Lima City Council is going to be a different body without Ray Magnus. That’s neither a complaint against his leaving nor a criticism of the time Magnus has spent on council.

LIMA — Former 1st Ward Councilman Ray Magnus dropped his open meeting lawsuit Tuesday against two colleagues, saying it was no longer needed.

LIMA -- Lima Law Director Tony Geiger named a special prosecutor to look into allegations that 1st Ward Councilman Ray Magnus threatened a Lima News editor.

LIMA — First Ward Councilman Ray Magnus turned in engineering plans Tuesday to the city’s Building and Zoning Department for a smoking shelter roof he had built at his bar.Magnus had the roof put on a patio at Ray’s Place this year without obtaining a building permit. Magnus said he hired a contractor for the project and expected the contractor to handle the permit.A city building inspector cited Magnus in July for having the structure built with no permit and issued a second citation in September. In July Magnus applied for a permit but didn’t include drawings completed by an engineer or architect, which is required by state law for all commercial building. Magnus’ application included a drawing with handwritten measurements.Magnus submitted engineer-prepared plans Tuesday, Public Works Director Howard Elstro said. The plans will be reviewed by the city’s Building and Zoning Department.Had Magnus not submitted plans, the city’s next step was to issue a legal order requiring the plans and possibly take him to court.Magnus said Tuesday he was told it would be a month or more before the plans and application are approved. He also said his engineer had at least one conversation with city building officials, who told the engineer not to worry about things long as he was working on the plans.

LIMA - While a city council member is making public his concerns about industrial park land for a water tower, city and development officials said those concerns are not based in fact.

RON LUTZLimaI don’t know about anybody else, but I sure do feel much safer in my home at night knowing that the city of Lima is keeping close tabs on City Councilman Ray Magnus. All Ray wants to do is what’s best for the people of the 1st Ward and the people of Lima. I hope that, eventually, the people will come to understand what is really going on here: total character assassination. Does Mayor David Berger really have that much to fear from Magnus? Does The Lima News?

This is for Lima City Councilman Ray Magnus. Who do you think you are dogging, Mayor David Berger?

It is out of the bag. I guess you would properly say "the cat is out of the bag." It seems there is one set of rules for Dan Beck and Ray Magnus, then there is another set of rules for the rest of us.

LIMA -- City Council President John Nixon on Monday requested an investigation into 1st Ward Councilman Ray Magnus' residency.

Lima 1st Ward City Councilman Ray Magnus would like residents to believe the investigation into his residency was "nothing more than a political witch hunt." We hope people don't fall for that one.

LIMA - The county's elections director doesn't consider a Lima councilman's address changes fraudulent, he said Friday.

LIMA - After being found guilty Thursday of disorderly conduct for threatening the editorial-page editor of The Lima News, 1st Ward City Councilman Ray Magnus said he made no threat.

LIMA - Law Director Tony Geiger's report on 1st Ward Councilman Ray Magnus' residency included "legally and factually" baseless allegations, Magnus said Monday.

LIMA - First Ward Councilman Ray Magnus and his attorney responded in greater detail Tuesday to Law Director Tony Geiger's report on Magnus' residency, addressing records about his primary residence.

LIMA — Some have labeled former one-term Lima 1st Ward councilman Ray Magnus combative. He touts that as a strength as he runs against incumbent council President John Nixon in November's election. “I don't like what I'm seeing coming from our present City Council president,” Magnus said Saturday after kicking off his campaign. “In two years, he has just rubber stamped what the administration wants him to do. There's been little discussion.”Magnus said council needs to make some hard decisions to “make the city whole again” and get out of the financial mess it is in.He said he is less experienced on council than his opponent but said that's a good thing. Business as usual is part of the problem, he said.“The more experience is what's got us into this mess. They were too interested in being re-elected. That needs to stop,” Magnus said.He said the city needs new blood that will take a fresh look at every issue.“We need people that will sit down and go through the budget, line by line and item by item, and make the decisions that need to be made.”He said the city's financial concerns require all-encompassing approach. Efforts by Mayor David Berger's administration to reduce benefits and possibly hours of non-union employees are too small to do any real good. “He's trying to save that money on the backs of 30 or 40 people,” Magnus said.Magnus also took issue with an ordinance that gives council automatic raises.“If I win the City Council presidency, that ordinance will be done away with,” he said. “If the people doing the work don't get raises, neither does anyone else.”Magnus said he also wants to address the city's storm runoff fees, which can run as high as $26,000 a year for some businesses. He said the fees turn manufacturers away from the city, hurting job growth.He would push for a cap of no more than $7,500 on the fees and try to spread the payments out in some fashion. “We need to make that more equitable,” he said.Magnus said the city needs to look at programs like pools and parks that are losing money and find ways to get them funded by the groups that use them. Such changes could be undone when finances are better but need to happen now to stave off bigger problems, he said.“When the city gets to be whole again, we can go back to the way it was,” Magnus said. “For the time being, we need to make some hard decisions.” Summing up his reasons for running, Magnus said the city needs a change in leadership.“We have too many rubber-stampers that will not ask the questions and don't want to make waves. All they are concerned about is their electability,” he said. “At one point or another, we need to do something to make ourselves whole again.”

LIMA -- The trial for a councilman accused of threatening an editor at The Lima News has been pushed back by a month.

In hearing of councilman Ray Magnus’ decision to step down from his 1st Ward Lima City Council seat, I have to admit I was caught off guard. But after thinking it through, I realize that it was just Magnus being Magnus, staying true to himself and standing up and doing the right thing no matter what it cost him. I am proud to say he is a class act and a job well done.

LIMA - Lima's 1st Ward Councilman has been accused of threatening the editorial-page editor of The Lima News because of an item posted on his blog.

Lima 1st Ward City Councilman Ray Magnus has demonstrated time and again that he doesn’t believe the rules apply to him. The city administration apparently has decided to remind Magnus they do — but Magnus again will embarrass the city.Magnus was in the news — again — last week for flouting the rules, in this case, state law. Magnus didn’t follow state law when building a roof over a smoking patio at his Lima bar, Ray’s Place. In July, an inspector from the Lima Building Department — which enforces the state’s building laws in the city — noticed a shelter that was built at Ray’s Place without a building permit, The Lima News reported. State law requires a building permit for commercial construction, the logic being that the safety of the public that gathers there is at stake.Magnus responded by turning in a building permit application, which included a drawing with handwritten measurements. The city halted its inspection because state law requires commercial building plans to be prepared and sealed by a licensed architect or engineer. The city issued a violation in July and another in September. The city’s next step, according to building inspector Bill Brown, is to get a legal order requiring Magnus to submit plans and to seek a penalty in court. Magnus has a right to appeal.Let’s put this in context: The city administration could be in court asking for a fine from a city lawmaker for violating a state law. That’s embarrassing. We agree with Magnus that the building permitting process is burdensome. We believe state lawmakers should make it easier to do business in Ohio. However, Magnus and others who don’t like it should work to change the law rather than ignoring its existence.Magnus previously went way past the bounds of common sense, but he hadn’t broken any laws. That appears to have changed. Should Magnus help pass a law others find too burdensome or just plain dumb, will he support those people when they violate that law? Why is he above the law but those who elected and pay him are not?The residents of Lima and Magnus’ fellow councilors deserve better than what Magnus is giving them as a member of city government.