(a) Publication in General. All ordinances and resolutions shall be published one (1) time after passage in a newspaper of general circulation in the City, and/or Council may determine that publication shall be by other electronic media. Ordinances or resolutions in excess of 1 (one) word may be published merely by summary. A table of contents of the ordinance or resolution and, if any attachments exist to the ordinance or resolution, a table of contents for such attachments, shall be considered an adequate summary. In the event of the publication of ordinances or resolutions by summary, there shall be a notice in such publication that a copy of the complete ordinance or resolution is on file in the office of the Clerk of Council for inspection during business hours and that copies of such ordinance or resolution shall be furnished to any person, upon request, for a reasonable fee. The City Law Director shall review all proposed summary form publications for legal accuracy and sufficiency prior to publication. The Clerk of Council shall cause the ordinance or resolution to remain posted in the principal municipal building for a period not less than ten calendar days immediately following the notice. Nothing in this Section shall be construed as to prohibit publication in accordance with the laws of Ohio.
(Ord. 070-12. Passed 12-3-12.)
(b) Notice When No Newspaper in City Exists. Notwithstanding any other law applicable to publication, when no newspaper of general circulation exists in the City, the means of publication of ordinances, resolutions, summaries of ordinances and resolutions, and publication of all statements, orders, proclamations, notices and reports, required by law to be published, shall be accomplished by posting copies in not less than two (unless a greater number is required specifically by the Ohio Revised Code) of the most public places in the municipal corporation, as determined by Council, for a period of not less than fifteen days. Notices to bidders for construction of public improvements and notices of the sale of bonds shall be published in not more than two newspapers, printed in this State and of general circulation in areas within a 100 mile radius of the City, for the time periods established as if a newspaper did exist in the City. Where such publication is by posting, the Clerk shall make a certificate as to such posting, and as to the times and the places where such posting is done. Such certificate shall be prima-facie evidence that copies were posted as required.
(c) Publication in Book Form. When ordinances or resolutions are revised, codified, rearranged, published in book form, and certified as correct by the Clerk of Council and the Mayor, publication of a notice of such action shall be a sufficient publication. A new ordinance or resolution so published in book form, which has not been published as required by the laws of Ohio, the Charter, or as otherwise provided by Council, and which contains entirely new matter, shall be published as required by the laws of Ohio, the Charter, or as Council may provide. If such revision or codification is made by the City and contains new matter, it shall be a sufficient publication of such codification, including the new matter, to publish, in the manner allowed by the Charter or, when permitted by the Charter, the ordinances and resolutions of the City, a notice of the enactment of such codifying ordinance or resolution, containing the title of the ordinance or resolution and a summary of the new matters covered by it. Revision and codification of ordinances and resolutions may be made under appropriate titles, chapters, and sections and in one ordinance or resolution containing one or more subjects.
(d) Publication of Model or Standard Codes Adopted by City. In all cases in which model or standard codes, in whole or in part, prepared and published by public or private agencies on such matters as building construction, plumbing, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, electric wiring, smoke regulation, fire prevention and other similar regulations are adopted by reference, full reproduction is not necessary. Publication may be satisfied by placing at least one copy of each such code, or adopted parts thereof, in the principal governmental building of the City, being the governmental building where the Mayor's office is located, for reference and consultation by interested persons during regular office hours. Such copy shall remain on file as prescribed herein during its effective period.
(e) Effect of Not Making Publication. It is a sufficient defense to any suit or prosecution under an ordinance or resolution, to show that no publication was made as required by law that governs the publication procedure of the City. Ohio R.C. 731.26 shall have no force or effect.
(f) Legislation or Measures Having Immediate Effect. Whenever Council is required to pass more than one ordinance, resolution, or other measure to complete the legislation necessary to make and pay for any public improvement, the appropriate initiative and referendum procedure shall apply only to the first ordinance, resolution, or other measure required to be passed and not to any subsequent ordinance, resolution, or other measures relating thereto. Ordinances, resolutions, or other measures providing for appropriations for the current expenses of the City, or for street improvements petitioned for by the owners of a majority of the feet front of the property benefitted and to be especially assessed for the cost thereof, and emergency ordinances, resolutions or other measures necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety in the municipal corporation, shall go into immediate effect, subject to the provisions of Article II, Sec. 2.15 of the Charter. Such emergency ordinances, resolutions, or other measures must, upon a yea and nay vote, receive an affirmative two-thirds (2/3) or more vote of all the current members of Council, and the reasons for such necessity shall be set forth in one section of the ordinance, resolution, or other measurer. For the purpose of this provision, a motion of Council is not considered as "other measures".
(g) Authentication and Recording of Legislation or Other Measurers; Publication Requirements. Ordinances, resolutions, and bylaws shall be authenticated by the signature of the presiding officer and clerk of the legislative authority of the City. Ordinances or resolutions shall be published as provided for in this chapter, With exception to ordinances, resolutions, or other measures providing for appropriations for the current expenses of the City, or for street improvements petitioned for by the owners of a majority of the feet front of the property benefitted and to be especially assessed for the cost thereof, and emergency ordinances, resolutions or other measures necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety in the municipal corporation, (which all shall go into immediate effect after passage prior to publication) subject to the provision of Article II, Sec. 2.15 of the Charter, no ordinance or resolution of a general or permanent nature, or granting a franchise, or creating a right, or involving the expenditure of money, the levying of a tax, or the purchase, lease, sale or transfer of property, shall take effect until after the expiration of ten days after the first publication of such notice. As soon as a bylaw, ordinance or resolution is passed and signed, it shall be recorded by the Clerk in a book furnished by the legislative authority for that purpose. The failure of a bylaw, ordinance or resolution to be signed or recorded shall not invalidate the same. For the purpose of this provision, a motion of Council is not considered as "other measures".
(h) Effective Period of Legislation or Other Measures. No ordinance, resolution, or other measure shall go into effect until thirty days after it is passed by Council, except those ordinances, resolutions, or other measures providing for appropriations for the current expenses of the City, or for street improvements petitioned for by the owners of a majority of the feet front of the property benefitted and to be especially assessed for the cost thereof, and emergency ordinances, resolutions, or other measures necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety in the Municipal Corporation, all of which shall go into immediate effect. For the purpose of this provision, a motion of Council is not considered as "other measures".
(i) Certification by Clerk. Certification by the Clerk of Council on any ordinance or resolution that publication requirements were met shall be prima-facie evidence of compliance.
(Ord. 70-01. Passed 6-4-01.)