President Keller wants to modernize clerk’s role

Last week after Circleville City Council voted 5-2 to remove Linda Chancey from her position as Clerk of Council, The Herald had some follow-up questions for Council President Barry Keller.

“Things have changed; laws have changed. I’ve tried my best to communicate with Linda Chancey about her rules and expectations, and she has not met the expectations of the clerk position. She’s not been willing to work with Melissa Burns,” Keller said at the Council meeting. “She does not handle city documents as required by the Ohio Sunshine Laws. She has violated city policies. It is my recommendation as her direct supervisor that she should be voted by a 2/3 majority of City Council for removal.”

Since Chancey had served as clerk for 26 years, if her methods were as Keller says, why was she allowed to continue working and remain as clerk as long as she did?

Keller answered that he could not respond to the entirety of Chancey’s tenure as clerk, only to the last two years that he has served as her supervisor upon being elected president in January of 2022.

Keller reiterated that she was dismissed because he wants to modernize the clerk’s role and “do things differently.”

“We’re just going forward to make things better for the clerk’s position; possessing documents, making things accountable for document storage and laws that are passed by city council,” he said.

The Ohio Revised Code requires cities to maintain copies of all ordinances and official records forever. Chancey was accused of taking copies of ordinances home where she would scan them into digital files.

During last week’s council meeting, Law Director Kendra Kinney asserted that certain files were missing. Chancey claimed that those files were the original copies of ordinances that were in her possession at home, and she brought these “missing files” back to the Clerk’s Office when requested. Kinney later claimed that additional documents, such as attachments going back to 2023 were also missing.

Keller said records in paper form remain in the basement of city hall — that area has been secured.

When Keller was asked if there were any missing files, he said some of the original ordinances from 2023 and 2024 were unaccounted for at this time.

Keller said City Hall sent Chancey a certified letter giving her 10 days to return any equipment and files before the deadline tolls next week. He said Chancey had returned the clerk’s computer and council’s files.

Keller said notice of the clerk’s job vacancy would be posted by City Hall later this week with applications accepted until the end of September. He said the clerk is paid $5,000 per year. If there are additional duties such as covering one of the council’s committee meetings, the clerk is paid $18.31 per hour for that work.

Melissa Burns, who had been working with Chancey, is serving as interim clerk until council approves someone to fill that post.

The position remains part-time for now though Keller hopes to make it a full-time job pending council approval in the 2025 budget.