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All members of Council shall have been electors of the Municipality for at least one (1) continuous year immediately prior to the time of filing for office, and shall continue to be qualified electors of the Municipality during their respective terms of office. No member of Council shall hold any other office or employment with the Municipality, except as otherwise allowed by this Charter or by ordinance of the Council, nor shall any member of Council hold any other public office, except the following: Notary Public; member of National Guard or state militia; member of the reserves of the Armed Forces of the United States; national, state, ward or precinct committeeperson of a political party or any other office of a political party; and delegate to a municipal, County, state or national convention of a political party.
Any member of Council who shall cease to possess or who violates any of the qualifications of office herein provided or who is finally convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude shall forthwith forfeit his office. Forfeiture of office as provided herein shall not render void or invalidate any action of the Council in which such member participated.
Any councilmember may, after absence from his official duties for three (3) consecutive months, be removed by a majority vote of the remaining members of the Council; and any councilmember shall, after absence from his official duties for five (5) consecutive months, be removed by a majority vote of the remaining members of Council and their office declared vacant. An accused member shall be notified of the charge against them and given an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel.
The Council shall be the judge of the election, qualifications, and removal of its members and for such purpose shall have powers to subpoena witnesses and require the production of records, but the decision of the Council in any case shall be subject to review by the courts.
A member of Council shall not vote upon the question regarding their removal. Failure to maintain qualifications or removal from office shall not invalidate any action of the Council in which such member participated.
On or before the 5th day of January next, following each regular municipal election, the members of Council shall meet at the Council chambers for the purpose of organization. At such meeting, the Council shall elect one (1) of its members thereof as President of the Council to serve until a successor shall have been elected. In the event the President of the Council ceases to be a member thereof or succeeds to the office of Mayor, the Council shall elect another member to serve as President until another President of Council is elected in the manner hereinbefore provided.
The Mayor shall be elected from the Municipality at large. Beginning with the general election of November, 2013, the Mayor will be elected to a term of 4 years and a maximum of 2 consecutive terms commencing on the 2nd day of January next following such election and shall serve until a successor is elected and qualified. Any person having currently held any elected office for more than 6.5 years is not eligible for reelection for any elected office in the 2013 or 2015 General Election. The mayor will be eligible for election to any office after an intervening term. If for any reason the Mayor shall fail to qualify for office within forty-five (45) days, after January 1 of the year following the election, a vacancy shall be deemed to exist and such vacancy shall be filled in the manner provided in Section 3.14
of this Charter. Subsequent to the November, 2013 general election, election of the Mayor shall occur on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each odd-numbered years beginning with the 2017 regular municipal election. The Mayor elected in 2013 and thereafter shall serve terms of four (4) years.
The Mayor shall be a member of the Council with the right to vote on all matters, except on the question of the removal of the Mayor or whether the Mayor's absence from his official duties shall be excused. The Mayor shall have every and all other rights, privileges, duties and obligations provided in this Charter for members of the Council in addition to the rights, privileges, duties and obligations provided hereinafter to the office of Mayor. The Mayor shall not serve as President of the Council and shall not have any veto power over the actions of the Council. The Mayor shall also be the ceremonial head of the Municipality; shall be recognized as head of the Municipality by the Governor for military purposes and by the Courts for the purpose of serving civil processes. The Mayor shall administer oaths, exercise all the judicial powers which are conferred upon Mayors by the laws of Ohio, and perform such other powers and duties as are elsewhere provided in this Charter or as provided by the Council. The Mayor shall not interfere with the powers and duties of the Manager in the supervision and conduct of the affairs of the administrative departments and divisions of the Municipality.
(Amended 11-8-88; 11-6-12; Case No. 15 CV 1322)
During any period when the Mayor shall be absent, inaccessible, disabled or unable for any cause to perform the duties of the office, the President of the Council shall be acting Mayor and shall exercise all powers, duties, and functions granted to the Mayor by this Charter, the laws of Ohio, and the ordinances and resolutions of the Municipality.
The Clerk of Council shall be appointed by the Manager with the approval of the Council and shall serve at the pleasure of Council. The Clerk of Council shall attend all meetings of the Council and shall keep an accurate and complete journal of the proceedings of Council and perform such other duties as this Charter, the laws of Ohio, or the Council may require. In addition, the Clerk of Council shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, a complete file of all official blueprints, maps and other records at the municipal hall, or other designated place. The failure to maintain such blueprints, maps and other records shall not invalidate or otherwise affect any action taken by the Council or any other officer, employee, agent or independent contractor of the Municipality. All such blueprints, maps or other records shall be available for public inspection at all reasonable times, provided that the unavailability of such blueprints, maps or other records shall not invalidate or otherwise affect any action taken by the Council or any other officer, employee, agent or independent contractor of the Municipality, nor shall the unavailability of such records limit or impair the rights of any citizen of the Municipality.
The Clerk of Council may be a person having other office, employment or appointment with the Municipality.
All legislative power of the Municipality shall be vested in the Council, except as otherwise provided by this Charter and the Constitution of the State of Ohio. Without limitation of the foregoing, the Council shall have and possess the following powers to:
(a) Levy taxes and incur debts subject to the limitations imposed thereon by this Charter and the Constitution of the State of Ohio.
(b) Adopt and to provide for the enforcement of local police, sanitary and other similar regulations as are not in conflict with general laws.
(c) Provide for the exercise of all powers of local self-government granted to the Municipality by the Constitution of the State of Ohio in a manner not inconsistent with this Charter or the Constitution of the State of Ohio.
(d) Fix the number of employees in the various offices, departments, divisions, bureaus, boards, and commissions of the Municipality and to fix the rate of their compensation, hours of work, mandatory retirement ages and to provide such fringe benefits as deemed proper by the Council.
(e) Require such bonds as in the opinion of the Council are necessary for the faithful discharge of the duties of the officers and employees of the Municipality. The premium for said bonds shall be paid by the Municipality.
(f) Create other offices, departments, divisions, bureaus, boards, and commissions; and the power to combine, change and abolish any office, department, division, bureau, board, or commission. The power hereinabove expressed in this subsection shall be exercised by ordinance. The Council shall not abolish the offices of Manager, Mayor, Clerk of Council, Council members, Civil Service Commission members and Municipal Attorney, The Manager may hold such other offices and positions with the Municipality as provided by this Charter or as the Council may authorize by a vote of a majority of its members. The Council may authorize the Finance Director to hold the position of Clerk of Council by a vote of a majority of its members.
(g) Adopt and provide for the enforcement of zoning classifications, districts, uses and regulations by ordinance; to adopt and provide for the enforcement of ordinances regulating the subdivision and platting of land within the Municipality; to regulate the subdivision and platting of land outside of the boundaries of the Municipality as provided by general law; to adopt and provide for the enforcement of ordinances requiring actual construction or assurance of construction of streets, utility lines and facilities, sidewalks, curbs and gutters and other improvements or facilities as a condition precedent to the approval of a plat of a subdivision; to adopt and provide for the enforcement of ordinances regulating the construction, reconstruction, alteration, enlargement, repair or demolition of buildings and other structures within the Municipality; to adopt and to provide for the enforcement of housing codes or ordinances, regulating the use and occupancy of any land, building or structure within the Municipality.
(h) Establish, by ordinance, the rates of charges made of consumers of all municipal utilities and services.
(i) Provide, without competitive bidding, for an annual or special independent audit of any or all municipal funds. Such audit may be in addition to an audit by representatives of the State Auditor or other state official or agency as may be determined to be required under the Constitution of the State of Ohio.
(j) Acquire title to or interests in real property shall be vested in the Council, whether such property is acquired by: the exercise of the power of eminent domain, purchase, gift, lease, lease with option to purchase, devise, bequest, in trust, or otherwise. The power to sell or otherwise convey, lease with option to purchase, or grant interests in real property shall be vested in the Council. Such sale, conveyance, lease or grant shall be in the manner as provided by the ordinance authorizing the sale, conveyance, lease, or grant. Title to all real property shall be taken in the name of the Municipality.
(k) Adopt the annual budget and appropriation measures of the Municipality.
(l) Appoint the members of all boards and commissions created by the Charter or by enactments of the Council, except as may be otherwise provided in this Charter.
(m) Accept gifts and grants to and on behalf of the Municipality.
(n) Inquire into the conduct of any officer, employee, agent, or independent contractor in the exercise of their powers, duties or functions, or in their performance of work or service or supplying of equipment, materials or supplies to or on the behalf of the Municipality; and to inquire into and investigate any and all municipal affairs. In the exercise of this power the Council shall have the power to subpoena witnesses and require the production of records and other evidence in the manner provided in the rules, regulations or bylaws of the Council, and in the absence of such provisions, the Mayor or President of the Council shall have the power to issue subpoenas for witnesses and the production of records and other evidence.
(o) Exercise all other powers granted to legislative authorities of municipalities by the Constitution and laws of the State of Ohio, and to exercise all other powers granted to the Council by and under this Charter.
(p) Employ such other persons and consultants as it deems necessary for the proper discharge of its duties.
The Council, in addition to all other rights and powers granted to it under the general law, may by ordinance, grant permission to any person, firm, or corporation to construct and operate a public utility on, across, under or above any public street or ground within the Municipality. It may prescribe in the ordinance the kind and quality of service or product to be furnished, the rate or rates to be charged therefor, and any other terms conducive to the public interest, provided that such grant of permission shall not extend beyond twenty-five (25) years; however such grant may be amended or renewed in the manner and subject to the provisions established by this Charter for original grants. No consent of the owners of property abutting on any public street or ground shall be necessary to the effectiveness of any such grant, amendment or renewal. All such grants, amendments or renewals shall be made subject to the continuing right of the Council to provide reasonable regulations for adequacy of service and maintenance and the operation of such utilities with reference to such streets and public grounds, including the right to require reconstruction, relocation or discontinuance of appliances, plant or equipment used in such streets or public grounds as shall, in the opinion of Council, be necessary in the public interest.
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