Bluffton council approved a reduction in the village work force during its June 14 meeting. A statement from Jamie Mehaffie explains council's action.

Mehaffie: "After careful examination of personnel needs and the budget, the Bluffton village council has made the difficult decision to eliminate the position of Assistant Village Administrator [Nancy Benroth].

"The village council considered all positions in each department and determined that the responsibilities of the Assistant Village Administrator position could be most readily absorbed by other existing positions and not impact the level of service provided to the community as compared to other positions.

"This decision is one of many that the village council has made within the past two years to reduce costs while maintaining levels of service provided to residents during an extended period of declining revenue.

Note: The Icon did not attend the June 14 meeting, but requested a statement from the village on the reduction in staff.