At the December 21, 2015 meeting of the Staunton Township Trustees, Sarah Fine, Fiscal Officer, announced that the township received a reimbursement from the Miami County Engineer's Office for the township's portion of the Salt Antitrust Litigation against Morton Salt Inc. and Cargill. The township received $527 based on the amount of salt the township purchased.

Fine also requested that the trustees complete forms to request their driving records. Since the township trustees drive the township owned vehicles, Fine must verify that they their licenses are valid, not suspended or have serious violations.

The trustees approved the township elected officials to attend the Ohio Township Association Winter Conference in January. At the conference, Fine will be attending training classes to meet her educational requirements as a first term township fiscal officer. She is required to complete six hours of training in her first year and must complete an additional eighteen hours during her first four-year term. Many of the workshops offered at the conference can be used to meet this training requirement.

The trustees also received a request from the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) to complete a survey on road maintenance for the Transportation Improvement Program. The trustees must provide information to the MVRPC on the cost of maintenance/reconstruction projects as well as improvements to the capacity /operation/safety of all roadways, bikeways, pedestrian and transit projects completed during 2015 that were funded by local funding sources. In addition, the township must report the estimated cost for projects that were scheduled in 2015, but were postponed because of lack of funding.

In other business, Sheriff Deputies Warren Edmondson, Mike Whaley and Trainee Jessup attended the meeting to update the trustees on criminal activity in the township and to inquire about trustees' concerns and needed support. Edmondson reported that because of the approaching holidays, most of the crimes are crimes of opportunity. Residents are leaving gifts in their cars and the criminals are checking the cars and stealing the gifts. He said, "Most of the perpetuators are heroin addicts stealing to support their habits." He also said, "The heroin epidemic is out of control; however, the Sheriff's Deputies are out in full force and being more proactive. Burglaries have also increased for residents who have gone south for the winter. Most are perpetrated by individuals who know the resident is out of town." He also noted that the department has increased their enforcement of minor violations to help mitigate problems before they happen.

Edmondson told the trustees that the Sheriff's Department is well staffed. The department plans to hire one more person, which will allow the department to deploy six to seven officers for every shift. He also reported that the department now has six new automated external defibrillators (AED), which permits each car to carry a unit at all times. He said, "This allows our officers to start life saving efforts as soon as we arrive on scene."

The next meeting of the Staunton Township Trustees is scheduled for January 4, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the township building.