A. Form. Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and in the form required for final adoption, after review by the Law Director, or his or her designee, on the question of correct legal form or possible contradiction with the U.S. Constitution or the Constitution of the State of Ohio, this Charter, existing ordinances, or general laws of the State. No ordinance shall contain more than one (1) subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title; provided, however, that appropriation ordinances may contain various subjects, accounts, and amounts for which moneys are appropriated, and an ordinance amending or enacting sections of the City Code may contain more than one title, chapter, section or subsection containing more than one subject. The enacting clause shall be “The City of Xenia hereby ordains…”. Any ordinance that repeals or amends an existing ordinance or part of the Xenia City Code shall set out in full the ordinance, sections, or subsections to be repealed or amended, and shall indicate matters to be omitted by enclosing it in brackets or by strikeout type and shall indicate new matters by underscoring or by italics. Any ordinance, section or subsection so amended shall be repealed.
B. Procedure. An ordinance may be introduced by any member of Council at any regular or special meeting of the Council. Upon introduction of any proposed ordinance, the City Clerk shall distribute a copy to each Council member and appointed official, shall file a copy in the office of the City Clerk, and shall publish the ordinance, by title or by a brief summary thereof, together with notice setting out the time and place for a public hearing thereon and for its consideration by the Council. Notice of the public hearing shall be published at least seven (7) days prior to the scheduled public hearing.
C. Public Hearing. A public hearing on the proposed ordinance shall be held not earlier than seven (7) days following publication of the notice of such hearing and may be held separately or in connection with a regular or special meeting of the City Council. After the public hearing, Council may adopt the proposed ordinance, with or without amendment, or reject it.
D. Amendment. If, after the public hearing, Council amends the ordinance and the amendment is a matter of substance, as determined by a majority vote of the members of Council who are present, the ordinance may not be voted upon until it has been subjected to the procedures required in the case of a newly introduced ordinance under Subsection B. of this section.
E. Adoption and Publication. The vote on the question of adoption of each ordinance shall be taken by roll call and entered into the Clerk’s journal. No ordinance shall be adopted except upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of Council who are present, unless otherwise required by this Charter. After its by this Charter. After its adoption, the Clerk shall publish the ordinance again, together with a notice of its adoption. As used in this section, the term “publish” means to post on the City’s website within seven (7) days of adoption and either to print in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the City or to post in full in not less than three (3) public places in the City, as determined by Council, within twenty (20) days of adoption, the ordinance by title or by a brief summary thereof.
F. Effective Date. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, every adopted ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after adoption or at any later date specified therein.