Each member of 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 Council shall hold any other public office, be interested in any contract with the Village, or hold employment with the Village, except that such member may be a Notary Public, a member of the State militia or a volunteer fire-fighter of the Village, provided that such member shall not receive any compensation for his or her services as a volunteer fire- fighter of the Village in addition to his or her regular compensation as a member of Council. Any member who ceases to possess any of such 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 Council has a substantial and compelling interest in encouraging qualified candidacies for election to the office of member of Council by ensuring that a candidate for such 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, Council 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. (ORC 731.12)