REPRESENTATIVES Wolpert, McGregor, Flowers, Reidelbach, Seitz, Husted

To amend section 703.21 and to enact section 703.201

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of the Revised Code to permit the board of county

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commissioners to dissolve a village under certain

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conditions.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 703.21 be amended and section 703.201	5
of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:	6

Sec. 703.201. (A) As used in this section, "condition for	7
surrendering corporate powers" means any of the following:	8

(1) The village has been declared to be in a fiscal emergency	9
under Chapter 118. of the Revised Code and has been in fiscal	10
emergency for at least three consecutive years with little or no	11
improvement on the conditions that caused the fiscal emergency	12
declaration.	13

(2) The village has failed to properly follow applicable	14
election laws for at least two consecutive election cycles for any	15
one elected office in the village.	16

(3) The village has been declared during an audit conducted	17
under section 117.11 of the Revised Code to be unauditable under	18
section 117.41 of the Revised Code in at least two consecutive	19
audits.	20

(4) The village does not provide at least two services	21
typically provided by municipal government, such as police or fire	22
protection, garbage collection, water or sewer service, emergency	23
medical services, road maintenance, or similar services.	24
"Services" does not include any administrative service or	25
legislative action.	26

(5) The village has failed for any fiscal year to adopt the	27
tax budget required by section 5705.28 of the Revised Code.	28

(6) A village elected official has been convicted of theft in	29
office, either under section 2921.41 of the Revised Code or an	30
equivalent criminal statute at the federal level, at least two	31
times in a period of ten years. The convicted official with	32
respect to those convictions may be the same person or different	33
persons.	34

(B) If the auditor of state finds, in an audit report issued	35
under division (A) or (B) of section 117.11 of the Revised Code of	36
a village that has a population of one hundred persons or less per	37
square mile and consists of less than two square miles, that the	38
village meets at least two conditions for surrendering corporate	39
powers, the auditor of state shall send a copy of the report	40
together with a certified letter to the board of county	41
commissioners of the county where the village is located. The	42
letter shall inform the board of the auditor of state's findings	43
relevant to the surrender of village corporate powers under this	44
section and state that the board must vote on the question of the	45
dissolution of the village in accordance with division (C) of this	46
section. The report and letter shall be sent to the board within	47
ten business days after the auditor of state's transmittal of the	48
report to the village.	49

(C) Upon receipt of the auditor of state's report and	50
certified letter, the board of county commissioners shall set a	51
date for a vote on the surrender of the village's corporate	52
powers. The date of the vote shall be within ninety days after the	53
board's receipt of the report and letter. The clerk of the board	54
shall deliver a notice of the date and time of the vote to the	55
village clerk and to each clerk of a township located wholly or	56
partly within the village, and, in addition, shall publish notice	57
of the date and time of the vote in a newspaper of general	58
circulation in the county, specifically identifying the village by	59
name. The newspaper notice shall be published not later than	60
thirty days before the scheduled date of the vote.	61

In order for the village to be dissolved, the board must	62
first determine that the village has a population of one hundred	63
persons or less per square mile and consists of less than two	64
square miles, and that the auditor of state's report shows at	65
least two conditions for surrendering corporate powers. If it so	66
determines, the board shall vote on whether to dissolve the	67
village. It must vote by a unanimous vote to cause the village to	68
surrender its corporate powers.	69

If the board votes unanimously to have the village surrender	70
its corporate powers, the village clerk shall certify the result	71
of that vote to the secretary of state and the county recorder,	72
who shall record it in their respective offices. Upon the	73
recording in the county recorder's office, the corporate powers of	74
the village shall cease.	75

(D) The procedure in this section is in addition to the	76
procedure of section 703.20 of the Revised Code for the surrender	77
of the corporate powers of a village.	78

Sec. 703.21.  The surrender of corporate powers by a village	79
under section 703.20 or 703.201 of the Revised Code does not	80
affect vested rights or accrued liabilities of the village, or the	81
power to settle claims, dispose of property, or levy and collect	82
taxes to pay existing obligations, but. But, after the	83
presentation of the petition mentioned in that section 703.20 of	84
the Revised Code or receipt of the audit report mentioned in	85
section 703.201 of the Revised Code, the legislative authority of	86
the village shall not create any new liability until the result of	87
the election under section 703.20 of the Revised Code is declared	88
or of the board of county commissioners' vote under section	89
703.201 of the Revised Code is declared, or thereafter, if the	90
result, in either case, is in favor offor the surrender of the	91
village's corporate powers. Due and unpaid taxes may be collected	92
after the surrender, and all moneys or property remaining after	93
the surrender belongs to the township or townships located wholly	94
or partly within the village. If more than one township is to	95
receive the remaining money or property, the money and property	96
shall be divided among the townships in proportion to the amount	97
of territory that each township has within the village boundaries	98
as compared to the total township territory within the village.	99

Section 2. That existing section 703.21 of the Revised Code	100
is hereby repealed.	101