Seneca County formally disciplined Emergency Services Chief Nicholas Summers on Election Day for promoting Commissioner Bill Frankart’s Republican rally through an official government Facebook account, according to a signed personnel record obtained by TiffinOhio.net.

The Nov. 3 disciplinary record identifies Summers’ conduct as a policy violation and states:

A private political event was shared on Facebook. A county department Facebook page should only have official county business.

The county issued Summers a verbal warning and instructed him to review its social media and communications policies. Summers signed the document acknowledging receipt on Nov. 3, the same day Frankart appeared on the general election ballot against independent candidate David Ziegler.

The disciplinary action followed TiffinOhio.net’s reporting on the department’s decision to share Frankart’s Oct. 27 “Rise and Rally,” which featured prominent Republican officials, including U.S. Sens. Jon Husted and John Thune.

At 10:39 a.m. Oct. 28, the department shared Frankart’s Facebook post with an enthusiastic caption:

We were excited to be apart of this special visit! Thanks for the invite 🫶

The message made no mention of emergency operations. After TiffinOhio.net began questioning the use of the government account, the department edited its caption at 11:42 a.m. to add an explanation about its emergency-response capabilities.

Summers acknowledged personally sharing the post but denied that Frankart or his campaign requested the publicity. He defended the department’s presence at the gathering as an emergency-readiness assignment involving prominent political figures.

The county subsequently disciplined him for the Facebook post.

County treats violation as minor offense

The disciplinary record classifies Summers’ conduct as a Group I offense, the lowest category in the county’s personnel manual. Under that classification, a verbal warning is the recommended penalty for a first offense.

Yet the county’s personnel manual lists unauthorized political activity and violations of its social media policy under Group III, a more serious classification for which first-offense discipline can extend to termination.

The manual describes those classifications as guidelines for classified employees. County officials have not explained why Summers’ conduct was designated a Group I offense or which disciplinary standards governed his position.

Summers had been appointed chief less than two weeks earlier. On Oct. 20, Commissioner Brent Busdeker introduced the resolution appointing him, Commissioner Anthony Paradiso seconded it, and all three commissioners, including Frankart, voted in favor. His appointment took effect Oct. 21.

Handwritten note says county policy was missing from handbook

A handwritten notation at the bottom of Summers’ disciplinary record, accompanied by initials resembling “N.S.,” states:

Unaware of County Resolution. Not current in handbook.

The county supplied two documents governing employee communications: its 2017 personnel manual and a separate communications policy unanimously adopted by commissioners on Feb. 6, 2025.

That newer policy followed the 2024 controversy involving former county media relations contractor Sheri Trusty, who used the county’s website to defend Frankart during a personal custody dispute and attack a journalist reporting on the case.

Resolution 25-33 shows that Frankart himself moved to adopt the communications policy. Busdeker seconded the motion, and all three commissioners voted yes.

The policy specifically addresses communications from the commissioners’ office. Although commissioners adopted it in February 2025, the county has provided no documentation showing when Summers was informed of the resolution or how its provisions were implemented within Emergency Services.

EMS deployment records still pending

County Administrator Matt Clouse provided the disciplinary record in response to TiffinOhio.net’s public records request. His office also reported having no written communications from Oct. 1 through Oct. 30 concerning Frankart’s rally, the emergency-services deployment or the Facebook controversy. It reported having no financial records associated with the assignment.

A separate records request to Seneca County Emergency Services seeks documents identifying who requested and authorized the deployment, how many employees and vehicles participated, what the operation cost and whether similar coverage was provided at other political events.

The county has now documented Summers’ decision to promote Frankart’s Republican rally as a policy violation. Records establishing who authorized the deployment of county emergency personnel and equipment to the gathering, and what taxpayers paid for it, remain outstanding.