FLUSHING — Councilman Tom Bober recently announced he would be resigning from council at the end of 2024 due to issues receiving his retirement benefits that are resulting from his position on council.

Bober has been a fixture in village government since 1995, serving two stints on council and twice as mayor.

He was also a longtime employee of Flushing Township.

Bober read a statement at the December 19 village council meeting explaining that, due to the guidelines of the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System, his status and pay as a council member flags him as being “reemployed into an OPERS covered position” and disqualifies him from receiving health care reimbursements.

“You know that my heart and soul is in this village,” Bober said. “If anybody doesn’t know that today, they haven’t been paying attention. No, I didn’t do everything perfect, and I’ve probably made some people mad at me and I hope I’ve apologized to everybody that I have offended. This isn’t something I wanted to do. I’ve been playing around with this for two years hoping OPERS would change this.

“I’m not going away. I still live here, and I’m still breathing. I’ll be back sitting on the other side of the table, and when I’m walking and I see something that needs done, I’ll kick the leaves out of the drain grate. I’ll help anybody in this town, don’t be too proud to ask Tom Bober.”

Councilwoman Sandy Twarog remarked on the many years they have worked together in the village government and expressed her appreciation for his service.

Mayor Preston Eberhart asked for a motion to accept Bober’s resignation, and Councilman Dave Coe provided one, saying “I’ll make the motion, sadly.”

Council President Chuck Nucci voted “no” as a statement of opposition to the circumstance, while Councilwomen Erin Nucci and Sandy Twarog joined Councilmen Dave Coe and Eric McCort in accepting the resignation.

Bober’s resignation marks the second time in recent years that OPERS rules have interfered with a resident’s desire to serve the community.

In January 2022, longtime resident and retired state prison employee George Terry declined the position on council to which he had been elected the previous November for the same reason that Bober resigned.

Nucci said he had been in contact with numerous officials at the state level seeking a change to the OPERS regulations.

Council voted to advertise the open council seat on social media as well as in designated locations around the village beginning Jan. 1 with an application cutoff date of Jan. 16.