(a) All meetings of the Village shall be public meetings as provided in Ohio Revised Code 121.22, except that upon assent of a majority of the Council members, the Village may meet in executive session at a regular or special meeting for the sole purpose of considering any of the matters listed in Ohio Revised Code 121.22(G).
(b) Notice of Regular Meetings and the time, place and date of said meetings shall be given by posting the schedule of the meetings on the bulletin board at the Municipal Building, 215 Park Avenue, Cardington, Ohio, and having a copy available for inspection at the office of the Village Fiscal Officer. It shall be the general practice of the Village to conduct Regular Meetings on the first and third Mondays of each month, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
(c) In addition to Regular Meetings of the Village, Council has formed committees at which a quorum of the members of Council may appear. All committee meetings of the Council shall be public meetings, except that upon the assent of a majority of Council members present, the committees may meet in executive session at a regular or special meeting.
(d) It will be the general practice of the Village Council to meet monthly, immediately following its first monthly Council meeting, in a work session setting at which time, the committees will officially meet and discuss relevant matters. No action will be taken by Council during these committee/Council work session at that time-unless notified otherwise, all official action of Council will take place during regularly scheduled Council meetings. Committees of the Village Council will conduct Regular Meetings at the times listed below:
(1) Finance Committee: It shall be the general practice of the Committee to meet when needed at the Village Municipal Building;
(2) Personnel and Insurance: It shall be the general practice of the Committee to meet when needed at the Village Municipal Building;
(3) Police and Fire: It shall be the general practice of the Committee to meet when needed at the Village Municipal Building;
(4) Utilities: It shall be the general practice of the Committee to meet when needed at the Village Municipal Building;
(5) Buildings, Equipment and Streets: It shall be the general practice of the Committee to meet when needed at the Village Municipal Building;
(6) Community Improvement, Zoning and Parks: It shall be the general practice of the Committee to meet when needed at the Village Municipal Building.
(e) All meetings of the Village or the Committees which are not Regular Meetings are hereby declared to be Special Meetings and notice shall be given as follows:
(1) Telephone notice shall be given by the Fiscal Officer pursuant to and in accordance with the written request filed by each such news media or designated representative thereof. All such written requests shall specify the name, address and all telephone numbers at which such news media or its designated representative may be found at any time and shall also contain like information for a designated alternative representative. Such telephone notice shall include, but not be limited to, time, place, date and purpose of said meeting and shall be given not less than twenty-four (24) hours prior to such Special Meeting. The Fiscal Officer shall make a record upon a journal kept for such purposes of the dates, time and name of the person called and, if a message is left, the name of the party taking said message.
(2) Notice of Special Meetings shall also be given by posting the time, place and date on the bulletin board at the Municipal Building, 215 Park Avenue, Cardington, Ohio and having a copy available for inspection at the office of the Village Fiscal Officer.
(3) The notice shall be given to any party requesting notice of meetings where any specific type of business is to be discussed as hereinafter provided.
(4) The Fiscal Officer shall notify all news media or designated members thereof who have filed a written request with the Fiscal Officer of the Village in the event and emergency special meeting requiring immediate action is necessitated.
(5) It shall be the intention of the Village to announce meeting changes at prior meetings of Council, if possible.
(f) Any party may request notice of any meeting of the Village at which any specific type of business is to be discussed. Provided, however, any and all such requests shall comply with the following:
(1) Each request shall be made in writing.
(2) Each request shall be accompanied by a fee of five dollars ($5.00) and shall be accompanied by not less than thirty (30) stamped, self-addressed envelopes. It shall be the responsibility of each person requesting notice to provide the Fiscal Officer with the proper postage, and in the event of an increase in the postage rates, the person requesting notice shall be solely and completely responsible for supplying the Fiscal Officer with additional postage. Provided, however, such fees shall entitle such person to notice for a period not to exceed twelve (12) months from the date of the application.
(3) The Fiscal Officer shall immediately establish a written record which shall include, but shall not be limited to, the names, addresses, telephone numbers, area of interest, and date of application for each person/party requesting written notice of all meetings at which a specific type of public business shall be discussed.
(4) The Fiscal Officer shall give at least five (5) days notice before the regular meeting by ordinary U.S. Mail, utilizing the stamped, self-addressed envelope provided by each applicant when the particular type of public business in question is to be discussed.
(5) The Fiscal Officer shall attempt to notify each such party interested in the specific type of business, by telephone for all other meetings.
(g) The Fiscal Officer shall prepare and make available to the general public full and complete minutes of all meetings of this Village, except as provided in Ohio Revised Code 121.22(G), prior to the next succeeding regular meeting.
(h) Copies of the minutes shall be made available for inspection by any interested parties during regular business hours, and the Fiscal Officer shall furnish copies thereof at cost, as provided in Ohio Revised Code 149.43.
(Ord. 2023-01. Passed 1-17-23.)