(A) For purposes of organization, for introduction of newly-elected Council Members into office or other proper duties, the Council shall meet at 7:00 p.m. on the first Monday in January, after which the Council shall meet regularly on the first and third Monday of each calendar month at 7:00 p.m. until changed by ordinance. All meetings of the Council, except executive sessions called and conducted as provided in this section, shall be open to the public. Whenever a regular scheduled meeting falls on a legal holiday the meeting shall be held on the following day. The Council may by ordinance provide for the calling of special meetings.
(B) Executive sessions of the Council, from which the public and the news media may be excluded, may be held for only those purposes as authorized by general law and for such other purposes as may hereafter be authorized by general Ohio law, including:
(1) To consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official, or the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual, unless the public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual requests a public hearing. Except as otherwise provided by law, no executive session of the Council shall be held for the discipline of an elected official for conduct related to the performance of his official duties or for his removal from office. If the Council holds an executive session pursuant to this paragraph, the motion and vote to hold that executive session shall state which one or more of the approved purposes listed in this paragraph section are the purposes for which the executive session is to be held, but need not include the name of any person to be considered at the meeting.
(2) To consider the purchase of property for public purposes, or for the sale of property at competitive bidding, if premature disclosure of information would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to a person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest. No member of the Council or other officer or employee of the City shall use this division as a subterfuge for providing covert information to prospective buyers or sellers. A purchase or sale of public property is void if the seller or buyer of the public property has received covert information from a member of the Council or from any other officer or employee of the City that has not been disclosed to the general public in sufficient time for other prospective buyers and sellers to prepare and submit offers.
If the minutes of the Council show that all meetings and deliberations of the Council have been conducted in compliance with this section, any instrument executed on behalf of the City purporting to convey, lease, or otherwise dispose of any right, title, or interest in any public property shall be conclusively presumed to have been executed in compliance with this section insofar as title or other interest of any bona fide purchasers, lessees, or transferees of the property is concerned.
(3) Conferences with an attorney for the City concerning disputes involving the City that are the subject of pending or imminent court action;
(4) Preparing for, conducting, or reviewing negotiations or bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions of their employment;
(5) Matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or rules or state statutes;
(6) Specialized details of security arrangements where disclosure of the matters discussed might reveal information that could be used for the purpose of committing, or avoiding prosecution for, a violation of the law.
(7) To consider confidential information related to the marketing plans, specific business strategy, production techniques, trade secrets, or personal financial statements of an applicant for economic development assistance, or to negotiations with other political subdivisions respecting requests for economic development assistance, provided that:
(a) The information is directly related to a request for economic development assistance that is to be provided or administered under any provision of Ohio Revised Code Chapter 715, 725, 1724, or 1728, or Sections 701.07, 3735.67 to 3735.70, 5709.40 to 5709.43, 5709.61 to 5709.69, 5709.73 to 5709.75, or 5709.77 to 5709.81 of the Revised Code, or that involves public infrastructure improvements or the extension of utility services that are directly related to an economic development project; and
(b) A unanimous quorum of the public body determines, by roll call vote, that the executive session is necessary to protect the interests of the applicant or the possible investment or expenditure of public funds to be made in connection with the economic development project.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter an executive session of the Council may be held only at a regular or special meeting of the Council, upon the affirmative vote, by roll call, of a majority of the members of the Council, on a motion specifying the purpose or purposes for which such executive session is to be held. At such executive session no other matters shall be considered or discussed, nor shall any votes be taken.
(Amended May 4, 1993; November 3, 2020)