15.01. General.

   The laws of the State of Ohio relating generally to budgets, appropriations, debts, bonds, assessments and other fiscal matters of the City shall be applicable to the City, except as modified by the provisions of this Charter or ordinances of Council, and except when provision therefor is made in the Constitution of the State of Ohio.

15.02. Limitation on Tax Rate.

   The power of Council to levy taxes shall be subject to the limitations now or hereafter provided by the Constitution and general laws of the State of Ohio.

15.03. Limitation of Debt.

   The City shall not incur debt in excess of the limitations imposed by the Constitution and laws of the State of Ohio.

ARTICLE XVI GENERAL PROVISIONS

16.01. Succession.

   The City of Newark, under this Charter, is hereby declared to be the legal successor of the City of Newark, under the laws of the State of Ohio, and as such it has title to all property, real and personal, owned by its predecessor, including all moneys on deposit and all taxes in process of collection together with all accounts receivable and rights of action. The City is liable for all outstanding orders, contracts and debts of its predecessor, and for any other obligations for which it may be held liable, as such successor, by any court of competent jurisdiction. All contracts entered into by the City for its benefit prior to January 1, 1998, shall continue in full force and effect.

16.02. Effect of Charter on Existing Laws and Rights.

   (A)   The adoption of this Charter shall not affect any pre-existing rights of the City, nor any right or liability or pending suit or prosecution, either on behalf of or against the City or any officer thereof, nor any franchise granted by the City, nor pending proceedings for the authorization of public improvements or the levy of assessments therefor. Except as a contrary intent appears herein, all acts of Council, including ordinances and resolutions in effect at the date this Charter becomes effective, shall continue in effect until lawfully amended or repealed.

   (B)   No action or proceeding pending against the City or an officer thereof shall be abated or affected by the adoption of this Charter, but all such actions or proceedings shall be prosecuted or defended under the laws in effect at the time of the filing thereof.

16.03. Amendments to Charter.

   This Charter and any section hereof may be amended as provided by the Constitution of the State of Ohio, by submission of the proposed amendment or amendments to the electors of the City. If any such proposed amendment shall be approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon, it shall become a part of this Charter, except that if two or more inconsistent proposed amendments on the same subject shall be submitted at the same election, only the one of such amendments receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes, not less than a majority, shall become effective as part of the Charter.

   Following any election at which any amendment to this Charter is adopted, the Clerk of Council, with the approval of Council and the Director of Law, prior to any reprinting of this Charter, may make administrative changes as needed. Such administrative changes shall be limited to errors of grammar, sentence construction, standardization of similar terms and paragraph renumbering as necessary or desirable to maintain or assure the logical and consistent ordering therein. No such change shall, in any way, affect the substance or meaning of this charter or any part thereof or amendment thereto.

(November 8, 2022)