefighters and their chiefs earlier this year.