Each member of the Council shall have resided in the village one year immediately preceding the member's election, and shall be an elector of the village. No member of the Council shall hold any other public office, be interested in any contract with the village, or hold employment with the village, except that the member may be a notary public, a member of the state militia, or a volunteer fireman of the village, provided that the member shall not receive any compensation for his services as a volunteer fireman of the village, in addition to his regular compensation as a member of the Council. Any member who ceases to possess any of these qualifications, or who removes from the village, shall forfeit the member's office. The purpose of establishing a one-year residency requirement in this section is to recognize that the state has a substantial and compelling interest in encouraging qualified candidacies for election to the office of member of the Council by ensuring that a candidate for the office has every opportunity to become knowledgeable with and concerned about the problems and needs of the area the candidate seeks to represent. In enacting this requirement, the general assembly finds that the one-year period is reasonably related to this purpose, while leaving unimpaired a person's right to travel, to vote, and to be a candidate for public office.
(R.C. § 731.12)