Present for the final Village Council meeting of 2025 were, from left, Trish Gustafson, Brian Housh, Carmen Brown, Gavin DeVore Leonard, and Kevin Stokes, as well as Village Manager Johnnie Burns. (Video still)
Village Council ends 2025 with ample legislation
- Published: January 2, 2026
Present for the final meeting of 20205 were, from left, Trish Gustafson, Brian Housh, Carmen Brown, Gavin DeVore Leonard, Kevin Stopkes and
In addition to passing two consequential resolutions that authorized Village Manager Johnnie Burns to enter into agreements with real estate developer Windsor Companies — two separate 15-year, 75% tax abatements on real property taxes, in exchange for the construction of more than 100 apartment units in town (covered in the Dec. 26 issue of the News) — Council also passed a handful of other legislation that covered considerable ground.
Police cameras to be upgraded
By a unanimous vote of 5–0, Council passed a resolution authorizing Manager Burns to enter into a contract with Axon Enterprise, Inc. to upgrade the village police department’s cruiser dash cams and body-worn cameras.
Ahead of the vote, Police Chief Paige Burge told Council that the need for upgrades stems from the current technology deteriorating and occasionally malfunctioning — notably in ways that could injure officers.
“We’ve had some ongoing issues with our current vendor, including customer service,” Burge said. “But there are considerable safety issues. The current batteries that our body-worn cameras use have begun to swell.”
Burge said the concern over the stability of the lithium-ion batteries in body-worn cameras is one held not just by YSPD, but other agencies as well; she alluded to an officer in a neighboring department whose camera “exploded” on an officer while on duty.
“That was the nail in the coffin for us,” Burge said.
The new cameras from Axon — a Scottsdale, Arizona-based company that manufactures weapons and technology products for military, law enforcement and civilian use — will be implemented by YSPD in February.
According to Manager Burns, the Village presently spends $20,232 annually on its contract with Digital Ally for the police department’s dash cam and body-worn camera technology. The Axon contract will be $18,252.72 annually.
No conversion therapy in YS
Council unanimously approved a resolution banning conversion therapy in Yellow Springs.
Conversion therapy is a dangerous and unscientific practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. As the resolution notes, conversion therapy has been widely discredited by every major medical and psychological organization in the U.S., including the American Psychological Association, the Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association.
With the passage of this legislation, Council “formally opposes the practice … on minors and acknowledges its harmful, discredited, discriminatory, appalling and unethical nature” and Council “affirms its commitment to [the village’s] LGBTQ+ community, equity and inclusion, recognizing that no one should be subjected to practices attempting to change or suppress their identity.”
As previously reported in the News, the measure was first brought to Council by village resident Alissa Paolella in November, who then beseeched Council to codify its opposition to conversion therapy ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of a case that challenges the constitutionality of Colorado’s ban on the practice for minors. Oral arguments for the case were heard in October, and a decision is expected by summer of 2026.
“I want to thank Alissa Paolella,” Council member Brian Housh said. “It’s very important for citizens to bring initiatives like this to us.”
Housh suggested that the incoming Village Council — which is set to convene with three new members at the first meeting in 2026, on Jan. 5 — ought to consider embedding the conversion therapy ban and other progressive pieces of legislation into a broader anti-discrimination ordinance.
Housh pointed to Cuyahoga County in northern Ohio, which last fall, adopted such an ordinance, which is enforced by a human rights commission. Cuyahoga County’s anti-discrimination ordinance prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on race, color, religion and other expressions of identity or origin.
While the Village doesn’t have a human rights commission, Housh suggested that the Village mayor’s court could be a suitable branch of local government to adjudicate on infractions.
“I think it’d be really great and important for the next Council to pass that kind of ordinance,” Housh said “I hope it’s something that gets looked at as soon as possible in the next year.”
GoBus coming to YS
A new bus line is set to pass through downtown Yellow Springs beginning this year.
Council approved a resolution authorizing Manager Burns to enter into a contract with Hocking Athens Perry Community Action, which offers a community bus service — otherwise known as GoBus.
As previously reported, GoBus provides transportation connections for rural communities across Ohio, linking them to urban centers and other transportation services. GoBus was launched in November 2010, and is funded by the Federal Transit Administration and is overseen by the Ohio Department of Transportation,
Ohio’s GoBus network has nine routes throughout 47 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Those routes connect 27 locales and 32 universities throughout the state. According to ODOT data, more than 50% of GoBus riders are college students.
Yellow Springs’ GoBus stop will be located near where the bike path intersects Xenia Avenue, adjacent to the Train Station. Cutouts on both sides of Xenia Avenue will allow the bus to stop without impeding traffic on the roadway.
Manager Burns said that the GoBus service will kick off this March, and will come at no cost to the Village; all operational and service-related expenses will be covered by ODOT.
Active Transportation Plan update
More changes to Yellow Springs’ road and walkways are ahead.
Council approved a resolution authorizing Burns to prepare an application to ODOT for a grant to fund a future update to the Village’s Active Transportation Plan.
According to the legislation, the Village aims to partner with the Active Transportation Committee and the school district to update the plan — which was first adopted in 2019 — in the interest of continuing local improvements for “safe walking, biking and rolling” for those “of all ages and abilities.”
The original transportation plan helped the Village secure significant funding for the multimodal path along Dayton Street, the Safe Routes to School initiative and other projects.
$162,608.21 appropriation
Council approved a sizable fourth quarter supplemental appropriation — one totalling $162,608.21 and drawn from the Village’s general, parks and recreation and solid waste operating funds.
The largest chunks of that appropriation were $51,500 for continued legal services through Bricker Graydon, $30,000 for a server in Village offices, $25,000 for Manager Burns’ unused vacation time and $38,900 for additional funds needed to cover Rumpke’s waste management rate increases.
Manager Burns said the legal service fees — spread across Council, Village administration, public safety and planning and zoning — came from an “uptick” in the need for Village solicitor Amy Blankenship’s services, particularly over the last year when she helped the Village weigh in on the earlier discourse around low-income housing tax credit financing, the establishment of a community reinvestment area and updates to the Village’s personnel policies and handbook.
The next Village Council meeting will be Monday, Jan. 5, at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers in the John Bryan Community Center.
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