| Sec. 709.45. (A) A petition may be filed with the board of | 10 |
|
elections proposing that one or more municipal corporations be | 11 |
|
merged with another municipal corporation, or that the | 12 |
|
unincorporated area of a township be merged with one or more | 13 |
|
municipal
corporations, as provided by section 709.44 of the | 14 |
Revised Code.
SuchThe
petition may be presented in separate | 15 |
petition papers. Each
such petition paper shall contain, in | 16 |
|
concise language, the
purpose of the petition and
the names of not | 17 |
less than five
electors of each
suchaffected
municipal | 18 |
|
corporation, or
the names of not
less than five electors
of the | 19 |
unincorporated area of
suchthe
township and
the names of
not less | 20 |
|
than five electors of each
affected
municipal
corporation,
to be | 21 |
| nominated
to serve as commissioners. The
petition
shall be | 22 |
governed by the
rules of section 3501.38 of
the Revised
Code.
Such | 23 |
| The petition
shall contain signatures of
electors of
each | 24 |
| municipal corporation
or of each municipal corporation and
the | 25 |
| unincorporated
area of
the township proposed to be merged and | 26 |
|
signatures of
electors of
the municipal corporation with which | 27 |
|
merger is
proposed, numbering
not less than ten per cent of the | 28 |
|
number of
electors residing in
each such political subdivision who | 29 |
|
voted
for the office of
governor at the most recent general | 30 |
election
for
suchthat office.
Such | 31 |
| (B) The petition shall be filed with the board of
elections | 32 |
|
of the county in which the largest portion of the
population of | 33 |
|
the municipal corporation with which merger is
proposed resides. | 34 |
SuchThe board of elections shall cause the
validity of all | 35 |
|
signatures to be ascertained and, in doing so, may
require the | 36 |
|
assistance of boards of elections of other counties
as the case | 37 |
|
requires. If the petition is sufficient, the board
of elections
of | 38 |
| the county in which the petition is required to
be filed shall | 39 |
|
submit the question: "Shall a commission be
chosen to draw up a | 40 |
|
statement of conditions for merger of the
political subdivisions | 41 |
|
of ........., ..........., and
...........?" for the approval or | 42 |
|
rejection of the electors of
each political subdivision proposed | 43 |
|
to be merged and the electors
of the municipal corporation to | 44 |
|
which merger is proposed at the
next general election, in any | 45 |
|
year, occurring subsequent to the
period ending seventy-five days | 46 |
after the filing of
such
petitionsthe petition with the board. | 47 |
|
Provision shall be made on the ballot
for the election, from each | 48 |
|
of the component political
subdivisions, of five electors who | 49 |
|
shall constitute the
commission to draw up the statement of | 50 |
|
conditions for merger of
the political subdivisions. If any of
the | 51 |
| political subdivisions
for which merger is proposed are
located | 52 |
| wholly or partially in a
county other than the one in
which the | 53 |
| petition is required to be
filed, the board of elections
of the | 54 |
county in which
suchthe
petition is filed shall, if the
petition | 55 |
is found to be
sufficient, certify the sufficiency of
suchthe | 56 |
| petition and the
statement of the issue to be voted on to
the | 57 |
boards of elections
of
suchthose other counties,; the boards
of | 58 |
elections of
suchthose other
counties shall submit the
question | 59 |
| of merging
and the names of
candidates to be elected
to
the | 60 |
| commission to draw up the
statement of conditions for merger, for | 61 |
the
approval or rejection of the
electors in the portions of
such | 62 |
those political subdivisions within
their respective counties,; | 63 |
and, upon the holding of
suchthe election,
the boards of | 64 |
elections of those other counties
shall certify the
result thereof | 65 |
| election results to the board of elections of the
county in which | 66 |
|
the petition is required to be filed. | 67 |
| (C) In addition to the filing of the petition with the board | 68 |
|
of elections as provided in division (B) of this section, a copy | 69 |
|
of the petition shall be filed with the legislative authority of | 70 |
|
each affected municipal corporation and, if applicable, the board | 71 |
|
of township trustees of the affected township. At a public meeting | 72 |
| scheduled not less than
thirty days before the date of the | 73 |
| election at which the question
of merging goes before the | 74 |
| electors, each of those legislative
authorities and, if | 75 |
| applicable, the board of township trustees
shall state and explain | 76 |
| their position on
the proposed merger. | 77 |
| Sec. 709.46. (A)
If the question of merging one or more | 78 |
municipal
corporations and the unincorporated
territoryarea of a | 79 |
|
township, as
provided in section 709.45 of the Revised Code, is | 80 |
|
disapproved by
a majority of those voting on it in the township or | 81 |
|
a municipal corporation
proposed to be
merged or in the municipal | 82 |
|
corporation with which merger is
proposed, no further petitions | 83 |
|
shall be filed under that section
proposing the same merger for at | 84 |
least three years after the date
of
suchthat disapproval.
If | 85 |
If the
question of merging
as provided in
section 709.45 of | 86 |
the Revised
Code is approved by a majority of
those voting on it | 87 |
|
in each
political subdivision proposed to be
merged and in the | 88 |
|
municipal
corporation with which merger is
proposed,
the five | 89 |
candidates
from each
suchof those political
subdivision | 90 |
| subdivisions shall
be
elected to the commission to formulate the | 91 |
|
conditions of
merging the political subdivisions. The first | 92 |
meeting of
suchthe
commission shall be held in the chamber of the | 93 |
legislative
authority of the municipal corporation
whichthat has | 94 |
the
smallest population, or, in the case of a merger of the | 95 |
|
unincorporated area of a township and one or more municipal | 96 |
|
corporations, in
the office of the board of township trustees, at | 97 |
|
nine a.m. on the
tenth day after the certification of the election | 98 |
by the last of
the respective boards of elections to make
such | 99 |
that certification,
unless
suchthat day is a Saturday, Sunday, or | 100 |
holiday, in which case
suchthe first meeting shall be held on the | 101 |
|
next day thereafter which
is not a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. | 102 |
The | 103 |
| (B) In case of a vacancy on the commission, the vacancy
shall | 112 |
| be filled by an appointee of the legislative authority of
the | 113 |
| municipal corporation, or the board of township trustees of
the | 114 |
| township, that the prior commissioner represented. The person | 115 |
|
appointed to fill the vacancy shall be an elector of that | 116 |
|
political subdivision and, if the person is representing a | 117 |
|
township, shall reside in the unincorporated area of that | 118 |
|
township. | 119 |
The conditions of merger may provide for the
election, prior | 131 |
to the merger, of new officers to govern the
municipal corporation | 132 |
with which merger is proposed after the
merger is complete, | 133 |
provided that such a provision does not
conflict with the charter | 134 |
of the municipal corporation with which
merger is proposed. If | 135 |
more than one municipal corporation is to be included
in the | 136 |
merger, the conditions of merger shall designate one of the | 137 |
municipal
corporations as the municipal corporation into which the | 138 |
township and any
other municipal corporations involved are being | 139 |
merged. The conditions of
merger may also provide that the | 140 |
municipal corporation into which the other
political subdivisions | 141 |
are to be merged shall amend its existing charter to
include | 142 |
specified provisions and may state that the merger, if approved, | 143 |
shall
not become effective until the date on which that municipal | 144 |
charter includes
the required provisions. In the case of a merger | 145 |
of a township with a single
municipal corporation, the merger | 146 |
conditions may also provide for
the annexation of a school | 147 |
district located wholly within the
township to the school district | 148 |
of the municipal corporation. As
soon as the conditions have been | 149 |
agreed upon by a majority of the
members of the commission from | 150 |
each political subdivision, this
fact shall be reported to the | 151 |
board of elections of each of the
counties in which the political | 152 |
subdivisions proposed for merger
are located and the question | 153 |
shall be submitted to the voters at
the next general election | 154 |
occurring after the commission is
elected. Regardless of whether
a | 155 |
merger commission of a township
and a municipal corporation | 156 |
succeeds in reaching agreement, the
commission shall cease to | 157 |
exist on the seventy-fifth day prior to
the next general election | 158 |
after the commission is elected. The
boards of elections shall | 159 |
submit the conditions of proposed
merger for the approval or | 160 |
rejection of the electors in the
portions of such political | 161 |
subdivisions within their respective
counties and, upon the | 162 |
holding of such election, shall certify
the results thereof to the | 163 |
board of elections of the county in
which the petition is required | 164 |
to be filed. | 165 |
| Sec. 709.461. (A) In formulating the proposed merger | 166 |
|
conditions, the commission shall attempt to work in a | 167 |
|
collaborative process that results in a consensus of its members | 168 |
|
as to the best proposal for all of the political subdivisions | 169 |
|
involved. To this end, the commission shall adopt rules for the | 170 |
|
orderly operation of commission meetings that permit all | 171 |
|
commission members to be coleaders, as appropriate, so that | 172 |
|
overall no one member has more authority than any of the other | 173 |
|
members in determining the proposed conditions. These rules may | 174 |
|
create a framework for building agreement among the members to | 175 |
|
adopt proposed conditions. The commission also shall seek the | 176 |
|
advice of both public and private sources to help the commission | 177 |
|
fully study the merger situation so that appropriate conditions | 178 |
|
are drafted. If funding permits, the commission may contract with | 179 |
|
a dispute resolution expert to help make the process more | 180 |
|
collaborative.
| 181 |
| (C) The proposed merger conditions may provide for the | 188 |
|
election, prior
to the merger, of new officers to govern the | 189 |
|
municipal corporation
with which merger is proposed after the | 190 |
|
merger is complete,
provided that the provision does not
conflict | 191 |
|
with the charter
of the municipal corporation with which
merger is | 192 |
|
proposed. If
more than one municipal corporation is to be
included | 193 |
|
in the
merger, the proposed conditions shall designate
one of the | 194 |
|
municipal
corporations as the municipal corporation
into which the | 195 |
|
township and any
other municipal corporations
involved are being | 196 |
|
merged. The proposed conditions also may
provide that the | 197 |
|
municipal corporation into which the other
political subdivisions | 198 |
|
are to be merged shall amend its existing
charter to
include | 199 |
|
specified provisions and may state that the
merger, if approved, | 200 |
|
shall
not become effective until the date on
which that municipal | 201 |
|
charter includes
the required provisions. In
the case of a merger | 202 |
|
of a township with a single
municipal
corporation, the merger | 203 |
|
conditions also may provide for
the
annexation of a school | 204 |
|
district located wholly within the
township
to the school district | 205 |
|
of the municipal corporation. | 206 |
| (B) If no proposed merger condition can be agreed upon by a | 209 |
|
majority of the members of the commission from each political | 210 |
|
subdivision, the members of the commission may vote on whether the | 211 |
|
merger should not occur. If, in that situation, a majority of the | 212 |
|
members of the commission from each political subdivision votes | 213 |
|
against the merger, no further proceedings shall be had on the | 214 |
|
petition filed under section 709.45 of the Revised Code, and no | 215 |
| further petitions shall be filed under that section proposing a | 216 |
| merger of
any or all of the political subdivisions that were the | 217 |
| subjects of
that petition for at least three years after the date | 218 |
| of the commission's vote. | 219 |
| (C) If proposed merger conditions are agreed upon by a | 220 |
|
majority of the
members of the commission from
each political | 221 |
|
subdivision, the commission shall issue a report listing the | 222 |
|
conditions agreed to and the reasoning behind adopting each | 223 |
|
condition. In addition, after the next general election occurring | 224 |
|
after
the election of the members of the commission, but
not less | 225 |
| than seventy-five days
preceding the second general
election | 226 |
| occurring after the election of the members of the
commission, the | 227 |
| commission, unless it has ceased to exist under division (D) of | 228 |
| this section, shall certify the
fact of
that agreement and a list | 229 |
| of the agreed-to merger conditions to
the
board of elections of | 230 |
| each of the
counties in
which the
political
subdivisions proposed | 231 |
| for merger
are located.
The
question of the approval or rejection | 232 |
| of the merger conditions
shall be submitted to the voters at
that | 233 |
| second general election
occurring after the election of the | 234 |
| members of the
commission. The
boards of
elections shall
submit | 235 |
| the merger
conditions for the approval or
rejection of the | 236 |
| electors in the
portions of the political
subdivisions within | 237 |
| their respective
counties, and, upon the
holding of the election, | 238 |
| each board of elections other than the board of the county in | 239 |
| which the petition is required to be filed shall certify
its | 240 |
|
results to the
board
of elections of the county in
which the | 241 |
|
petition is required
to be
filed. | 242 |
| (D) Regardless of whether
a merger commission succeeds in | 243 |
|
reaching an agreement, the
commission shall cease to
exist on the | 244 |
|
seventy-fifth day preceding the next general election occurring | 245 |
|
after the election of the members of the commission, unless the | 246 |
| commission requests an extension of time from the legislative | 247 |
| authority of each political subdivision involved and each of those | 248 |
| legislative authorities approves the extension. This extension of | 249 |
| time may be only until the seventy-fifth day preceding the second | 250 |
| general election occurring after the election of the members of | 251 |
| the commission. If the commission ceases to exist under this | 252 |
| division, no further petitions shall be filed under section 709.45 | 253 |
| of the Revised Code proposing a merger of any or all of the | 254 |
| political subdivisions that were the subjects of the petition | 255 |
| considered by the commission for at least three years after the | 256 |
| date the commission ceases to exist. | 257 |
Sec. 709.47. (A)
If
themerger conditions
of merger agreed | 258 |
|
upon by a
merger commission of a township and one or more | 259 |
|
municipal
corporations are
disapproved by a majority of those | 260 |
|
voting on them
in the township
or a municipal corporation proposed | 261 |
|
to be merged
or in the municipal
corporation
with which
merger is | 262 |
|
proposed, no
further petitions shall be filed under
section 709.45 | 263 |
of the
Revised Code proposing the same merger of any of the | 264 |
| territory within that proposed merger for
at least three
years | 265 |
after the date of
suchthat disapproval.
If the | 266 |
If merger
conditions
of merger are approved by a majority of | 267 |
|
those voting
on them in
each political subdivision proposed to be | 268 |
|
merged and
in the
municipal corporation with which merger is | 269 |
|
proposed, the
merger is
effective on the first day of January of | 270 |
|
the year
following the
certification of the results of the | 271 |
|
election by the
board of
elections with which the petition is | 272 |
|
required to be
filed, unless
the conditions specify a different | 273 |
|
date, in which
case the date
specified is the effective date of | 274 |
merger. On and
after
suchthe
effective date, the territory of | 275 |
|
each political
subdivision
proposed to be merged is annexed to and | 276 |
|
included in
the territory
and corporate boundaries of the | 277 |
|
municipal
corporation with which
the merger is proposed. The form | 278 |
|
of
government, ordinances,
resolutions, and other rules of the | 279 |
|
municipal corporation with
which merger is proposed apply | 280 |
throughout
suchthe newly included
territories to the extent they | 281 |
|
are
not in conflict with the
conditions approved by the electors. | 282 |
|
The charter, if
any, of the
municipal corporation with which | 283 |
|
merger is proposed applies
throughout the newly included | 284 |
|
territories. The corporate
existence and the offices of the | 285 |
|
municipal corporations or of the
township proposed to be merged | 286 |
terminate on
suchthat date.
The | 287 |
| (D) When a merger proposal includes the unincorporated area | 306 |
| of a township, the board of county commissioners of the county in | 307 |
| which the unincorporated area is located and the legislative | 308 |
| authority of the municipal corporation with which merger is | 309 |
| proposed shall negotiate an agreement requiring the county to | 310 |
| continue providing within the unincorporated area for a determined | 311 |
| period of time after the merger's effective date the county | 312 |
| services it was providing within the unincorporated area on the | 313 |
| day prior to the merger's effective date. During the negotiation | 314 |
| process, each of the following shall occur: | 315 |
| Sec. 709.48. On and after the date on which a petition is | 343 |
|
filed with the board of elections under section 709.45 of the | 344 |
|
Revised Code for the election of a merger commission for the | 345 |
|
merger of one or more municipal corporations and the | 346 |
| unincorporated
territory of a township, no petition for the | 347 |
| annexation of any
part of the unincorporated territory of the | 348 |
| township shall be
filed with a board of county commissioners under | 349 |
| section 709.03
or 709.15 of the Revised Code, until one of the | 350 |
| following occurs: | 351 |
| (B) The merger commission elected pursuant to section
709.45 | 357 |
| of the Revised Code fails to reach agreement on merger conditions | 358 |
of merger no later thanby the seventy-fifth day prior to | 359 |
| preceding the next
general election occurring after the election | 360 |
of the members of the commission was electedor, if the time for | 361 |
| the commission's existence is extended under division (D) of | 362 |
| section 709.462 of the Revised Code, by the date that extension | 363 |
| ceases, whichever is later. | 364 |
| Section 3. (A) Notwithstanding any provisions of sections | 371 |
| 504.14 and 731.29 of the Revised Code to the contrary, for one | 372 |
| year after the effective date of this act, in any township with a | 373 |
| population of fifty thousand or more that has adopted a limited | 374 |
| home rule government, at the option of the board of township | 375 |
| trustees, a referendum petition for the approval or rejection of a | 376 |
| resolution adopted by the board may be submitted to the electors | 377 |
| in the unincorporated territory of the township at a special | 378 |
| election occurring earlier than the next general election. | 379 |
| However, the special election must occur subsequent to | 380 |
| seventy-five days after the township clerk certified the | 381 |
| sufficiency and validity of the referendum petition to the board | 382 |
| of elections. If a special election is chosen, the board of | 383 |
| township trustees shall adopt a resolution so stating, and the | 384 |
| clerk shall submit that resolution along with the referendum | 385 |
| petition and the resolution that is being submitted for approval | 386 |
| or rejection to the board of elections. Expenses of the special | 387 |
| election shall be paid as provided in section 3501.17 of the | 388 |
| Revised Code. | 389 |