If passed, the charter amendment would increase that maximum to three consecutive terms in office, at which point, a person would have to wait four years before they could run for either position again.
Council members have previously said a reason for the proposed change is that it takes time to learn and become comfortable in city roles, plus longevity has benefits in regional government organizations.
“Several cities in the Miami Valley have no term limits at all, and while I agree with term limits … by not having an extension for our residents, it’s allowing the neighboring communities to have more pull and more say on these other boards when it comes to funding for their cities than we have,” Councilwoman Joanna Garcia said Monday.
Cities that do not have term limits include Centerville, Dayton, Englewood, Huber Heights, Miamisburg, Moraine, Oakwood, Riverside, Springboro, Springfield, Troy, Trotwood, Vandalia, West Carrollton, and Xenia. Kettering and Fairborn have a limit of two consecutive terms of four years.
Mayor Don Adams said previous changes allowing Beavercreek’s mayor to serve four-year terms instead of two allowed Beavercreek a seat on the Ohio Mayor’s Alliance, which consists of the mayors of Ohio’s 30 most populous cities.
“Up until four years ago we did not have a seat at that table,” he said. “Having a seat there … gives us an opportunity to fight for things at the state level with that cooperative group that will really benefit our city.”
“No more than three (terms), I wouldn’t want to do that,” Adams added. “but it’s an opportunity I think should be there because it gives us the continuity and the ability to really advocate for our city at a much higher level.”
The second ballot measure bundles together several charter amendments “enhancing transparency and efficiency, and reducing the city’s expenses,” city leadership said, including adjustments to public meeting notifications, publication requirements for city documents, and administrative procedures.
Previously, Ohio law said cities must publish most of their notices in a newspaper with a paid circulation. However, House Bill 33, signed by Governor DeWine last July, changed this and allowed municipalities to publish most of their notices to the public somewhere on their own websites and social media instead of local newspapers.
All of the changes were recommended by the city’s Charter Review Commission, a seven-member committee appointed every five years to review and recommend updates to the charter.
A complete list of these amendments is as follows:
- Revising Section 4.08 (“Procedures”) to require notice of special meetings to be given to all council members no less than 24 hours in advance, instead of the current 12 hours.
- Revising Section 5.03 (“Introduction and Adoption of Ordinances”), Subsection A (“First Reading and Public Hearing”) to allow printed or electronic copies of proposed ordinances to be given to council members and the city manager when an ordinance is first introduced. Additionally, it requires the clerk of council to file a copy of the proposed ordinance in their office at least 10 days before the first reading, display the full proposed ordinance in the city’s offices and publish the proposed ordinance in a widely circulated printed publication within the city, or in other media as allowed by law.
- Revising Section 5.03 (“Introduction and Adoption of Ordinances”), Subsection C (“Notice of Adoption”) to allow the clerk of council to provide notice of ordinance adoption within 10 days via public media channels, rather than solely through printed publications, when permitted by law.
- Revising Section 5.09 (“Authentication and Recording; Review; Codification; Reproduction”), Subsection B (“Review”) to allow, but not require City Council to appoint an Ordinance Review Commission to review existing ordinances and make recommendations.
- Revising Section 5.09 (“Authentication and Recording; Review; Codification; Reproduction”), Subsection C (“Codification”) to authorize the publication of the city’s ordinances and resolutions in electronic form, removing the requirement for printed copies to be given to city officials, placed in public city offices, and available at the local public library.
- Revising Section 8.01 (“Merit Principle”) to authorize appointments and promotions in the city based on merit and fitness as far as practicable by competitive examination, except as otherwise provided by council.
- Revising Section 9.03 (“Planning Commission”) to allow publication of notice of public hearings on public media forums such as the city’s website, instead of printed publications, when allowed by law.
- Revising Section 10.09 (“Public Access”) to authorize the city to make copies of the city’s budget and capital program available for public inspection through media forums.
- Revising Section 11.03 (“Nominations”): Clarifies that no primary elections shall be held for nominations of council members or the mayor.
About the Author
