Fulton County Ohio Media

At the regularly scheduled Swanton Village Council meeting on Monday night, three individuals addressed the Council with their concerns regarding what they believe to be the inability of Council members to work together in the best interest of the Village of Swanton to the point of being borderline dysfunctional.  What prompted these citizens to speak up was the resignation of Village Administrator Shannon Shulters during a Special Council meeting last Monday and the reasons she gave for her decision, and the March resignation of Fiscal Officer Holden Benfield which was thought to be for similar reasons.  The three speakers were, in order, Holden Benfield (former Fiscal Officer, 2023-2026), Samantha Disbrow (former Swanton Councilwoman, 2022-2025) and Delray Busch (Executive Director of the Swanton Area Chamber of Commerce).

In order to give the readers, the best understanding and intent of the speakers from what was said to Council members Dave Pilliod, John Schmidt, Deacon Dzierzawski, Dianne Westhoven, Pat Pilliod and Noah Kreuz, I have decided to publish their addresses in their entirety.  While this may be very lengthy, it is important to establish the proper context.

Holden Benfield:  Good evening, Council,

It’s good to see everyone again, even if the circumstances aren’t the best at the moment.

I came down today to voice my concerns over the continuation of council’s problems since the start of the year. I still find myself worried about how council is operating. Yet, by advent of Shannon’s resignation and the news, I don’t feel it has truly improved. I want to offer my opinion as firstly a concerned resident, and secondly a former employee.

I’m disappointed. I started in 2023 and came into a fiscal nightmare, over ten thousand dollars had been improperly recorded and work left undone by the former fiscal officer. Yet with the patience of the council at the time, and the support of the administration, it was corrected. It took months to resolve even January. Then came a mad dash to catch up, and after working until 1:00am one night in late November, everything was balanced and restored to order. It was resultant of that support that when the audit came, we were marked as an unmodified opinion, this is the best outcome we could have hoped for.

I hope that will never happen again, but I cannot believe that if it did, that that support would exist with the current council. Both in my own experience and in my opinion, if you found yourself in the same situation, pressure would mount, the Fiscal Officer wouldn’t have the time needed to learn the context of the job, and they would quit to seek a less stressful environment. This, then, becomes a cycle. This isn’t something predictable, you can’t forecast how long it will take to fill a role. But you can estimate how attractive you are to incoming staff. If it were me, you are not.

The way I see council now is… I think ‘defunct’ is the best word. I did not leave because of the fire, it had very little bearing on that decision. I had to leave because I could see the downward spiral for what it was. Shannon’s departure, the mayor’s comments, the reporting done by the village reporter. It’s all indicative of a larger issue.

Councilman Dzierzawski has preached many times that discourse is good and that these deliberations are meant to be lengthy discussions. I agree on the idea, but not the execution. The current council is struggling to show meaningful pursuit of a holistic, ideological goal. As mentioned in the Administrator’s resignation letter.

Additionally, something that Shannon always said, and something that was echoed by the Fulton County Leadership university I attended while with Swanton, was if you come to a table with only problems and no attempt at a solution, you are only shifting the onus of your issues elsewhere. So as a resident now with more context than most, let me present my thoughts on solutions.

Councilwoman Pilliod, and Councilwoman Westhoven, I think you are far too silent. I think you should speak and voice your opinions more; elaborate and throw your hats into the ring when things are brought up. It seems as though in the past months council has been governed by two or three people. I hope the both of you can remedy that.

Councilman Pilliod; in sessions you have repeatedly, and unbendingly related situations to policies from the first half of the 1900’s, the Reagan administration, and tried to advocate for reinstating council authority over things that are in direct contest with the ORC due to it being ‘how it was always done in the past’. Namely the purview of council over the decisions of hiring and firing by the administration.
I suggest considering the ideas of the more modernist concepts of legislation in combination with your experience. I also suggest you study other municipalities current policies and their approaches when new legislation is being proposed.

Councilman Dzierzawski, there was a news report from the council session where this year’s budget was approved, and you and I had our long back-and-forth on the topic. The reporter stated the following:
Quote “Dzierzawski repeatedly cut off Fiscal Officer Holden Benfield, including while Benfield was attempting to answer questions Dzierzawski had asked.” End quote
It was even visible to the reporter that you could not stop yourself from talking over me. I have also seen you do this with others. I have experienced your communications with department heads relating to budgetary and other matters firsthand. I will not call it unprofessional in terms of writing. I do feel it was burdensome. In the midst of recovery from a fire, was burdensome the amount that was requested. I understand the timely nature of the requests, but context of what that puts on the recipients was lacking. It does not matter if you do, or do not, request the information be prioritized, the default onus is there. If you do not understand that, then you fail to understand your position.

Additionally, even when I had answered all of those questions, you repeated the requests asking for the same things in different ways. The most glaring example of this was in our budget discussion in session, where you asked after the “budget vs actual”, and it stunned me briefly because that information was one of the first things I had ever sent to you. It is in the reconciliation report every month, and the basis of most of the documentation I had supplied to you. Which made me feel as though you had not even read the things I had sent, except to find talking points for the next meeting.

Mr. Dzierzawski, my suggestion is to put more weight on your own words. You throw them out casually, but often seemingly before they’ve fully formed. Either just “throwing out ideas” or “asking questions” as you’re fond of saying. I think if you curtailed even half of your topics by slowing yourself down to fully understand what you’ve been provided, the conversation would be more productive.

Councilmen Schmidt and Kreuz, I think laying out a plan of action for the village is in order. I think, as Shannon has put it, that the village has lost its sense of direction. I think it’s time to create a compromise, and write it down. The talk has been continuing, but administration needs something to walk, otherwise the village of Swanton will continue to stagnate. Only fighting won’t lead anywhere, compromise has to be made even if it amounts to a ‘ceasefire’.

I worry for the ability of the village to bring in economic development to the newly annexed land with how council has been. I worry for the continued growth of the town, and the property values of the resident’s land. I don’t want to see us slide back into how we were in 2020, or even further before that.

Thank you for your time, I wish you all the best and hope to see change for the town.

Delray Busch:  To the Mayor and Members of Swanton Village Council,

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Swanton Area Chamber of Commerce and the businesses we represent, I want to respectfully share our concern regarding the continuity and stability of Village leadership. First, we want to thank each of you for stepping forward to serve our community. Public service requires time, patience, and difficult decision making, and we recognize that it can often be a thankless role.

The recent resignation of Village Administrator Shannon Shulters follows the departure of Holden Benfield within the first six months of the new Council taking office. The loss of two experienced employees in key leadership and financial positions within a short period raises understandable concerns about communication, internal support, continuity, and the future direction of Village operations.

The Chamber is not here to assign blame or question any one individual. We understand personnel matters are complex and that the public does not always see the full picture. Our concern is the impact continued turnover could have on businesses, residents, Village employees, community partners, and future development.

Businesses look for stability when deciding where to invest and grow. They need confidence in consistent administration, responsible financial oversight, and dependable leadership. Swanton has built positive momentum through infrastructure improvements, grant funding, redevelopment, and community partnerships. Protecting that progress requires strong communication, leadership continuity, and the preservation of institutional knowledge.

Gaps in those areas can lead to delayed projects, missed opportunities, increased costs, and uncertainty. We are not suggesting those outcomes have already occurred. We are asking Council to take this moment seriously and consider what steps are needed to strengthen communication, working relationships, and organizational support.

The Chamber respectfully encourages Council to act thoughtfully, promptly, and transparently in the best interests of Swanton’s businesses and residents. We value our relationship with the Village, appreciate your service, and remain committed to working together to support the continued growth and success of Swanton. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Samantha Disbrow:  Good evening. My name is Sam Disbrow, and I’m here tonight as a resident who cares deeply about the future of our Village. Over the past several months, I’ve become increasingly concerned about the relationship between this Council and Village staff. It’s my understanding, from what I’ve heard from employees, that staff members are spending an excessive amount of time responding to the demands of an individual council member instead of focusing on serving the residents of Swanton.

Oversight is an important responsibility of Council. Asking questions is appropriate. Transparency is important. But there is a point where oversight becomes micromanagement, and when that happens, it affects the ability of employees to do their jobs efficiently and with confidence. Specifically, I believe Council Member Deacon D’s approach has become counterproductive. In my opinion, the constant demands for information and involvement in administrative matters have created unnecessary strain on Village operations.

Whether you agree with his intentions or not, the results should concern everyone. If experienced employees are leaving or considering leaving because the work environment has become difficult, that should be a wake-up call for this Council. Recruiting and retaining qualified staff is difficult enough without adding unnecessary obstacles. This isn’t about personalities or politics. It’s about making sure the Village is governed effectively.

Council should be focused on setting policy and establishing priorities, not managing day-to-day operations. I hope this Council takes an honest look at how it functions, because the residents deserve a Village government that is focused on moving Swanton forward not micromanaging staff. We simply cannot afford the lose Shannon. Shannon and Holden were the best additions to the Village staff in years, maybe decades…and we already lost one of them. Thank you.

The entire Council meeting may be viewed on the Village’s Facebook page

Photo: Holden Benfield, Delray Busch, Samantha Disbrow