Photo by Stephanie Elverd Janet Richardson speaks during Thursday’s Bellaire Village Council meeting while addressing concerns over the village’s financial oversight, staffing challenges and recent public statements made by the administration.

BELLAIRE — Despite last week’s special council meeting that was meant to clear the air, tensions remained high Thursday as Councilwoman Janet Richardson challenged Mayor Robert Dodrill over the administration’s handling of village finances and operations.

“You are the mayor, you do run the village, but this council is here, voted in and put in place to make sure that you are running the village in accordance with the legislation and you were not,” Richardson told Dodrill during Thursday’s Bellaire Village Council meeting.

During the meeting, Richardson distributed a multi-page report disputing comments Dodrill has made in recent media interviews about the village’s financial condition and operations. The report included year-to-date and month-to-date fund reports for 2025, email correspondence and copies of council minutes previously referenced by the mayor.

Richardson’s report argued that a long-running state audit covering fiscal years 2021 and 2022 began before the current administration took office and was delayed because of missing financial information, staffing shortages within the auditor’s office and the late filing of 2022 financial statements. The report contended that public comments about the audit created a misleading impression of criminal wrongdoing by prior officials.

The document also raised concerns about financial oversight, claiming council members had gone months without reliable financial reports and alleging discrepancies between January 2026 fund balances and December 2025 ending balances. Richardson’s report further outlined operational concerns, including employee resignations, delays in issuing purchase orders and late payments that allegedly resulted in penalties and fees for the village.

The confrontation came a week after council and Dodrill held a special meeting intended to ease tensions and improve transparency for residents following weeks of public disagreements between council and the mayor.

Dodrill recently announced his resignation after less than three months in office following the resignation of Fiscal Officer Ginny Favede, but later rescinded that decision. During last week’s special meeting, Dodrill said he had been working closely with the state auditor’s office amid financial and administrative issues within the village government, including efforts to transition the village to the state’s Unified Accounting Network system.

Thursday’s exchange escalated as Richardson defended council’s recent actions and said members believed intervention was necessary because of concerns over the administration’s handling of village operations and finances.

“I think it’s important for people to understand that the role of the administration is to run this village and provide the services needed but to do it under the guidelines of the ORC, the village ordinances and policies and procedures,” Richardson said. “But the council is responsible for that legislation and making sure that the legislation is followed.”

Richardson said council asked Favede to resign because of ongoing concerns about financial transparency and administrative practices.

“This council had to make a very difficult decision,” Richardson said. “It wasn’t easy and it was heart-wrenching.”

She added that she compiled the report in response to what she described as misinformation being shared publicly.

“Based on that, I have written a report and I have provided backup to each and every one of those things so this can stop,” Richardson said. “We have to stop this.”

Richardson also criticized what she described as instability within village government, claiming that multiple employees had left their positions in recent months.

“Since you’ve been in office, I thought there were only four people left, but it’s actually eight and excuse me, nine including the clerk council,” Richardson told Dodrill. “We don’t have a team to work with right now.”

Dodrill denied responsibility for the departures.

“It wasn’t because of me,” he said.

The exchange also focused on infrastructure concerns, including pothole repairs, road maintenance and staffing shortages affecting village services. Richardson questioned the administration’s timeline for addressing road repairs and asked why more progress had not been made earlier in the year.

“We want dates. We want times … What’s the pothole plan? It’s April,” Richardson said.

Dodrill responded that he has been working with contractors and addressing multiple issues at once.

“Well first of all, I have a lot on my plate, too,” Dodrill said. “I am trying to take care of this stuff.”

Dodrill opened Thursday’s meeting by saying village bills have been paid and that interviews are scheduled next week for candidates seeking the vacant fiscal officer and village administrator positions. Richardson later acknowledged that overdue bills had been addressed, but said the delays created additional financial strain for the village.

“One thing you didn’t share is we’re grateful that they were paid, but there are huge penalties that this village now has to pay because they were paid 36 days late,” Richardson said. “We don’t have any money to pay penalties.”

Richardson said she hoped the administration and council could move past the public disputes and refocus on stabilizing village operations following months of turmoil and staffing changes.

“I’m glad you came back for the people, but you need to start doing the work for the people because again we are unstable,” Richardson said. “… The bottom line is can we put this all aside? Can we be done with the media blitz?”