Showdown at Findlay city hall

FINDLAY — An ongoing dispute over Findlay's electronic timekeeping system burst into full public view on Tuesday, with the city auditor and mayor firing off dueling letters that exposed a widening rift inside city hall. The clash unfolded in a flood of letters released in Tuesday's council packet, where Auditor Jim Staschiak accused Service-Safety Director Rob Martin of refusing to use the city's ExecuTime system and failing to report his hours accurately. In a letter to council, dated Feb. 25, Staschiak said the issue is straightforward: Martin continues to accrue vacation and sick leave, but without reliable time records, the auditor's office cannot verify how much he has actually earned. On Feb. 27, Muryn fired back in a separate letter, calling the auditor's claims "a petty attempt to tarnish the reputation of the administration" and warning that he had overstepped his legal authority. Together, the dueling letters — joined by union grievances, legal opinions and months of internal correspondence — laid bare a deepening fight over who controls how the city tracks hours, leave and payroll across all its departments. The packet's sheer volume — dozens of pages tracing years of conflict — showed a governing rift that has now moved squarely into the public arena. Council voted 9-1 in regular session Tuesday to refer the issue to its Finance Committee, with Councilwoman Heather Kensinger, R-at-large, opposed. Before the vote, Kensinger said the issue should be resolved by the auditor and city administrators. The committee meeting will be held on March 17, with the time still to be determined. According to Staschiak's letter, if Martin had left the city on Jan. 17, his unused vacation time would have cost taxpayers $7,976, and his sick‑leave payout could have reached $11,276. Staschiak wrote that Martin "has not reported his time accurately" and had informed the auditor's office "that he does not intend to use this system," referring to ExecuTime. He added that Martin instructed the city's human resource director "not to utilize the timekeeping system," a directive the auditor argues undermines his ability to verify payroll and track leave. Because the service-safety director's position accrues vacation and sick leave, he warned that the city faces financial exposure if those hours are not tracked correctly. Staschiak said state law allows the auditor to "require evidence that such amount is due," including sworn testimony, and said the situation now demands council action. He outlined potential solutions ranging from reclassifying the position so that leave no longer accrues, requiring Martin to use ExecuTime or requiring council to certify Martin's hours "on a pay‑by‑pay basis." Muryn accused the auditor of "a petty attempt to tarnish the reputation of the administration" and wrote that his approach "is preventing the administration from exercising authority" granted to it under the Ohio Revised Code. Muryn argued that demanding clock‑in/clock‑out compliance from salaried leaders makes no operational sense, writing, "The notion that Director Martin must clock in or clock out is frivolous." She said the auditor's logic would require Martin to have 'clocked in' at the start of his tenure … and he would only 'clock out' upon his eventual departure. She called that reasoning an "absurdity." Muryn also accused the auditor of mishandling the rollout of ExecuTime, writing that his office has fostered a "culture of 'gotcha'" that has damaged internal trust. She asked council to move the issue to committee for a deeper examination of legal boundaries and bargaining obligations. The mayor's frustrations were echoed earlier in a Jan. 20 letter to Law Director Robert Feighner Jr., also contained in Tuesday's packet. In that document, she wrote that ExecuTime was introduced "without prior discussion with the administration" and has "significantly increased payroll processing time across departments." She cited examples of field employees being required to return to their shops solely to clock out for lunch — a practice she said "undermines a culture of trust and professionalism" and increases fuel, time and maintenance costs. She also raised legal concerns about mobile location tracking that "could expose the city to legal risk." The letter asked Feighner to determine whether the auditor has authority over timekeeping methods or only the data required for payroll. Feighner answered in a Feb. 6 memo, writing that the auditor "can prescribe the form of accounts and reports," but day‑to‑day departmental management falls under the mayor and the service-safety director. He described the battle as a "fine line" between fiscal oversight and operational control and said the timekeeping issue occupies a "gray area" that demands collaborative decision‑making. "The real resolution rests with cooperation," Feighner wrote. That the issue has long frustrated the city's public safety unions. A grievance filed Aug. 29, 2024, by the Findlay Police Employee Association-Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (OPBA) Local 1322 states: "Time clocks are not a practical tool for keeping track of officers." The union described ExecuTime as "a hindrance" and said "the only remedy is to remove time clock use" for patrol officers. Findlay Police Chief James Mathias, who received the grievance, wrote in his response that he "cannot remedy at my level," and said he was sending the complaint up the chain for further review. Firefighters raised similar objections through their union. A Dec. 15, 2025, letter from the attorney representing the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 381 warned the auditor that installing time clocks in the fire stations without bargaining is an unfair labor practice. An additional Oct. 27, 2025, communication from fire union leaders said ExecuTime affects overtime, shift exchanges and leave, which are all issues "subject to collective bargaining per Ohio Revised Code 4117." The administration formalized its stance in a February 2026 directive declaring the fire department "shall not utilize time clocks" and that "all salaried employees shall not use time clocks." The directive was issued jointly by Muryn and Martin. Departments were instructed instead to submit payroll through spreadsheets or direct Munis entries, with schedules uploaded and exceptions edited manually. The directive said ExecuTime had created "inefficiency" and "unnecessary redundancy," and reaffirmed that operational authority, including timekeeping procedures, lies with the administration and must align with collective bargaining agreements.