130th Ohio General Assembly
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(122nd General Assembly)
(Amended Substitute Senate Bill Number 201)



AN ACT
To amend sections 133.18, 309.09, 323.131, 323.153, 345.04, 511.28, 715.70, 1545.21, 1901.31, 1905.05, 3709.085, 5705.03, 5705.192, 5705.197, 5705.25, 5705.251, 5705.71, 6119.02, and 6119.04, to enact sections 9.03, 5705.314, and 6119.071, and to repeal section 505.07 of the Revised Code to require the political subdivision or subdivisions proposing the establishment of a regional water and sewer district to hold a public meeting before filing the petition for the establishment, to provide for the removal of appointed members from the board of trustees of a district, to require additional study prior to the establishment of a district if the court in which the petition is heard orders that study, to allow a board of health to charge a fee for inspections of all semipublic disposal systems conducted under contract with the Environmental Protection Agency, to require the county prosecuting attorney to act as legal advisor to any township board or commission, to allow the compensation of a mayor's court magistrate to be fixed by contract, to specify that the clerk of the Medina Municipal Court shall be appointed by the judges of that court irrespective of whether the territorial population of that court is less than, equals, or exceeds 100,000, to require ballots proposing property taxes that would apply to the same year in which the taxes are voted on to state expressly that the tax would apply in that year, to require taxing authorities to obtain certain information regarding proposed taxes from the county auditor before submitting the question of the tax to electors, to require a board of education to conduct public hearing if proposed changes in its inside millage will result in a tax increase in the district, to make changes to a notice in real property tax bills, to clarify language governing application for the 2 1/2% residential property tax reduction, to authorize political subdivisions to use newsletters and other means to communicate information to the public within the political subdivision and to other persons affected by the political subdivision, and to declare an emergency.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:

SECTION 1 .  That sections 133.18, 309.09, 323.131, 323.153, 345.04, 511.28, 715.70, 1545.21, 1901.31, 1905.05, 3709.085, 5705.03, 5705.192, 5705.197, 5705.25, 5705.251, 5705.71, 6119.02, and 6119.04 be amended and sections 9.03, 5705.314, and 6119.071 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 9.03. (A) As used in this section, "political subdivision" means any body corporate and politic, except a municipal corporation that has adopted a charter under Section 7 of Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution, and except a county that has adopted a charter under Sections 3 and 4 of Article X, Ohio Constitution, to which both of the following apply:

(1) It is responsible for governmental activities only in a geographic area smaller than the state.

(2) It is subject to the sovereign immunity of the state.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section, the governing body of a political subdivision may use public funds to publish and distribute newsletters, or to use any other means, to communicate information about the plans, policies, and operations of the political subdivision to members of the public within the political subdivision and to other persons who may be affected by the political subdivision.

(C) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(5) of section 340.03 or division (A)(12) of section 340.033 Of the Revised Code, no governing body of a political subdivision shall use public funds to do any of the following:

(1) Publish, distribute, or otherwise communicate information that does any of the following:

(a) Contains defamatory, libelous, or obscene matter;

(b) Promotes alcoholic beverages, cigarettes or other tobacco products, or any illegal product, service, or activity;

(c) Promotes illegal discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, handicap, age, or ancestry;

(d) Supports or opposes any labor organization or any action by, on behalf of, or against any labor organization;

(e) Supports or opposes the nomination or election of a candidate for public office, the investigation, prosecution, or recall of a public official, or the passage of a levy or bond issue.

(2) Compensate any employee of the political subdivision for time spent on any activity to influence the outcome of an election for any of the purposes described in division (C)(1)(e) of this section. Division (C)(2) of this section does not prohibit the use of public funds to compensate an employee of a political subdivision for attending a public meeting to present information about the political subdivision's finances, activities, and governmental actions in a manner that is not designed to influence the outcome of an election or the passage of a levy or bond issue, even though the election, levy, or bond issue is discussed or debated at the meeting.

(D) Nothing in this section prohibits or restricts any political subdivision from sponsoring, participating in, or doing any of the following:

(1) Charitable or public service advertising that is not commercial in nature;

(2) Advertising of exhibitions, performances, programs, products, or services that are provided by employees of a political subdivision or are provided at or through premises owned or operated by a political subdivision;

(3) Licensing an interest in a name or mark that is owned or controlled by the political subdivision.

(E) As used in this section, "cigarettes" and "tobacco product" have the same meanings as in section 5743.01 Of the Revised Code.

Sec. 133.18.  (A) The taxing authority of a subdivision may by legislation submit to the electors of the subdivision the question of issuing any general obligation bonds, for one purpose, that the subdivision has power or authority to issue.

(B) When the taxing authority of a subdivision desires or is required by law to submit the question of a bond issue to the electors, it shall pass legislation that does all of the following:

(1) Declares the necessity and purpose of the bond issue;

(2) States the date of the authorized election at which the question shall be submitted to the electors;

(3) States the amount, approximate date, estimated rate of interest, and maximum number of years over which the principal of the bonds may be paid;

(4) Declares the necessity of levying a tax outside the tax limitation to pay the debt charges on the bonds and any anticipatory securities.

The estimated rate of interest, and any statutory or charter limit on interest rate that may then be in effect and that is subsequently amended, shall not be a limitation on the actual interest rate or rates on the securities when issued.

(C) The taxing authority shall certify a copy of the legislation passed under division (B) of this section to the county auditor. The county auditor shall promptly calculate and advise and, not later than seventy-five days before the election, confirm that advice by certification to, the taxing authority the estimated average annual property tax levy, expressed in cents or dollars and cents for each one hundred dollars of tax valuation and in mills for each one dollar of tax valuation, that the county auditor estimates to be required throughout the stated maturity of the bonds to pay the debt charges on the bonds. In calculating the estimated average annual property tax levy for this purpose, the county auditor shall assume that the bonds are issued in one series bearing interest and maturing in substantially equal principal amounts in each year over the maximum number of years over which the principal of the bonds may be paid as stated in that legislation, and that the amount of the tax valuation of the subdivision for the current year remains the same throughout the maturity of the bonds. If the tax valuation for the current year is not determined, the county auditor shall base the calculation on the estimated amount of the tax valuation submitted by the county auditor to the county budget commission. If the subdivision is located in more than one county, the county auditor shall obtain the assistance of the county auditors of the other counties, and those county auditors shall provide assistance, in establishing the tax valuation of the subdivision for purposes of certifying the estimated average annual property tax levy.

(D) After receiving the county auditor's advice under division (C) of this section, the taxing authority by legislation may determine to proceed with submitting the question of the issue of securities, and shall, not later than the seventy-fifth day before the day of the election, file the following with the board of elections:

(1) Copies of the legislation provided for in division divisions (B) of this section and in this division (D) of this section;

(2) The amount of the estimated average annual property tax levy, expressed in cents or dollars and cents for each one hundred dollars of tax valuation and in mills for each one dollar of tax valuation, as estimated and certified to the taxing authority by the county auditor.

(E)(1) The board of elections shall prepare the ballots and make other necessary arrangements for the submission of the question to the electors of the subdivision. If the subdivision is located in more than one county, the board shall inform the boards of elections of the other counties of the filings with it, and those other boards shall if appropriate make the other necessary arrangements for the election in their counties. The election shall be conducted, canvassed, and certified in the manner provided in Title XXXV of the Revised Code.

(2) The election shall be held at the regular places for voting in the subdivision. If the electors of only a part of a precinct are qualified to vote at the election the board of elections may assign the electors in that part to an adjoining precinct, including an adjoining precinct in another county if the board of elections of the other county consents to and approves the assignment. Each elector so assigned shall be notified of that fact prior to the election by notice mailed by the board of elections, in such manner as it determines, prior to the election.

(3) The board of elections shall publish a notice of the election, in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the subdivision, at least once no later than ten days prior to the election. The notice shall state all of the following:

(a) The principal amount of the proposed bond issue;

(b) The stated purpose for which the bonds are to be issued;

(c) The maximum number of years over which the principal of the bonds may be paid;

(d) The estimated additional average annual property tax levy, expressed in cents or dollars and cents for each one hundred dollars of tax valuation and in mills for each one dollar of tax valuation, to be levied outside the tax limitation, as estimated and certified to the taxing authority by the county auditor;

(e) The first month and year in which the tax will be levied.

(F)(1) The form of the ballot to be used at the election shall be substantially either of the following, as applicable:

(a) "Shall bonds be issued by the ............ (name of subdivision) for the purpose of ........... (purpose of the bond issue) in the principal amount of .......... (principal amount of the bond issue), to be repaid annually over a maximum period of .......... (the maximum number of years over which the principal of the bonds may be paid) years, and an annual levy of property taxes be made outside the .......... (as applicable, "ten-mill" or "...charter tax") limitation, estimated by the county auditor to average over the repayment period of the bond issue .......... (number of mills) mills for each one dollar of tax valuation, which amounts to .......... (rate expressed in cents or dollars and cents, such as "36 cents" or "$1.41") for each $100 one hundred dollars of tax valuation, beginning in .......... (first month and year the tax will be levied), to pay the annual debt charges on the bonds, and to pay debt charges on any notes issued in anticipation of those bonds.?


__________________________________
For the bond issue
__________________________________
Against the bond issue
__________________________________ "

(b) In the case of an election held pursuant to legislation adopted under section 3375.43 or 3375.431 of the Revised Code:

"Shall bonds be issued for .......... (name of library) for the purpose of .......... (purpose of the bond issue), in the principal amount of .......... (amount of the bond issue) by .......... (the name of the subdivision that is to issue the bonds and levy the tax) as the issuer of the bonds, to be repaid annually over a maximum period of .......... (the maximum number of years over which the principal of the bonds may be paid) years, and an annual levy of property taxes be made outside the ten-mill limitation, estimated by the county auditor to average over the repayment period of the bond issue .......... (number of mills) mills for each one dollar of tax valuation, which amounts to .......... (rate expressed in cents or dollars and cents, such as "36 cents" or "$1.41") for each $100 one hundred dollars of tax valuation, beginning in .......... (first month and year the tax will be levied), to pay the annual debt charges on the bonds, and to pay debt charges on any notes issued in anticipation of those bonds.?


__________________________________
For the bond issue
__________________________________
Against the bond issue
__________________________________ "

(2) The purpose for which the bonds are to be issued shall be printed in the space indicated, in boldface type.

(G) The board of elections shall promptly certify the results of the election to the tax commissioner, the county auditor of each county in which any part of the subdivision is located, and the fiscal officer of the subdivision. The election, including the proceedings for and result of the election, is incontestable other than in a contest filed under section 3515.09 of the Revised Code in which the plaintiff prevails.

(H) If a majority of the electors voting upon the question vote for it, the taxing authority of the subdivision may proceed under sections 133.21 to 133.33 of the Revised Code with the issuance of the securities and with the levy and collection of a property tax outside the tax limitation during the period the securities are outstanding sufficient in amount to pay the debt charges on the securities, including debt charges on any anticipatory securities required to be paid from that tax. If legislation passed under section 133.22 or 133.23 of the Revised Code authorizing those securities is filed with the county auditor on or before the last day of November, the amount of the voted property tax levy required to pay debt charges or estimated debt charges on the securities payable in the following year shall if requested by the taxing authority be included in the taxes levied for collection in the following year under section 319.30 of the Revised Code.

(I)(1) If, before any securities authorized at an election under this section are issued, the net indebtedness of the subdivision exceeds that applicable to that subdivision or those securities, then and so long as that is the case none of the securities may be issued.

(2) No securities authorized at an election under this section may be initially issued after the first day of the sixth January following the election, but this period of limitation shall not run for any time during which any part of the permanent improvement for which the securities have been authorized, or the issuing or validity of any part of the securities issued or to be issued, or the related proceedings, is involved or questioned before a court or a commission or other tribunal, administrative agency, or board.

(3) Securities representing a portion of the amount authorized at an election that are issued within the applicable limitation on net indebtedness are valid and in no manner affected by the fact that the balance of the securities authorized cannot be issued by reason of the net indebtedness limitation or lapse of time.

(4) Nothing in this division (I) shall be interpreted or applied to prevent the issuance of securities in an amount to fund or refund anticipatory securities lawfully issued.

(5) The limitations of divisions (I)(1) and (2) of this section do not apply to any securities authorized at an election under this section if at least ten per cent of the principal amount of the securities, including anticipatory securities, authorized has theretofore been issued, or if the securities are to be issued for the purpose of participating in any federally or state-assisted program.

(6) The certificate of the fiscal officer of the subdivision is conclusive proof of the facts referred to in this division (I).

Sec. 309.09.  (A) The prosecuting attorney shall be the legal adviser of the board of county commissioners, board of elections, and all other county officers and boards, including all tax-supported public libraries, and any of them may require written opinions or instructions from the prosecuting attorney in matters connected with their official duties. The prosecuting attorney shall prosecute and defend all suits and actions which any such officer or board directs or to which it is a party, and no county officer may employ any other counsel or attorney at the expense of the county, except as provided in section 305.14 of the Revised Code.

(B) Such The prosecuting attorney shall be the legal adviser for all township officers, boards, and commissions, unless the township has adopted the limited self-government form of township government pursuant to Chapter 504. of the Revised Code and has not entered into a contract to have the prosecuting attorney serve as the township law director, in which case the township law director, whether serving full-time or part-time, shall be the legal adviser for all township officers, boards, and commissions. When the board of township trustees finds it advisable or necessary to have additional legal counsel it may employ an attorney other than the township law director or the prosecuting attorney of the county, either for a particular matter or on an annual basis, to represent the township and its officers, boards, and commissions in their official capacities and to advise them on legal matters. No such counsel or attorney may be employed, except on the order of the board of township trustees, duly entered upon its journal, in which the compensation to be paid for such legal services shall be fixed. Such compensation shall be paid from the township fund.

Nothing in this division confers any of the powers or duties of a prosecuting attorney under section 309.08 of the Revised Code upon a township law director.

(C) Whenever the board of county commissioners employs an attorney other than the prosecuting attorney of the county, without the authorization of the court of common pleas as provided in section 305.14 of the Revised Code, either for a particular matter or on an annual basis, to represent the board of county commissioners in its official capacity and to advise it on legal matters, the board of county commissioners shall enter upon its journal an order of the board in which the compensation to be paid for such legal services shall be fixed. The compensation shall be paid from the county general fund. The total compensation paid, in any year, by the board of county commissioners for legal services under this division shall not exceed the total annual compensation of the prosecuting attorney for that county.

(D) The prosecuting attorney and the board of county commissioners jointly may contract with a board of park commissioners under section 1545.07 of the Revised Code for the prosecuting attorney to provide legal services to the park district the board of park commissioners operates. All moneys received pursuant to such a contract shall be deposited into the prosecuting attorney's legal services fund, which shall be established in the county treasury of each county in which such a contract exists. Moneys in that fund may be appropriated only to the prosecuting attorney for the purpose f providing legal services under a contract entered into under this division.

Sec. 323.131.  Each tax bill prepared and mailed or delivered under section 323.13 of the Revised Code shall be in the form and contain the information required by the tax commissioner. The commissioner may prescribe different forms for each county and may authorize the county auditor to make up tax bills and tax receipts to be used by the county treasurer. For any county in which the board of county commissioners has granted a partial property tax exemption on homesteads under section 323.158 of the Revised Code, the commissioner shall require that the tax bills for those homesteads include a notice of the amount of the tax reduction that results from the partial exemption. In addition to the information required by the commissioner, each tax bill shall contain the following information:

(A) The taxes levied and the taxes charged and payable against the property;

(B) The effective tax rate. The words "effective tax rate" shall appear in boldface type.

(C) The following notices:

(1) "Notice: If the taxes are not paid within one year from the date they are due, the property is subject to foreclosure for tax delinquency." Failure to provide such notice has no effect upon the validity of any tax foreclosure to which a property is subjected.

(2) "Notice: If the taxes charged against this parcel have been reduced by the 2-1/2 per cent tax reduction for residences occupied by the owner but the property is not a residence occupied by the owner, the owner must notify the county auditor's office not later than March 31, ..... (insert of the year following the year for which the taxes are due). Failure to do so may result in the owner being convicted of a fourth degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by imprisonment up to 30 days, a fine up to $250, or both, and in the owner having to repay the amount by which the taxes were erroneously or illegally reduced, plus any interest that may apply.

If the taxes charged against this parcel have not been reduced by the 2-1/2 per cent tax reduction and the parcel includes a residence occupied by the owner, the parcel may qualify for the tax reduction. To obtain an application for the tax reduction or further information, the owner may contact the county auditor's office at .......... (insert the address and telephone number of the county auditor's office)."

(D) For a tract or lot on the real property tax suspension list under section 319.48 of the Revised Code, the following notice: "Notice: The taxes shown due on this bill are for the current year only. Delinquent taxes, penalties, and interest also are due on this property. Contact the county treasurer to learn the total amount due."

The tax bill shall not contain or be mailed or delivered with any information or material that is not required by this section or that is not authorized by section 321.45 of the Revised Code or by the tax commissioner.

Sec. 323.153.  (A) To obtain a reduction in real property taxes under division (A) or (B) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code, the owner shall file an application with the county auditor of the county in which the owner's homestead is located.

(1) An application for reduction based upon a physical disability shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by a physician, and an application for reduction based upon a mental disability shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by a physician or psychologist licensed to practice in this state, attesting to the fact that the applicant is permanently and totally disabled. The certificate shall be in a form that the tax commissioner requires and shall include the definition of permanently and totally disabled as set forth in section 323.151 of the Revised Code. An application for reduction based upon a disability certified as permanent and total by a state or federal agency having the function of so classifying persons shall be accompanied by a certificate from that agency. Such an application constitutes a continuing application for a reduction in taxes for each year in which the dwelling is the applicant's homestead and the amount of the reduction in taxable value to which the applicant is entitled does not exceed either the amount or percentage of the reduction to which the applicant was entitled for the year in which the application was first filed.

(2) An application for a reduction in taxes under division (B) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code shall be filed only if the homestead was transferred in the preceding year or did not qualify for and receive the reduction in taxes under that division for the preceding tax year. The application for homesteads transferred in the preceding year shall be incorporated into any form used by the county auditor to administer the tax law in respect to the conveyance of real property pursuant to section 319.20 of the Revised Code, and shall contain a statement that failure by the applicant to affirm on the application that the dwelling on the property conveyed is the applicant's homestead disqualifies prohibits the owner from receiving the reduction in taxes under this until a proper application is filed within the period prescribed by division (A)(3) of this section. Such an application constitutes a continuing application for a reduction in taxes for each year in which the dwelling is the applicant's homestead.

(3) Failure to receive a new application filed under division (A)(1) or (2) or notification under division (C) of this section after a certificate of reduction has been issued under section 323.154 of the Revised Code is prima-facie evidence that the original applicant is entitled to the reduction in taxes calculated on the basis of the information contained in the original application. The original application and any subsequent application, including any late application, shall be in the form of a signed statement and shall be filed after the first Monday in January and not later than the first Monday in June. The statement shall be on a form, devised and supplied by the tax commissioner, which shall require no more information than is necessary to establish the applicant's eligibility for the reduction in taxes and the amount of the reduction, and shall include an affirmation by the applicant that ownership of the homestead was not acquired from a person, other than a spouse, related to the owner by consanguinity or affinity for the purpose of qualifying for the real property tax reduction provided for in division (A) or (B) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code. The form shall contain a statement that conviction of willfully falsifying information to obtain a reduction in taxes or failing to comply with division (C) of this section results in the revocation of the right to the reduction for a period of three years. In the case of an application for a reduction in taxes under division (A) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code, the form shall contain a statement that signing the application constitutes a delegation of authority by the applicant to the county auditor to examine any financial records relating to income earned by the applicant as stated on the application for the purpose of determining a possible violation of division (D) or (E) of this section.

(B) A late application for a tax reduction for the year preceding the year in which an original application is filed may be filed with the original application. If the county auditor determines the information contained in the late application is correct, the auditor shall determine the amount of the reduction in taxes to which the applicant would have been entitled for the preceding tax year had the application been timely filed and approved in that year.

The amount of such reduction shall be treated by the auditor as an overpayment of taxes by the applicant and shall be refunded in the manner prescribed in section 5715.22 of the Revised Code for making refunds of overpayments. On the first day of July of each year, the county auditor shall certify the total amount of the reductions in taxes made in the current year under this division to the tax commissioner, who shall treat the full amount thereof as a reduction in taxes for the preceding tax year and shall make reimbursement to the county therefor in the manner prescribed by section 323.156 of the Revised Code, from money appropriated for that purpose.

(C) If, in any year after an application has been filed under division (A)(1) or (2) of this section, the owner does not qualify for a reduction in taxes on the homestead set forth on such application, or qualifies for a reduction in taxes that is to be based upon a reduction in taxable value less than either the percentage or amount of the reduction in taxable value to which the owner was entitled in the year the application was filed, the owner shall notify the county auditor that the owner is not qualified for a reduction in taxes or file a new application under division (A)(1) or (2) of this section. If the county auditor or county treasurer discovers that the owner of property not entitled to the reduction in taxes under division (B) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code failed to notify the county auditor as required by this paragraph, a charge shall be imposed against the property in the amount by which taxes were reduced under that division for each tax year the county auditor ascertains that the property was not entitled to the reduction and was owned by the current owner. Interest shall accrue in the manner prescribed by division (B) of section 323.121 of the Revised Code on the amount by which taxes were reduced for each such tax year as if the reduction became delinquent taxes at the close of the last day the second installment of taxes for that tax year could be paid without penalty. The county auditor shall notify the owner, by ordinary mail, of the charge, of the owner's right to appeal the charge, and of the manner in which the owner may appeal. The owner may appeal the imposition of the charge and interest by filing an appeal with the county board of revision not later than the last day prescribed for payment of real and public utility property taxes under section 323.12 of the Revised Code following receipt of the notice and occurring at least ninety days after receipt of the notice. The appeal shall be treated in the same manner as a complaint relating to the valuation or assessment of real property under Chapter 5715. of the Revised Code. The charge and any interest shall be collected as other delinquent taxes.

Each year during January, the county auditor shall furnish by ordinary mail a continuing application to each person issued a certificate of reduction under section 323.154 of the Revised Code with respect to a reduction in taxes under division (A) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code. The continuing application shall be used to report changes in total income that would have the effect of increasing or decreasing the reduction in taxable value to which the owner is entitled, changes in ownership of the homestead, including changes in or revocation of a revocable inter vivos trust, changes in disability, and other changes in the information earlier furnished the auditor relative to the reduction in taxes on the property. The continuing application shall be returned to the auditor not later than the first Monday in June; provided, that if such changes do not affect the status of the homestead exemption or the amount of the reduction to which the owner is entitled under division (A) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code, the application does not need to be returned.

Each year during February, the county auditor, except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, shall furnish by ordinary mail an original application to the owner, as of the first day of January of that year, of a homestead that transferred during the preceding calendar year and that qualified for and received a reduction in taxes under division (B) of section 323.152 of the Revised Code for the preceding tax year. In order to receive the reduction under that division, the owner shall file the application with the county auditor not later than the first Monday in June. If the application is not timely filed, the auditor shall not grant a reduction in taxes for the homestead for the current year, and shall notify the owner that the reduction in taxes has not been granted, in the same manner prescribed under section 323.154 of the Revised Code for notification of denial of an application. Failure of an owner to receive an application does not excuse the failure of the owner to file an original application. The county auditor is not required to furnish an application under this paragraph for any homestead for which application has previously been made on a form incorporated into or accompanying any form used by the county auditor to administer the tax law in respect to the conveyance of real property, and an owner who previously has applied on such a form is not required to return an application furnished under this paragraph.

(D) No person shall knowingly make a false statement for the purpose of obtaining a reduction in real property taxes under section 323.152 of the Revised Code.

(E) No person shall knowingly fail to notify the county auditor of changes required by division (C) of this section which that have the effect of maintaining or securing a reduction in taxable value of homestead property or a reduction in taxes in excess of the reduction allowed under section 323.152 of the Revised Code.

(F) No person shall knowingly make a false statement or certification attesting to any person's physical or mental condition for purposes of qualifying such person for tax relief pursuant to sections 323.151 to 323.157 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 345.04.  The form of the ballot cast at a general election, as provided by sections 345.01 to 345.03, inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall be: "An additional tax for the benefit of (name of subdivision) for the purpose of (state purpose stated in the resolution) at a rate not exceeding ..... mills for each one dollar of valuation which amounts to (rate expressed in dollar DOLLARS and cents) for each one hundred dollars of valuation for (the number of years the levy is to run)."


__________________________________
For the Tax Levy
__________________________________
Against the Tax Levy
__________________________________ "

If the tax is to be placed on the current tax list, the form of the ballot shall be modified by adding, after the statement of the number of years the levy is to run, the phrase ", beginning in .......... (first month and year the tax is to be levied)."

The question covered by such the resolution shall be submitted to the electors as a separate proposition, but it may be printed on the same ballot with any other proposition submitted at the same election other than the election of officers. More than one such question may be submitted at the same election.

Sec. 511.28.  A copy of any resolution for a tax levy adopted by the township board of park commissioners as provided in section 511.27 of the Revised Code shall be certified by the clerk of the board of park commissioners to the board of elections of the proper county, together with a certified copy of the resolution approving the levy, passed by the board of township trustees if such a resolution is required by division (C) of section 511.27 of the Revised Code, not less than seventy-five days before a general or primary election in any year. The board of elections shall submit the proposal to the electors as provided in section 511.27 of the Revised Code at the succeeding general or primary election. A resolution to renew an existing levy may not be placed on the ballot unless the question is submitted at the general election held during the last year the tax to be renewed may be extended on the real and public utility property tax list and duplicate, or at any election held in the ensuing year. The board of park commissioners shall cause notice that the vote will be taken to be published once a week for four consecutive weeks prior to the election in a newspaper of general circulation in the county within which the park district is located. The notice shall state the purpose of the proposed levy, the annual rate proposed expressed in dollars and cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation as well as in mills for each one dollar of valuation, the number of consecutive years during which the levy shall be in effect, and the time and place of the election.

The form of the ballots cast at the election shall be: "An additional tax for the benefit of (name of township park district) .......... for the purpose of (purpose stated in the order of the board) .......... at a rate not exceeding .......... mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to (rate expressed in dollars and cents) .......... for each one hundred dollars of valuation, for (number of years the levy is to run) ..........

_________________________________ FOR THE TAX LEVY _________________________________ AGAINST THE TAX LEVY _________________________________ ."

If the levy submitted is a proposal to renew, increase, or decrease an existing levy, the form of the ballot specified in this section may be changed by substituting for the words "An additional" at the beginning of the form, the words "A renewal of a" in the case of a proposal to renew an existing levy in the same amount; the words "A renewal of .......... mills and an increase of .......... mills to constitute a" in the case of an increase; or the words "A renewal of part of an existing levy, being a reduction of .......... mills, to constitute a" in the case of a decrease in the rate of the existing levy.

If the tax is to be placed on the current tax list, the form of the ballot shall be modified by adding, after the statement of the number of years the levy is to run, the phrase ", beginning in .......... (first month and year the tax is to be levied)."

The question covered by the order shall be submitted as a separate proposition, but may be printed on the same ballot with any other proposition submitted at the same election, other than the election of officers. More than one such question may be submitted at the same election.

Sec. 715.70.  (A) This section and section 715.71 of the Revised Code apply only to:

(1) Municipal corporations and townships within a county that has adopted a charter under Sections 3 and 4 of Article X, Ohio Constitution.

(2) Municipal corporations and townships that have created a joint economic development district comprised entirely of real property owned by a municipal corporation. The real property owned by the municipal corporation shall include an airport owned by the municipal corporation and located entirely beyond the municipal corporation's corporate boundary.

(3) Municipal corporations or townships that are part of or contiguous to a transportation improvement district created under Chapter 5540. of the Revised Code and that have created a joint economic development district under this section or section 715.71 of the Revised Code prior to the effective date of this amendment November 15, 1995.

(B)(1) One or more municipal corporations and one or more townships may enter into a contract approved by the legislative authority of each contracting party pursuant to which they create as a joint economic development district an area or areas for the purpose of facilitating economic development to create or preserve jobs and employment opportunities and to improve the economic welfare of the people in the state and in the area of the contracting parties. Any interested person, other than a political subdivision, may bring a civil action within thirty days after the executed copy of the contract is filed with the county recorder pursuant to division (B)(5) of this section challenging whether the contract satisfies the purposes of a joint economic development district as described in this section. The area of land to be included in the district shall not include any parcel of land owned in fee by a municipal corporation or a township or parcel of land that is leased to a municipal corporation or a township, unless the municipal corporation or township is a party to the contract or unless the municipal corporation or township has given its consent to have its parcel of land included in the district by the adoption of a resolution. As used in this division, "parcel of land" means any parcel of land owned by a municipal corporation or a township for at least a six-month period within a five-year period prior to the creation of a district, but "parcel of land" does not include streets or public ways and sewer, water, and other utility lines whether owned in fee or otherwise.

The district created shall be located within the territory of one or more of the participating parties and may consist of all or a portion of such territory. The boundaries of the district shall be described in the contract or in an addendum to the contract.

(2) Where a municipal corporation is located within one-quarter mile of a proposed joint economic development district and is not otherwise a party to the proposed contract, the participating parties shall afford the municipal corporation the reasonable opportunity, for a period of not less than thirty days following receipt of notice of such opportunity from the participating parties, to meet and confer with the participating parties to determine whether the municipal corporation will participate in the joint economic development district.

Prior to the public hearing to be held pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section, the participating parties shall give a copy of the proposed contract to each municipal corporation located within one-quarter mile of the proposed joint economic development district and not otherwise a party to the contract, and afford the municipal corporation the reasonable opportunity, for a period of thirty days following receipt of the proposed contract, to make comments and suggestions to the participating parties regarding elements contained in the proposed contract. Prior to the public hearing, the participating parties may include in the contract any of the suggestions or recommendations made by any such municipal corporation.

(3) The district shall not exceed two thousand acres in area. The territory of the district shall not completely surround territory that is not included within the boundaries of the district.

(4) Sections 503.07 to 503.12 of the Revised Code do not apply to territory included within a district created pursuant to this section as long as the contract creating the district is in effect, unless the legislative authority of each municipal corporation and the board of township trustees of each township included in the district consent, by ordinance or resolution, to the application of those sections of the Revised Code.

(5) Upon the execution of the contract creating the district by the parties to the contract, a participating municipal corporation or township included within the district shall file a copy of the fully executed contract with the county recorder of each county within which a party to the contract is located, in the miscellaneous records of the county. No annexation proceeding pursuant to Chapter 709. of the Revised Code that proposes the annexation to, merger, or consolidation with a municipal corporation of any unincorporated territory within the district shall be commenced for a period of three years after the contract is filed with the county recorder of each county within which a party to the contract is located unless each board of township trustees whose territory is included, in whole or part, within the district and the territory proposed to be annexed, merged, or consolidated adopts a resolution consenting to the commencement of the proceeding and a copy of the resolution is filed with the clerk of the board of county commissioners of each county within which a party to the contract is located or unless the contract is terminated during this period.

The contract entered into between the municipal corporations and townships pursuant to this section may provide for the prohibition of any annexation by the participating municipal corporations of any unincorporated territory within the district beyond the three-year mandatory prohibition of any annexation provided for in division (B)(5) of this section.

(C)(1) After the legislative authority of a municipal corporation and the board of township trustees have adopted an ordinance and resolution approving a contract to create a joint economic development district pursuant to this section, and after a contract has been signed, the municipal corporations and townships shall jointly file a petition with the legislative authority of each county within which a party to the contract is located. Copies of the ordinances, resolutions, and contract shall be attached to the petition. The petition shall contain all of the following:

(a) A statement that the area of the district is not greater than two thousand acres and is located within the territory of one or more of the contracting parties;

(b) A brief summary of the services to be provided by each party to the contract;

(c) A legal description of the area to be designated as the district;

(d) The signature of a representative of each of the contracting parties;

(e) The signatures of a majority of those persons who are owners of property located within the area to be designated as the district and the signatures of those persons who are owners of the majority of acreage located within the district.

The legislative authority of each county within which a party to the contract is located shall hold a public hearing concerning the joint economic development district contract within thirty days after the filing of the petition and shall publish notice of the time and place of the public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least fourteen days prior to the hearing.

During the thirty-day period prior to the public hearing, a copy of the text of the contract together with copies of district maps and plans related to or part of the contract shall be on file, for public examination, in the offices of the clerk of the legislative authority of each county within which a party to the contract is located.

(2) After the public hearing on the petition relating to the creation of a joint economic development district has been held, the legislative authority of each county within which a party to the contract is located shall adopt a resolution approving the petition for the creation of the district if the petition meets the requirements of division (C)(1) of this section. If the petition does not meet the requirements of that division, the legislative authority of any county within which a party to the contract is located may adopt a resolution disapproving the petition for the creation of the district. The legislative authority of each county within which a party to the contract is located shall adopt a resolution approving or disapproving the petition within sixty days after the public hearing was held. If the legislative authority of each such county does not adopt the resolution within the sixty-day period, the petition shall be deemed approved and the contract shall go into effect no sooner than thirty days after that approval.

(D)(1) The contract creating the district shall set forth or provide for the amount or nature of the contribution of each municipal corporation and township to the development and operation of the district and may provide for the sharing of the costs of the operation of and improvements for the district. The contributions may be in any form to which the contracting municipal corporations and townships agree and may include but are not limited to the provision of services, money, real or personal property, facilities, or equipment. The contract shall provide for new, expanded, or additional services, facilities, or improvements, including expanded or additional capacity for or other enhancement of existing services, facilities, or improvements, provided that those services, facilities, or improvements, or expanded or additional capacity for or enhancement of existing services, facilities, or improvements, required herein have been provided within the two-year period prior to the execution of the contract.

(2) Before the legislative authority of a municipal corporation or a board of township trustees passes any ordinance or resolution approving a contract to create a joint economic development district pursuant to this section, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation and the board of township trustees shall hold a public hearing concerning the joint economic development district contract and shall provide thirty days' public notice of the time and place of the public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipal corporation and the township. The board of township trustees shall provide notice to township residents in accordance with section 505.07 9.03 of the Revised Code and the notice shall include: the public hearing announcement; a summary of the terms of the contract; a disclosure of the fact that the entire text of the contract and district maps and plans are on file for public examination in the office of the township clerk; and information pertaining to any tax changes which will or may occur as a result of the contract.

During the thirty-day period prior to the public hearing, a copy of the text of the contract together with copies of district maps and plans related to or part of the contract shall be on file, for public examination, in the offices of the clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation and of the township clerk. The public hearing provided for in division (D)(2) of this section shall allow for public comment and recommendations from the public on the proposed contract.

(3) Any resolution of the board of township trustees that approves a contract that creates a joint economic development district pursuant to this section shall be subject to a referendum of the electors of the township. When a referendum petition, signed by ten per cent of the number of electors in the township who voted for the office of governor at the most recent general election for the office of governor, is presented to the board of township trustees within thirty days after the board of township trustees adopted the resolution, ordering that the resolution be submitted to the electors of the township for their approval or rejection, the board of township trustees shall, after ten days and not later than four p.m. of the seventy-fifth day before the election, certify the text of the resolution to the board of elections. The board of elections shall submit the resolution to the electors of the township for their approval or rejection at the next general, primary, or special election occurring subsequent to seventy-five days after the certifying of the petition to the board of elections.

(E) The district created by the contract shall be governed by a board of directors that shall be established by or pursuant to the contract. The board is a public body for the purposes of section 121.22 of the Revised Code. The provisions of Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code apply to the board and the district. The members of the board shall be appointed as provided in the contract from among the elected members of the legislative authorities and the elected chief executive officers of the contracting parties, provided that there shall be at least two members appointed from each of the contracting parties.

(F) The contract shall enumerate the specific powers, duties, and functions of the board of directors of a district, and the contract shall provide for the determination of procedures that are to govern the board of directors. The contract may grant to the board the power to adopt a resolution to levy an income tax within the district. The income tax shall be used for the purposes of the district and for the purposes of the contracting municipal corporations and townships pursuant to the contract. The income tax may be levied in the district based upon income earned by persons working or residing within the district and upon the net profits of businesses located in the district. The income tax is subject to Chapter 718. of the Revised Code, except that a vote shall be required by the electors residing in the district to approve the rate of income tax. If no electors reside within the district, then division (F)(4) of this section applies. The rate of the income tax shall be no higher than the highest rate being levied by a municipal corporation that is a party to the contract.

(1) Within one hundred eighty days after the first meeting of the board of directors, the board may levy an income tax at a rate that is not higher than the highest rate being levied by a municipal corporation that is a party to the contract, provided that the rate of the income tax is first submitted to and approved by the electors of the district at the succeeding regular or primary election, or a special election called by the board, occurring subsequent to seventy-five days after a certified copy of the resolution levying the income tax and calling for the election is filed with the board of elections. If the voters approve the levy of the income tax, the income tax shall be in force for the full period of the contract establishing the district. Any increase in the rate of an income tax that was first levied within one hundred eighty days after the first meeting of the board of directors shall be approved by a vote of the electors of the district and shall be in force for the remaining period of the contract establishing the district.

(2) Any resolution of the board of directors levying an income tax that is adopted subsequent to one hundred eighty days after the first meeting of the board of directors shall be subject to a referendum as provided in division (F)(2) of this section. Any resolution of the board of directors levying an income tax that is adopted subsequent to one hundred eighty days after the first meeting of the board of directors shall be subject to an initiative proceeding to amend or repeal the resolution levying the income tax as provided in division (F)(2) of this section. When a referendum petition, signed by ten per cent of the number of electors in the district who voted for the office of governor at the most recent general election for the office of governor, is filed with the county auditor of each county within which a party to the contract is located within thirty days after the resolution is adopted by the board or when an initiative petition, signed by ten per cent of the number of electors in the district who voted for the office of governor at the most recent general election for the office of governor, is filed with the county auditor of each such county ordering that a resolution to amend or repeal a prior resolution levying an income tax be submitted to the electors within the district for their approval or rejection, the county auditor of each such county, after ten days and not later than four p.m. of the seventy-fifth day before the election, shall certify the text of the resolution to the board of elections of that county. The county auditor of each such county shall retain the petition. The board of elections shall submit the resolution to such electors, for their approval or rejection, at the next general, primary, or special election occurring subsequent to seventy-five days after the certifying of such petition to the board of elections.

(3) Whenever a district is located in the territory of more than one contracting party, a majority vote of the electors in each of the several portions of the territory of the contracting parties constituting the district approving the levy of the tax is required before it may be imposed pursuant to this division.

(4) If there are no electors residing in the district, no election for the approval or rejection of an income tax shall be held pursuant to this section, provided that where no electors reside in the district, the maximum rate of the income tax that may be levied shall not exceed one per cent.

(5) The board of directors of a district levying an income tax shall enter into an agreement with one of the municipal corporations that is a party to the contract to administer, collect, and enforce the income tax on behalf of the district. The resolution levying the income tax shall provide the same credits, if any, to residents of the district for income taxes paid to other such districts or municipal corporations where the residents work, as credits provided to residents of the municipal corporation administering the income tax.

(6)(a) The board shall publish or post public notice within the district of any resolution adopted levying an income tax in the same manner required of municipal corporations under sections 731.21 and 731.25 of the Revised Code.

(b) Except as otherwise specified by this division, any referendum or initiative proceeding within a district shall be conducted in the same manner as is required for such proceedings within a municipal corporation pursuant to sections 731.28 to 731.40 of the Revised Code.

(G) Membership on the board of directors does not constitute the holding of a public office or employment within the meaning of any section of the Revised Code or any charter provision prohibiting the holding of other public office or employment, and shall not constitute an interest, either direct or indirect, in a contract or expenditure of money by any municipal corporation, township, county, or other political subdivision with which the member may be connected. No member of a board of directors shall be disqualified from holding any public office or employment, nor shall such member forfeit or be disqualified from holding any such office or employment, by reason of the member's membership on the board of directors, notwithstanding any law or charter provision to the contrary.

(H) The powers and authorizations granted pursuant to this section or section 715.71 of the Revised Code are in addition to and not in the derogation of all other powers granted to municipal corporations and townships pursuant to law. When exercising a power or performing a function or duty under a contract authorized pursuant to this section or section 715.71 of the Revised Code, a municipal corporation may exercise all of the powers of a municipal corporation, and may perform all the functions and duties of a municipal corporation, within the district, pursuant to and to the extent consistent with the contract. When exercising a power or performing a function or duty under a contract authorized pursuant to this section or section 715.71 of the Revised Code, a township may exercise all of the powers of a township, and may perform all the functions and duties of a township, within the district, pursuant to and to the extent consistent with the contract. The district board of directors has no powers except those specifically set forth in the contract as agreed to by the participating parties. No political subdivision shall authorize or grant any tax exemption pursuant to Chapter 1728. or section 3735.67, 5709.62, 5709.63, or 5709.632 of the Revised Code on any property located within the district. The prohibition for any tax exemption pursuant to this division shall not apply to any exemption filed, pending, or approved before the effective date of the contract entered into by the parties.

(I) Municipal corporations and townships may enter into binding agreements pursuant to a contract authorized under this section or section 715.71 of the Revised Code with respect to the substance and administration of zoning and other land use regulations, building codes, public permanent improvements, and other regulatory and proprietary matters that are determined, pursuant to the contract, to be for a public purpose and to be desirable with respect to the operation of the district or to facilitate new or expanded economic development in the state or the district, provided that no contract shall exempt the territory within the district from the procedures and processes of land use regulation applicable pursuant to municipal corporation, township, and county regulations, including but not limited to procedures and processes concerning zoning.

(J) A contract entered into pursuant to this section or section 715.71 of the Revised Code may be amended and it may be renewed, canceled, or terminated as provided in or pursuant to the contract. The contract shall continue in existence throughout its term and shall be binding on the contracting parties and on any entities succeeding to such parties, whether by annexation, merger, or otherwise. The income tax levied by the board pursuant to this section or section 715.71 of the Revised Code shall apply in the entire district throughout the term of the contract, notwithstanding that all or a portion of the district becomes subject to annexation, merger, or incorporation. No township or municipal corporation is divested of its rights or obligations under the contract because of annexation, merger, or succession of interests.

Sec. 1545.21. The board of park commissioners, by resolution, may submit to the electors of the park district the question of levying taxes for the use of the district. Such The resolution shall declare the necessity of levying such taxes, shall specify the purpose for which such taxes shall be used, the annual rate proposed, and the number of consecutive years such the rate shall be levied. Such resolution shall be forthwith certified to the board of elections in each county in which any part of such district is located, not later than the seventy-fifth day before the day of the election, and the question of the levy of taxes as provided in such resolution shall be submitted to the electors of the district at a special election to be held on whichever of the following occurs first:

(A) The day of the next general election;

(B) The first Tuesday after the first Monday in May in any calendar year, except that if a presidential primary election is held in that calendar year, then the day of that election. The ballot shall set forth the purpose for which the taxes shall be levied, the annual rate of levy, and the number of years of such levy. If the tax is to be placed on the current tax list, the form of the ballot shall state that the tax will be levied in the current tax year and shall indicate the month of that year when the tax will first be levied. If the resolution of the board of park commissioners provides that an existing levy will be canceled upon the passage of the new levy, the ballot may include a statement that: "an existing levy of ... mills (stating the original levy millage), having ... years remaining, will be canceled and replaced upon the passage of this levy." In such case, the ballot may refer to the new levy as a "replacement levy" if the new millage does not exceed the original millage of the levy being canceled or as a "replacement and additional levy" if the new millage exceeds the original millage of the levy being canceled. If a majority of the electors voting upon the question of such levy vote in favor thereof, such taxes shall be levied and shall be in addition to the taxes authorized by section 1545.20 of the Revised Code, and all other taxes authorized by law. The rate submitted to the electors at any one time shall not exceed two mills annually upon each dollar of valuation. When a tax levy has been authorized as provided in this section or in section 1545.041 of the Revised Code, the board of park commissioners may issue bonds pursuant to section 133.24 of the Revised Code in anticipation of the collection of such levy, provided that such bonds shall be issued only for the purpose of acquiring and improving lands. Such levy, when collected, shall be applied in payment of the bonds so issued and the interest thereon. The amount of bonds so issued and outstanding at any time shall not exceed one per cent of the total tax valuation in such district. Such bonds shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed the rate determined as provided in section 9.95 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 1901.31.  The clerk and deputy clerks of a municipal court shall be selected, be compensated, give bond, and have powers and duties as follows:

(A) There shall be a clerk of the court who is appointed or elected as follows:

(1)(a) Except in the Akron, Medina, Clermont county, Hamilton county, Portage county, and Wayne county municipal courts, if the population of the territory equals or exceeds one hundred thousand at the regular municipal election immediately preceding the expiration of the term of the present clerk, the clerk shall be nominated and elected by the qualified electors of the territory in the manner that is provided for the nomination and election of judges in section 1901.07 of the Revised Code.

The clerk so elected shall hold office for a term of six years, which term shall commence on the first day of January following the clerk's election and continue until the clerk's successor is elected and qualified.

(b) In the Hamilton county municipal court, the clerk of courts of Hamilton county shall be the clerk of the municipal court and may appoint an assistant clerk who shall receive the compensation, payable out of the treasury of Hamilton county in semimonthly installments, that the board of county commissioners prescribes. The clerk of courts of Hamilton county, acting as the clerk of the Hamilton county municipal court and assuming the duties of that office, shall receive compensation at one-fourth the rate that is prescribed for the clerks of courts of common pleas as determined in accordance with the population of the county and the rates set forth in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code. This compensation shall be paid from the county treasury in semimonthly installments and is in addition to the annual compensation that is received for the performance of the duties of the clerk of courts of Hamilton county, as provided in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code.

(c) In the Portage county and Wayne county municipal courts, the clerks of courts of Portage county and Wayne county shall be the clerks, respectively, of the Portage county and Wayne county municipal courts and may appoint a chief deputy clerk for each branch that is established pursuant to section 1901.311 of the Revised Code, and assistant clerks as the judges of the municipal court determine are necessary, all of whom shall receive the compensation that the legislative authority prescribes. The clerks of courts of Portage county and Wayne county, acting as the clerks of the Portage county and Wayne county municipal courts and assuming the duties of these offices, shall receive compensation payable from the county treasury in semimonthly installments at one-fourth the rate that is prescribed for the clerks of courts of common pleas as determined in accordance with the population of the county and the rates set forth in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code.

(d) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(1)(d) of this section, in the Akron municipal court, candidates for election to the office of clerk of the court shall be nominated by primary election. The primary election shall be held on the day specified in the charter of the city of Akron for the nomination of municipal officers. Notwithstanding section 3513.257 of the Revised Code, the nominating petitions of independent candidates shall be signed by at least two hundred fifty qualified electors of the territory of the court.

The candidates shall file a declaration of candidacy and petition, or a nominating petition, whichever is applicable, not later than four p.m. of the seventy-fifth day before the day of the primary election, in the form prescribed by section 3513.07 or 3513.261 of the Revised Code. The declaration of candidacy and petition, or the nominating petition, shall conform to the applicable requirements of section 3513.05 or 3513.257 of the Revised Code.

If no valid declaration of candidacy and petition is filed by any person for nomination as a candidate of a particular political party for election to the office of clerk of the Akron municipal court, a primary election shall not be held for the purpose of nominating a candidate of that party for election to that office. If only one person files a valid declaration of candidacy and petition for nomination as a candidate of a particular political party for election to that office, a primary election shall not be held for the purpose of nominating a candidate of that party for election to that office, and the candidate shall be issued a certificate of nomination in the manner set forth in section 3513.02 of the Revised Code.

Declarations of candidacy and petitions, nominating petitions, and certificates of nomination for the office of clerk of the Akron municipal court shall contain a designation of the term for which the candidate seeks election. At the following regular municipal election, all candidates for the office shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the territory of the court in the manner that is provided in section 1901.07 of the Revised Code for the election of the judges of the court. The clerk so elected shall hold office for a term of six years, which term shall commence on the first day of January following the clerk's election, and continue until the clerk's successor is elected and qualified.

(e) In the Clermont county municipal court, the clerk of courts of Clermont county shall be the clerk of the municipal court. The clerk of courts of Clermont county, acting as the clerk of the Clermont county municipal court and assuming the duties of that office, shall receive compensation at one-fourth the rate that is prescribed for the clerks of courts of common pleas as determined in accordance with the population of the county and the rates set forth in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code. This compensation shall be paid from the county treasury in semimonthly installments and is in addition to the annual compensation that is received for the performance of the duties of the clerk of courts of Clermont county, as provided in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code.

(f) Irrespective of the population of the territory of the Medina municipal court, the clerk of that court shall be appointed pursuant to division (A)(2)(a) of this section by the judges of that court, shall hold office until the clerk's successor is similarly appointed and qualified, and shall receive pursuant to division (C) of this section the annual compensation that the legislative authority prescribes and that is payable in semimonthly installments from the same sources and in the same manner as provided in section 1901.11 Of the Revised Code.

(2)(a) Except in for the Alliance, Auglaize county, Lorain, Massillon, and Youngstown municipal courts, if in a municipal court for which the population of the territory is less than one hundred thousand and in the Medina municipal court, the clerk shall be appointed by the court, and the clerk shall hold office until the clerk's successor is appointed and qualified.

(b) In the Alliance, Lorain, Massillon, and Youngstown municipal courts, the clerk shall be elected for a term of office as described in division (A)(1)(a) of this section.

(c) In the Auglaize county municipal court, the clerk of courts of Auglaize county shall be the clerk of the municipal court and may appoint a chief deputy clerk for each branch that is established pursuant to section 1901.311 of the Revised Code, and assistant clerks as the judge of the court determines are necessary, all of whom shall receive the compensation that the legislative authority prescribes. The clerk of courts of Auglaize county, acting as the clerk of the Auglaize county municipal court and assuming the duties of that office, shall receive compensation payable from the county treasury in semimonthly installments at one-fourth the rate that is prescribed for the clerks of courts of common pleas as determined in accordance with the population of the county and the rates set forth in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code.

(3) During the temporary absence of the clerk due to illness, vacation, or other proper cause, the court may appoint a temporary clerk, who shall be paid the same compensation and, have the same authority, and perform the same duties, as the clerk.

(B) Except in the Clermont county, Hamilton county, Medina, Portage county, and Wayne county municipal courts, if a vacancy occurs in the office of the clerk of the Alliance, Lorain, Massillon, or Youngstown municipal court or occurs in the office of the clerk of a municipal court for which the population of the territory equals or exceeds one hundred thousand because the clerk ceases to hold the office before the end of the clerk's term or because a clerk-elect fails to take office, the vacancy shall be filled, until a successor is elected and qualified, by a person chosen by the residents of the territory of the court who are members of the county central committee of the political party by which the last occupant of that office or the clerk-elect was nominated. Not less than five nor more than fifteen days after a vacancy occurs, those members of that county central committee shall meet to make an appointment to fill the vacancy. At least four days before the date of the meeting, the chairperson or a secretary of the county central committee shall notify each such member of that county central committee by first class mail of the date, time, and place of the meeting and its purpose. A majority of all such members of that county central committee constitutes a quorum, and a majority of the quorum is required to make the appointment. If the office so vacated was occupied or was to be occupied by a person not nominated at a primary election, or if the appointment was not made by the committee members in accordance with this division, the court shall make an appointment to fill the vacancy. A successor shall be elected to fill the office for the unexpired term at the first municipal election that is held more than one hundred twenty days after the vacancy occurred.

(C) In a municipal court, other than the Auglaize county municipal court, for which the population of the territory is less than one hundred thousand and in the Medina municipal court, the clerk of a municipal court shall receive the annual compensation that the legislative authority prescribes. In a municipal court, other than the Clermont county, Hamilton county, Medina, Portage county, and Wayne county municipal courts, for which the population of the territory is one hundred thousand or more, the clerk of a municipal court shall receive annual compensation in a sum equal to eighty-five per cent of the salary of a judge of the court. The compensation is payable in semimonthly installments from the same sources and in the same manner as provided in section 1901.11 of the Revised Code.

(D) Before entering upon the duties of the clerk's office, the clerk of a municipal court shall give bond of not less than six thousand dollars to be determined by the judges of the court, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the clerk's duties as clerk.

(E) The clerk of a municipal court may do all of the following: administer oaths, take affidavits, and issue executions upon any judgment rendered in the court, including a judgment for unpaid costs; issue, sign, and attach the seal of the court to all writs, process, subpoenas, and papers issuing out of the court; and approve all bonds, sureties, recognizances, and undertakings fixed by any judge of the court or by law. The clerk may refuse to accept for filing any pleading or paper submitted for filing by a person who has been found to be a vexatious litigator under section 2323.52 of the Revised Code and who has failed to obtain leave to proceed under that section. The clerk shall do all of the following: file and safely keep all journals, records, books, and papers belonging or appertaining to the court; record the proceedings of the court; perform all other duties that the judges of the court may prescribe; and keep a book showing all receipts and disbursements, which book shall be open for public inspection at all times.

The clerk shall prepare and maintain a general index, a docket, and other records that the court, by rule, requires, all of which shall be the public records of the court. In the docket, the clerk shall enter, at the time of the commencement of an action, the names of the parties in full, the names of the counsel, and the nature of the proceedings. Under proper dates, the clerk shall note the filing of the complaint, issuing of summons or other process, returns, and any subsequent pleadings. The clerk also shall enter all reports, verdicts, orders, judgments, and proceedings of the court, clearly specifying the relief granted or orders made in each action. The court may order an extended record of any of the above to be made and entered, under the proper action heading, upon the docket at the request of any party to the case, the expense of which record may be taxed as costs in the case or may be required to be prepaid by the party demanding the record, upon order of the court.

(F) The clerk of a municipal court shall receive, collect, and issue receipts for all costs, fees, fines, bail, and other moneys payable to the office or to any officer of the court. The clerk shall each month disburse to the proper persons or officers, and take receipts for, all costs, fees, fines, bail, and other moneys that the clerk collects. Subject to sections 3375.50 and 4511.193 of the Revised Code and to any other section of the Revised Code that requires a specific manner of disbursement of any moneys received by a municipal court and except for the Hamilton county, Lawrence county, and Ottawa county municipal courts, the clerk shall pay all fines received for violation of municipal ordinances into the treasury of the municipal corporation the ordinance of which was violated and shall pay all fines received for violation of township resolutions adopted pursuant to Chapter 504. of the Revised Code into the treasury of the township the resolution of which was violated. Subject to sections 1901.024 and 4511.193 of the Revised Code, in the Hamilton county, Lawrence county, and Ottawa county municipal courts, the clerk shall pay fifty per cent of the fines received for violation of municipal ordinances and fifty per cent of the fines received for violation of township resolutions adopted pursuant to Chapter 504. of the Revised Code into the treasury of the county. Subject to sections 3375.50, 3375.53, 4511.99, and 5503.04 of the Revised Code and to any other section of the Revised Code that requires a specific manner of disbursement of any moneys received by a municipal court, the clerk shall pay all fines collected for the violation of state laws into the county treasury. Except in a county-operated municipal court, the clerk shall pay all costs and fees the disbursement of which is not otherwise provided for in the Revised Code into the city treasury. The clerk of a county-operated municipal court shall pay the costs and fees the disbursement of which is not otherwise provided for in the Revised Code into the county treasury. Moneys deposited as security for costs shall be retained pending the litigation. The clerk shall keep a separate account of all receipts and disbursements in civil and criminal cases, which shall be a permanent public record of the office. On the expiration of the term of the clerk, the clerk shall deliver the records to the clerk's successor. The clerk shall have other powers and duties as are prescribed by rule or order of the court.

(G) All moneys paid into a municipal court shall be noted on the record of the case in which they are paid and shall be deposited in a state or national bank, or a domestic savings and loan association, as defined in section 1151.01 of the Revised Code, that is selected by the clerk. Any interest received upon the deposits shall be paid into the city treasury, except that, in a county-operated municipal court, the interest shall be paid into the treasury of the county in which the court is located.

On the first Monday in January of each year, the clerk shall make a list of the titles of all cases in the court that were finally determined more than one year past in which there remains unclaimed in the possession of the clerk any funds, or any part of a deposit for security of costs not consumed by the costs in the case. The clerk shall give notice of the moneys to the parties who are entitled to the moneys or to their attorneys of record. All the moneys remaining unclaimed on the first day of April of each year shall be paid by the clerk to the city treasurer, except that, in a county-operated municipal court, the moneys shall be paid to the treasurer of the county in which the court is located. Any The treasurer shall pay any part of the moneys shall be paid by the treasurer at any time to the person who has the right to the moneys, upon proper certification of the clerk.

(H) Deputy clerks may be appointed by the clerk and shall receive the compensation, payable in semimonthly installments out of the city treasury, that the clerk may prescribe, except that the compensation of any deputy clerk of a county-operated municipal court shall be paid out of the treasury of the county in which the court is located. Each deputy clerk shall take an oath of office before entering upon the duties of the deputy clerk's office and, when so qualified, may perform the duties appertaining to the office of the clerk. The clerk may require any of the deputy clerks to give bond of not less than three thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of the deputy clerk's duties.

(I) For the purposes of this section, whenever the population of the territory of a municipal court falls below one hundred thousand but not below ninety thousand, and the population of the territory prior to the most recent regular federal census exceeded one hundred thousand, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation may declare, by resolution, that the territory shall be considered to have a population of at least one hundred thousand.

(J) The clerk or a deputy clerk shall be in attendance at all sessions of the municipal court, although not necessarily in the courtroom, and may administer oaths to witnesses and jurors and receive verdicts.

Sec. 1905.05.  (A) A mayor of a municipal corporation that has a mayor's court may appoint a person as mayor's court magistrate to hear and determine prosecutions and criminal causes in the mayor's court that are within the jurisdiction of the mayor's court, as set forth in section 1905.01 of the Revised Code. No person shall be appointed as a mayor's court magistrate unless the person has been admitted to the practice of law in this state and, for a total of at least three years preceding the person's appointment or the commencement of the person's service as magistrate, has been engaged in the practice of law in this state or served as a judge of a court of record in any jurisdiction in the United States, or both.

A person appointed as a mayor's court magistrate under this division is entitled to hear and determine prosecutions and criminal causes in the mayor's court that are within the jurisdiction of the mayor's court, as set forth in section 1905.01 of the Revised Code. If a mayor is prohibited from hearing or determining a prosecution or cause that charges a person with a violation of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code or with a violation of a municipal ordinance relating to operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or alcohol and a drug of abuse or relating to operating a vehicle with a prohibited concentration of alcohol in the blood, breath, or urine due to the operation of division (C) of section 1905.03 of the Revised Code, or is prohibited from hearing or determining any other prosecution or cause due to the operation of division (C) of section 1905.031 of the Revised Code, the prohibition against the mayor hearing or determining the prosecution or cause does not affect and shall not be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or authority of a person appointed as a mayor's court magistrate under this division to hear and determine the prosecution or cause in accordance with this section. In hearing and determining such prosecutions and causes, the magistrate has the same powers, duties, and authority as does a mayor who conducts a mayor's court to hear and determine prosecutions and causes in general, including, but not limited to, the power and authority to decide the prosecution or cause, enter judgment, and impose sentence; the powers, duties, and authority granted to mayors of mayor's courts by this chapter, in relation to the hearing and determination of prosecutions and causes in mayor's courts; and the powers, duties, and authority granted to mayors of mayor's courts by any other provision of the Revised Code, in relation to the hearing and determination of prosecutions and causes in mayor's courts. A judgment entered and a sentence imposed by a mayor's court magistrate do not have to be reviewed or approved by the mayor who appointed the magistrate, and have the same force and effect as if they had been entered or imposed by the mayor.

A person appointed as a mayor's court magistrate under this division is not entitled to hear or determine any prosecution or criminal cause other than prosecutions and causes that are within the jurisdiction of the mayor's court, as set forth in section 1905.01 of the Revised Code.

The A municipal corporation that a mayor's court magistrate serves shall pay the compensation for the services of a mayor's court the magistrate, which shall be either a fixed annual salary set by the legislative authority of the municipal corporation that the magistrate serves and shall be paid by the municipal corporation or a fixed annual amount or fees for services rendered set under a contract the magistrate and the municipal corporation enter into.

(B) The appointment of a person as a mayor's court magistrate under division (A) of this section does not preclude the mayor that appointed the magistrate, subject to the limitation contained in section 1905.03 and the limitation contained in section 1905.031 of the Revised Code, from also hearing and determining prosecutions and criminal causes in the mayor's court that are within the jurisdiction of the mayor's court, as set forth in section 1905.01 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3709.085.  (A) The board of health of a city or general health district may enter into a contract with any political subdivision or other governmental agency to obtain or provide all or part of any services, including, but not limited to, enforcement services, for the purposes of Chapter 3704. of the Revised Code, the rules adopted and orders made pursuant thereto, or any other ordinances or rules for the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution.

(B)(1) As used in division (B)(2) of this section:

(a) "Semipublic disposal system" means a disposal system which that treats the sanitary sewage discharged from publicly or privately owned buildings or places of assemblage, entertainment, recreation, education, correction, hospitalization, housing, or employment, but does not include a disposal system which that treats sewage in amounts of more than twenty-five thousand gallons per day; a disposal system for the treatment of sewage that is exempt from the requirements of section 6111.04 of the Revised Code pursuant to division (F) of that section; or a disposal system for the treatment of industrial waste.

(b) Terms defined in section 6111.01 of the Revised Code have the same meaning meanings as in that section.

(2) The board of health of a city or general health district may enter into a contract with the environmental protection agency to conduct on behalf of the agency inspection or enforcement services, for the purposes of Chapter 6111. and section 1541.21 of the Revised Code and rules adopted thereunder, for the disposal or treatment of sewage from single-family, two-family, or three-family dwellings located in special sanitary districts designated by section 1541.21 of the Revised Code, for the disposal or treatment of sewage from semipublic disposal systems, or for both. The board of health of a city or general health district may charge a fee established pursuant to section 3709.09 of the Revised Code to be paid by the holder owner or operator of a permit under Chapter 6111. of the Revised Code semipublic disposal system or the owner or resident of any such dwelling located in a special sanitary district for inspections conducted by the board pursuant to a contract entered into under this division (B)(2) of this section, except that the board shall not charge a fee for those inspections conducted at any manufactured home park, recreational vehicle park, recreation camp, or combined park-camp that is licensed under section 3733.03 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5705.03.  (A) The taxing authority of each subdivision may levy taxes annually, subject to the limitations of sections 5705.01 to 5705.47, inclusive, of the Revised Code, on the real and personal property within the subdivision for the purpose of paying the current operating expenses of the subdivision and acquiring or constructing permanent improvements. The taxing authority of each subdivision and taxing unit shall, subject to the limitations of such sections, levy such taxes annually as are necessary to pay the interest and sinking fund on and retire at maturity the bonds, notes, and certificates of indebtedness of such subdivision and taxing unit, including levies in anticipation of which the subdivision or taxing unit has incurred indebtedness. All

(B) When a taxing authority determines that it is necessary to levy a tax outside the ten-mill limitation for any purpose authorized by the Revised Code, the taxing authority shall certify to the county auditor a resolution or ordinance requesting that the county auditor certify to the taxing authority the total current tax valuation of the subdivision, and the number of mills required to generate a specified amount of revenue, or the dollar amount of revenue that would be generated by a specified number of mills. the resolution or ordinance shall state the purpose of the tax, whether the tax is an additional levy or a renewal or a replacement of an existing tax, and the section of the Revised Code authorizing submission of the question of the tax. if a subdivision is located in more than one county, the county auditor shall OBTAIN from the county auditor of each other county in which the subdivision is located the current tax valuation for the portion of the subdivision in that county. if, upon receiving the CERTIFICATION from the county auditor, the taxing authority proceeds with the submission of the question of the tax to electors, the taxing authority shall certify its resolution to the proper county board of elections in the manner and within the time prescribed by the section of the Revised Code GOVERNING submission of the question, and shall include with its certification the rate of the tax levy, expressed in mills for each one dollar in tax valuation as estimated by the county auditor. Before requesting a taxing authority to submmit a tax levy, any agency or authority authorized to make that request shall first request the certification from the county auditor provided under this section.

This division is supplemental to, and not in derogation of, any similar requirement governing the certification by the county auditor of the tax valuation of a subdivision or necessary tax rates for the purposes of the submission of the QUESTION of a tax in excess of the ten-mill limitation, including sections 133.18 and 5705.195 of the Revised Code.

(C) All taxes levied on property shall be extended on the tax duplicate by the county auditor of the county in which the property is located, and shall be collected by the county treasurer of such county in the same manner and under the same laws, and rules, and regulations as are prescribed for the assessment and collection of county taxes. The proceeds of any tax levied by or for any subdivision when received by its fiscal officer shall be deposited in its treasury to the credit of the appropriate fund.

Sec. 5705.192.  (A) For the purposes of this section only, "taxing authority" includes a township board of park commissioners appointed under section 511.18 of the Revised Code.

A taxing authority may propose to replace an existing levy that the taxing authority is authorized to levy, regardless of the section of the Revised Code under which the authority is granted, except a school district emergency levy proposed pursuant to sections 5705.194 to 5705.197 of the Revised Code. The taxing authority may propose to replace the existing levy in its entirety at the rate at which it is authorized to be levied; may propose to replace a portion of the existing levy at a lesser rate; or may propose to replace the existing levy in its entirety and increase the rate at which it is levied. If the taxing authority proposes to replace an existing levy, the proposed levy shall be called a replacement levy and shall be so designated on the ballot. A replacement levy shall be limited to the purpose of the existing levy, shall appear separately on the ballot from, and shall not be conjoined with the renewal of any other existing levy. The resolution proposing a replacement levy shall specify the purpose of the levy; its proposed rate expressed in mills; whether the proposed rate is the same as the rate of the existing levy, a reduction, or an increase; the extent of any reduction or increase expressed in mills; the first year in which the levy will be imposed; and the term of the levy, expressed in years or, if applicable, that it will be levied for a continuing period of time.

The sections of the Revised Code governing the maximum rate and term of the existing levy, the contents of the resolution that proposed the levy, the adoption of the resolution, the arrangements for the submission of the question of the levy, and notice of the election also govern the respective provisions of the proposal to replace the existing levy, except that the date on which the election is held shall be as follows:

(1) For the replacement of a levy with a fixed term of years, the date of the general election held during the last year the existing levy may be extended on the real and public utility property tax list and duplicate, or the date of any election held in the ensuing year;

(2) For the replacement of a levy imposed for a continuing period of time, the date of any election held in any year after the year the levy to be replaced is first approved by the electors, except that only one election on the question of replacing the levy may be held during any calendar year.

The failure by the electors to approve a proposal to replace a levy imposed for a continuing period of time does not terminate the existing continuing levy.

(B) The form of the ballot at the election on the question of a replacement levy shall be as follows:

"A replacement of a tax for the benefit of .......... (name of subdivision or public library) for the purpose of .......... (the purpose stated in the resolution) at a rate not exceeding .......... mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to .......... (rate expressed in dollars and cents) for each one hundred dollars in valuation, for .......... (number of years levy is to run, or that it will be levied for a continuous period of time)

______________________________________ FOR THE TAX LEVY ______________________________________ AGAINST THE TAX LEVY ______________________________________ ."

If the proposal is to replace an existing levy and increase the rate of the existing levy, the form of the ballot shall be changed by adding the words ".......... mills of an existing levy and an increase of .......... mills, to constitute" after the words "a replacement of." If the proposal is to replace only a portion of an existing levy, the form of the ballot shall be changed by adding the words "a portion of an existing levy, being a reduction of .......... mills, to constitute" after the words "a replacement of."

If the tax is to be placed on the tax list of the current tax year, the form of the ballot shall be modified by adding at the end of the form the phrase ", beginning in .......... (first month and year the replacement tax is to be levied)."

The question covered by the resolution shall be submitted as a separate proposition, but may be printed on the same ballot with any other proposition submitted at the same election, other than the election of officers. More than one such question may be submitted at the same election.

(C) Two existing levies, or any portion of those levies, may be combined into one replacement levy, so long as both of the existing levies are for the same purpose and either both are due to expire the same year or both are for a continuing period of time. The question of combining all or portions of the two existing levies into the replacement levy shall appear as one ballot proposition before the electors. If the electors approve the ballot proposition, all or the stated portions of the two existing levies are replaced by one replacement levy.

(D) A levy approved in excess of the ten-mill limitation under this section shall be certified to the tax commissioner. In the first year of a levy approved under this section, the levy shall be extended on the tax lists after the February settlement succeeding the election at which the levy was approved. If the levy is to be placed on the tax lists of the current year, as specified in the resolution providing for its submission, the result of the election shall be certified immediately after the canvass by the board of elections to the taxing authority, which shall forthwith make the necessary levy and certify it to the county auditor, who shall extend it on the tax lists for collection. After the first year, the levy shall be included in the annual tax budget that is certified to the county budget commission.

If notes are authorized to be issued in anticipation of the proceeds of the existing levy, notes may be issued in anticipation of the proceeds of the replacement levy, and such issuance is subject to the terms and limitations governing the issuance of notes in anticipation of the proceeds of the existing levy.

This section does not authorize a tax to be levied in any year after the year in which revenue is not needed for the purpose for which the tax is levied.

Sec. 5705.197.  The form of the ballot to be used at the election provided for in section 5705.195 of the Revised Code shall be as follows:

"Shall a levy be imposed by the ............. (here insert name of school district) for the purpose of ............. (here insert purpose of levy) in the sum of .......... (here insert annual amount the levy is to produce) and a levy of taxes to be made outside of the ten-mill limitation estimated by the county auditor to average .......... (here insert number of mills) mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to .......... (here insert rate expressed in dollars and cents) for each one hundred dollars of valuation, for a period of .......... (here insert the number of years the millage is to be imposed) years?

______________________________________ For the Tax ______________________________________ Against the Tax ______________________________________ "

The purpose for which the tax is to be levied shall be printed in the space indicated, in boldface type of at least twice the size of the type immediately surrounding it.

If the tax is to be placed on the current tax list, the form of the ballot shall be modified by adding, after "years," the phrase ", beginning in .......... (first month and year the tax is to be levied)."

If the levy submitted is a proposal to renew all or a portion of an existing levy, the form of the ballot specified in this section may be changed by adding the following at the beginning of the form, after the words "shall a levy":

(A) "Renewing an existing levy" in the case of a proposal to renew an existing levy in the same amount;

(B) "Renewing ...... dollars and providing an increase of ...... dollars" in the case of an increase;

(C) "Renewing part of an existing levy, being a reduction of ...... dollars" in the case of a renewal of only part of an existing levy.

If the levy submitted is a proposal to renew all or a portion of more than one existing levy, the form of the ballot may be changed in any of the manners provided in division (A), (B), or (C) of this section, or any combination thereof, as appropriate, so long as the form of the ballot reflects the number of levies to be renewed, whether the amount of any of the levies will be increased or decreased, and, for each such levy, the amount of any such increase or decrease.

Sec. 5705.25.  (A) A copy of any resolution adopted as provided in section 5705.19 of the Revised Code shall be certified by the taxing authority to the board of elections of the proper county not less than seventy-five days before the general election in any year, and the board shall submit the proposal to the electors of the subdivision at the succeeding November election. Except as otherwise provided in this division, a resolution to renew an existing levy, regardless of the section of the Revised Code under which the tax was imposed, shall not be placed on the ballot unless the question is submitted at the general election held during the last year the tax to be renewed or replaced may be extended on the real and public utility property tax list and duplicate, or at any election held in the ensuing year. The limitation of the foregoing sentence does not apply to a resolution to renew and increase or to renew part of an existing levy that was imposed under section 5705.191 of the Revised Code to supplement the general fund for the purpose of making appropriations for one or more of the following purposes: for public assistance, human or social services, relief, welfare, hospitalization, health, and support of general or tuberculosis hospitals. The board shall make the necessary arrangements for the submission of such questions to the electors of such subdivision, and the election shall be conducted, canvassed, and certified in the same manner as regular elections in such subdivision for the election of county officers. Notice of the election shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the subdivision once a week for four consecutive weeks prior to the election, stating the purpose, the proposed increase in rate, expressed in dollars and cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation as well as in mills for each one dollar of valuation, the number of years during which such increase will be in effect, the first month and year in which the tax will be levied, and the time and place of the election.

(B) The form of the ballots cast at an election held pursuant to division (A) of this section shall be as follows:

"An additional tax for the benefit of (name of subdivision or public library) .......... for the purpose of (purpose stated in the resolution) .......... at a rate not exceeding ...... mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to (rate expressed in dollars and cents) ............ for each one hundred dollars of valuation, for ...... (life of indebtedness or number of years the levy is to run).

______________________________________ For the tax levy ______________________________________ Against the tax levy ______________________________________ "

(C) If the levy is to be in effect for a continuing period of time, the notice of election and the form of ballot shall so state instead of setting forth a specified number of years for the levy.

If the tax is to be placed on the current tax list, the form of the ballot shall be modified by adding, after the statement of the number of years the levy is to run, the phrase ", beginning in .......... (first month and year the tax is to be levied)."

If the levy submitted is a proposal to renew, increase, or decrease an existing levy, the form of the ballot specified in division (B) of this section may be changed by substituting for the words "An additional" at the beginning of the form;, the words "A renewal of a" in case of a proposal to renew an existing levy in the same amount; the words "A renewal of ........ mills and an increase of ...... mills to constitute a" in the case of an increase; or the words "A renewal of part of an existing levy, being a reduction of ...... mills, to constitute a" in the case of a decrease in the proposed levy.

The question covered by such resolution shall be submitted as a separate proposition but may be printed on the same ballot with any other proposition submitted at the same election, other than the election of officers. More than one such question may be submitted at the same election.

(D) A levy voted in excess of the ten-mill limitation under this section shall be certified to the tax commissioner. In the first year of such levy, it shall be extended on the tax lists after the February settlement succeeding such election. If such additional tax is to be placed upon the tax list of the current year, as specified in the resolution providing for its submission, the result of the election shall be certified immediately after the canvass by the board of elections to the taxing authority, who shall forthwith make the necessary levy and certify it to the county auditor, who shall extend it on the tax lists for collection. After the first year, the tax levy shall be included in the annual tax budget that is certified to the county budget commission.

Sec. 5705.251.  (A) A copy of a resolution adopted under section 5705.212 or 5705.213 of the Revised Code shall be certified by the board of education to the board of elections of the proper county not less than seventy-five days before the date of the election specified in the resolution, and the board of elections shall submit the proposal to the electors of the school district at a special election to be held on that date. The board of elections shall make the necessary arrangements for the submission of the question or questions to the electors of the school district, and the election shall be conducted, canvassed, and certified in the same manner as regular elections in the school district for the election of county officers. Notice of the election shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the subdivision once a week for four consecutive weeks prior to the election.

(1) In the case of a resolution adopted under section 5705.212 of the Revised Code, the notice shall state separately, for each tax being proposed, the purpose; the proposed increase in rate, expressed in dollars and cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation as well as in mills for each one dollar of valuation; the number of years during which the increase will be in effect; and the year in which the tax is first authorized to be levied. For an election on the question of a renewal levy, the notice shall state the purpose; the proposed rate, expressed in dollars and cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation as well as in mills for each one dollar of valuation; and the number of years the tax will be in effect.

(2) In the case of a resolution adopted under section 5705.213 of the Revised Code, the notice shall state the purpose; the amount proposed to be raised by the tax in the first year it is levied; the estimated average additional tax rate for the first year it is proposed to be levied, expressed in mills for each one dollar of valuation and in dollars and cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation; the number of years during which the increase will be in effect; and the year in which the tax is first authorized to be levied. The notice also shall state the amount by which the amount to be raised by the tax may be increased in each year after the first year. The amount of the allowable increase may be expressed in terms of a dollar increase over, or a percentage of, the amount raised by the tax in the immediately preceding year. For an election on the question of a renewal levy, the notice shall state the purpose; the amount proposed to be raised by the tax; the estimated tax rate, expressed in mills for each one dollar of valuation and in dollars and cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation; and the number of years the tax will be in effect.

In any case, the notice also shall state the time and place of the election.

(B) The form of the ballot in an election on taxes proposed under section 5705.212 of the Revised Code shall be as follows:

"Shall the .......... school district be authorized to levy taxes for current expenses, the aggregate rate of which may increase in ...... (number) increment(s) of not more than ...... mill(s) for each dollar of valuation, from an original rate of ...... mill(s) for each dollar of valuation, which amounts to ...... (rate expressed in dollars and cents) for each one hundred dollars of valuation, to a maximum rate of ...... mill(s) for each dollar of valuation, which amounts to ...... (rate expressed in dollars and cents) for each one hundred dollars of valuation? The original tax is first proposed to be levied in ...... (the first year of the tax), and the incremental tax in ...... (the first year of the increment) (if more than one incremental tax is proposed in the resolution, the first year that each incremental tax is proposed to be levied shall be stated in the preceding format, and the increments shall be referred to as the first, second, third, or fourth increment, depending on their number). The aggregate rate of tax so authorized will .......... (insert either, "expire with the original rate of tax which shall be in effect for ...... years" or "be in effect for a continuing period of time").

________________________________ FOR THE TAX LEVIES ________________________________ AGAINST THE TAX LEVIES ________________________________ "

The form of the ballot in an election on the question of a renewal levy under section 5705.212 of the Revised Code shall be as follows:

"Shall the ......... school district be authorized to renew a tax for current expenses at a rate not exceeding ......... mills for each dollar of valuation, which amounts to ......... (rate expressed in dollars and cents) for each one hundred dollars of valuation, for .......... (number of years the levy shall be in effect, or a continuing period of time)?

_________________________________ FOR THE TAX LEVY _________________________________ AGAINST THE TAX LEVY _________________________________ "

If the tax is to be placed on the current tax list, the form of the ballot shall be modified by adding, after the statement of the number of years the levy is to be in effect, the phrase ", beginning in .......... (first month and year the tax is to be levied)."

(C) The form of the ballot in an election on a tax proposed under section 5705.213 of the Revised Code shall be as follows:

"Shall the ........ school district be authorized to levy the following tax for current expenses? The tax will first be levied in ...... (year) to raise ...... (dollars). In the ...... (number of years) following years, the tax will increase by not more than ...... (per cent or dollar amount of increase) each year, so that, during ...... (last year of the tax), the tax will raise approximately ...... (dollars). The county auditor estimates that the rate of the tax per dollar of valuation will be ...... mill(s), which amounts to $..... per $100 one hundred dollars of valuation, both during ...... (first year of the tax) and ...... mill(s), which amounts to $...... per $100 one hundred dollars of valuation, during ...... (last year of the tax). The tax will not be levied after ...... (year).

_________________________________ FOR THE TAX LEVY _________________________________ AGAINST THE TAX LEVY _________________________________ "

The form of the ballot in an election on the question of a renewal levy under section 5705.213 of the Revised Code shall be as follows:

"Shall the ......... school district be authorized to renew a tax for current expenses which will raise ......... (dollars), estimated by the county auditor to be ......... mills for each dollar of valuation, which amounts to ......... (rate expressed in dollars and cents) for each one hundred dollars of valuation? The tax shall be in effect for ......... (the number of years the levy shall be in effect, or a continuing period of time).

_________________________________ FOR THE TAX LEVY _________________________________ AGAINST THE TAX LEVY _________________________________ "

If the tax is to be placed on the current tax list, the form of the ballot shall be modified by adding, after the statement of the number of years the levy is to be in effect, the phrase ", beginning in .......... (first month and year the tax is to be levied)."

(D) The question covered by a resolution adopted under section 5705.212 or 5705.213 of the Revised Code shall be submitted as a separate question, but may be printed on the same ballot with any other question submitted at the same election, other than the election of officers. More than one question may be submitted at the same election.

(E) Taxes voted in excess of the ten-mill limitation under division (B) or (C) of this section shall be certified to the tax commissioner. If an additional tax is to be placed upon the tax list of the current year, as specified in the resolution providing for its submission, the result of the election shall be certified immediately after the canvass by the board of elections to the board of education. The board of education immediately shall make the necessary levy and certify it to the county auditor, who shall extend it on the tax list for collection. After the first year, the levy shall be included in the annual tax budget that is certified to the county budget commission.

Sec. 5705.314. If the board of education of a city, local, or exempted village school district proposes to change its levy within the ten-mill limitation in a manner that will result in an increase in the amount of real property taxes levied by the board in the tax year the change takes effect, the board shall hold a public hearing solely on the proposal before adopting a resolution to implement the proposal. The board shall publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the school district once a week for two consecutive weeks. The second publication shall be not less than ten nor more than thirty days before the date of the hearing. The notice shall include the date, time, place, and subject of the hearing, and a statement that the change proposed by the board may result in an increase in the amount of real property taxes levied by the board. At the time the board submits the notice for publication, the board shall send a copy of the notice to the auditor of the county where the school district is located or, if the school district is located in more than one county, to the auditor of each of those counties.

Sec. 5705.71.  (A) The electors of a county may initiate the question of a tax levy for support of senior citizens services or facilities by the filing of a petition with the board of elections of that county not less than seventy-five days before the date of any primary or general election requesting that an election be held on such question. The petition shall be signed by at least ten per cent of the qualified electors residing in the county and voting for the office of governor at the last general election.

(B) The petition shall state the purpose for which the senior citizens tax levy is being proposed, shall specify the amount of the proposed increase in rate, the period of time during which the increase is to be in effect, and whether the levy is to be imposed in the current year. The number of years may be any number not exceeding five, except that when the additional rate is for the payment of debt charges the increased rate shall be for the life of the indebtedness.

(C) After determination by it that such petition is valid, the board of elections shall submit the question to the electors of the county at the succeeding primary or general election.

(D) The election shall be conducted, canvassed, and certified in the same manner as regular elections in such county for county offices. Notice of the election shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county once a week for four consecutive weeks prior to the election, stating the purpose, the amount of the proposed increase in rate, and the time and place of the election.

(E) The form of the ballot cast at such election shall be prescribed by the secretary of state. If the tax is to be placed on the tax list of the current tax year, the form of the ballot shall include a statement to that effect and shall indicate the first month and year the tax will be levied. The question covered by such petition shall be submitted as a separate proposition but it may be printed on the same ballot with any other propositions submitted at the same election other than the election of officers.

(F) If a majority of electors voting on the question vote in favor of the levy, the board of county commissioners shall levy a tax, for the period and the purpose stated within the petition. If the tax is to be placed upon the tax list of the current year, as specified in the petition, the result of the election shall be certified immediately after the canvass by the board of elections to the board of county commissioners, which shall forthwith make the necessary levy and certify it to the county auditor, who shall extend it on the tax list for collection. After the first year, the tax levy shall be included in the annual tax budget that is certified to the county budget commission.

Sec. 6119.02. (A) Proceedings for the organization of a regional water and sewer district shall be initiated only by a petition filed in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of one of the counties all or part of which lies within the proposed district. Such The petition shall be signed by one or more municipal corporations or, one or more counties, or by one or more townships, or by any combination of them, after having been authorized by the legislative authority of the political subdivision. The legislative authority of any municipal corporation, the board of county commissioners of any county, and the board of trustees of any township may act in behalf of any part of their respective political subdivisions. Such The petition shall state specify all of the following:

(A)(1) The proposed name of the district;

(B)(2) The place in which its principal office is to be located;

(C)(3) The necessity for the proposed district and that it will be conducive to the public health, safety, convenience, or welfare;

(D)(4) A general description of the purpose of the proposed district;

(E)(5) A general description of the territory to be included in the district, which need not be given by metes and bounds or by legal subdivisions, but it is sufficient if an accurate description is given of the territory to be organized as a district; such. The territory need not be contiguous, provided that it is so situated that the public health, safety, convenience, or welfare will be promoted by the organization as a single district of the territory described;.

(F)(6) The manner of selection, the number, the term, and the compensation of the members of the governing body of the district, which body shall be called a board of trustees. Such The petition may set forth procedures for subsequent changes in the composition of and other provisions relating to such the board of trustees.

(G)(7) The plan for financing the cost of the operations of the district until it is in receipt of revenue from its operations or proceeds from the sale of bonds;

(H)(8) A prayer for the organization of the district by the name proposed, either before or after a preliminary hearing as provided in section 6119.04 of the Revised Code.

(B) Prior to filing a petition under division (A) of this section, a municipal corporation, county, or township shall hold a public meeting for the purpose of receiving comments on the proposed establishment of a regional water and sewer district. If a combination of municipal corporations, counties, or townships signed the petition, the signers jointly shall hold the public meeting. At the meeting, a representative of the signer or signers of the petition shall present a preliminary study of the reasons for the proposed establishment of the district.

The signer or signers of the petition shall provide written notice of the public meeting to each elector residing in the territory of the proposed district. Failure to notify an elector does not invalidate any proceeding before a court under this chapter.

(C) Upon the filing of such the petition, the judge of the court of common pleas of the county wherein in which the petition is filed or, in the case of a county having more than one such judge, a judge of such that court assigned by its presiding judge shall determine whether such if the petition complies with the requirements of this section as to form and content. No petition shall be declared void by the judge on account of alleged defects, and the. The court in subsequent proceedings may at any time may permit the petition to be amended in form and substance to conform to the facts by correcting any errors in the description of the territory or in any other particular.

Sec. 6119.04.  (A) The court of common pleas constituted as provided in section 6119.03 of the Revised Code, at its first meeting, shall fix the time and place of a hearing on the petition for the establishment of the proposed regional water and sewer district and such. The hearing shall be either preliminary or final as the petition may request. Such hearing and shall be held not later than sixty days thereafter, and the. The clerk of the court shall give notice thereof of the hearing by publication once each week for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper having a general circulation in each of the counties, in whole or in part, within the district. The clerk shall send a notice of the hearing by certified mail to the director of environmental protection. Any

Any person or any political subdivision residing or lying within an area affected by the organization of the district, on or before the date set for the cause to be heard, may file an objection to the granting of the requests made in the prayer of the petition.

(A)(B) Upon a preliminary hearing, if it appears that the proposed district is probably is necessary and that it will probably will be conducive to the public health, safety, convenience, or welfare, the court, after disposing of all objections as justice and equity require shall and by its findings, entered of record, shall issue a preliminary order declaring the district to be organized and an independent political subdivision of the state with a corporate name designated in the order for the purpose of all of the following:

(1) The election or appointment of the board of trustees in the manner provided in the petition;

(2) The election, appointment, or employment of such officers, employees, accounting experts, engineers, attorneys, financial consultants, architects, other consultants, and independent contractors or other persons as that may be necessary to prepare a plan for the operation of the district;

(3) The collection of the funds in the manner provided in the petition to be used and disbursed by the district;

(4) The preparation of a plan for the operation of the district, and the.

The district shall possess such powers as that may be necessary to carry out said those purposes.

The preliminary order shall direct the district to file a plan for the operation of the district within six months from the date of the preliminary order or within such the further time or times as that the court may from time to time may order.

Upon the filing by the district of a plan for the operation of the district, the court shall fix the time and place for a final hearing on the petition for the establishment of the proposed district and the plan for the operation of the district as filed in the proceeding. The hearing shall be held not later than sixty days thereafter, and the clerk of the court of common pleas shall again shall give notice thereof of the hearing as required in division (A) of this section. Any

Any person or any political subdivision residing or lying within the area affected by the organization of the district or by the plan for the operation of the district, on or before the date set for the cause to be heard, may file any objections to the final organization of the district or the plan for the operation of the district.

(B) The (C) If, prior to granting a final order, the court determines that additional study is needed of the feasibility of establishing the district, the court shall order the signers of the petition to conduct an additional feasibility study. If the court has ordered such a study, the court shall not grant a final order prior to receiving the results of the study. Nothing in division (C) of this section precludes the awarding of a contract for a project or improvement undertaken under this chapter to an entity that conducts a feasibility study pursuant to division (C) of this section.

The court may, upon good cause shown at any time before the granting of a final order, may do any or all of the following:

(1) Grant a right to any municipal corporation or county acting in behalf of a sewer district within such the county to become a party to such the proceeding if such the intervening party requests to have some part or all of its territory included within the district;

(2) Grant in part or in toto an intervening petition of a municipal corporation or a county acting in behalf of a sewer district within such the county, which is not wholly included within territory described in the petition, to have some part or all of its territory included within the district;

(3) Grant a request filed by any party to the petition or intervening party to modify any request set forth in the petition, including any or all of the following:

(a) A reduction in the territory to be included within the district;

(b) Addition to or deletion of a purpose or purposes of the proposed district as set forth in the petition so long as the purposes that remain are those included within section 6119.01 of the Revised Code;

(c) The manner of selection, the number, the term, and the compensation of the members of the board of trustees; provided that after.

After the filing of any intervening petition or request to modify, the court has fixed shall fix a time and place for a hearing thereof, such hearing to which shall be held not less than sixty days after the filing thereof and the. The clerk of the court of common pleas has given shall give notice of the hearing as required in division (A) of this section.

(C)(D) Upon final hearing, whether or not a preliminary hearing is requested in the petition, if it appears that the proposed district is necessary, that it and the plan for the operation of the district is are conducive to the public health, safety, convenience, and welfare, and that the plan for the operation of the district is economical, feasible, fair, and reasonable, the court, after disposing of all objections as justice and equity require, shall and by its findings, entered of record, shall declare the district finally and completely organized and to be, or to be empowered to continue as, a political subdivision. Thereupon the district shall have power to sue and be sued; to incur debts, liabilities, and obligations; to exercise the right of eminent domain and of taxation and assessment as provided in Chapter 6119. of the Revised Code this chapter; to issue bonds; and to perform all acts authorized in such sections this chapter and to execute and carry out the plan for the operation of the district and to amend, modify, change, or alter the plan for its operation as the board of trustees may from time to time may determine necessary.

(D)(E) If the court finds that the organization of the district is not necessary or will not be conducive to the public health, safety, convenience, or welfare, or that the plan for the operation of the district is not economical, feasible, fair, or reasonable, or if the district fails to file a plan for the operation of the district within the time prescribed by the court, it shall dismiss the proceedings and adjudge the costs against the petitioners, and if. If a preliminary order has been made organizing the district, the court shall declare the district dissolved and enter its order for the distribution of any and all assets that may be owned by the district after the payment of its liabilities.

(F) Any municipal corporation, board of county commissioners, or board of township trustees may advance to the district such sums of money as that the legislative authority of the municipal corporation, the board of county commissioners, or the board of township trustees determines will not be in excess of the benefits that can be anticipated to be derived by such the municipal corporation, county, or township from the establishment of the district at such times as that are requested by the district and authorized by such the legislative authority or such board and pursuant to an agreement between the district and such the municipal corporation, county, or township setting forth whether and when such the sums shall be repaid. Such The sums when paid to the district at any time after the preliminary order of the court shall be used by the district for its purposes in the preparation of a plan for the operation of the district and for other purposes of the district. The district shall keep proper records showing the amount so advanced and disbursed. If the court orders the district dissolved as permitted in this section, the interest any municipal corporation, board of county commissioners, or board of township trustees has in the assets of the district shall be limited to those assets remaining after the payment of all other liabilities of the district.

Sec. 6119.071. A member of the board of trustees of a regional water and sewer district who has been appointed to the board may be removed by the appointing authority for misfeasance, nonfeasance, or malfeasance in office. Prior to removing a member, the appointing authority shall notify the member of the facts supporting the proposed removal and shall provide the member an opportunity to appear before the appointing authority or at a public hearing held by the appointing authority and show cause why the member should not be removed from office.

A member of a board of trustees who has been removed pursuant to this section may appeal the removal not later than thirty days after the removal to the court of common pleas constituted as provided in section 6119.03 of the Revised Code.

SECTION 2 .  That existing sections 133.18, 309.09, 323.131, 323.153, 345.04, 511.28, 715.70, 1545.21, 1901.31, 1905.05, 3709.085, 5705.03, 5705.192, 5705.197, 5705.25, 5705.251, 5705.71, 6119.02, and 6119.04 and section 505.07 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

SECTION 3 .  Section 6119.071 of the Revised Code as enacted by this act does not apply to any member of the board of trustees of a regional water and sewer district organized under Chapter 6119. of the Revised Code who was serving on the board immediately prior to the effective date of this act. That section does apply to any member who is appointed or reappointed to the board on or after the effective date of this act.

SECTION 4 .  Sections 133.18, 345.04, 511.28, 1545.21, 5705.192, 5705.197, 5705.25, 5705.251, and 5705.71 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act, apply to ballot forms appearing at elections conducted on or after August 1, 1999.

SECTION 5 .  Section 715.70 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. Sub. H.B. 99 and Am. Sub. H.B. 269 of the 121st General Assembly, with the new language of neither of the acts shown in capital letters. This is in recognition of the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that such amendments are to be harmonized where not substantively irreconcilable and constitutes a legislative finding that such is the resulting version in effect prior to the effective date of this act.

SECTION 6 .  This act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is that immediate action is required in order for certain township boards and commissions to continue to receive legal representation from the county prosecuting attorney without additional expense. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.

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