General Announcements

LEGAL NOTICE

Proposed Ordinance

City of Nelsonville

A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage.

To give effect the wishes of the voters of Nelsonville while still preserving a continuity of govern- ment, ensuring all public services are able to be rendered uninterrupted to the citizens of Nelsonville, providing security the employees who have faithfully served the City of Nelsonville, as well as to the residents to which they serve.

An amendment to the Charter of the City of Nelsonville is recommended to make the following changes:<.p>

The Office of the City Manager:

• The Office of the City Manager shall be reformed into the Office of the Mayor.
• The Mayor shall be a qualified elector of City of Nelsonville.
• The Mayor shall serve a term of 4 years, serving a maximum of 3 consecutive terms.
• The Office of the Mayor shall be a non-partisan office.
• In the vacancy of the Mayor, the Council President shall fill the vacancy until a permanent appointment can be made by 2/3 majority vote of council or until the vacancy is filled through election.
• The Mayor shall have veto powers over council.
• The current composition of the Office of the City Manager shall continue as it exists under the Office of the Mayor.

The Council of the City of Nelsonville:

• City Council shall be composed of 8 non-partisan council members:
• One Council President, Elected at large
• Three Council Members, Elected at large
• Four Council Members, Elected from wards
• Wards to be established though ordinance.
• Wards to be re-evaluated every 10 years commencing on the release of updated Federal Census counts.
• Council members shall serve two-year terms with lifetime limit of 12 years of service.
• Council President shall be non-voting member unless the event of a tie.
• Shall preside call and manage council meetings.
• The Council Clerk shall serve all of council but report to the council president.
• Vacancy for the council shall be nominated by the Mayor with a majority vote of council members present confirming the selection.
• Council by 2/3 majorite vote of all council members elected may override a mayoral veto.

This proposal shall be certified to the board of elections to run on the 2025 Primary ballot and for the election of all offices to be held in the following general election. All current council seats will be considered as expiring at this term (i.e. all 7 seats will be up for election). Provided its passage, the current council will appoint an interim Mayor with 3/4th majority vote of all members elected to council. Nothing shall preclude this interim Mayor from running in the general election, nor shall it count towards their number of terms. Council shall set the pay for the Mayor by separate ordinance prior to the first the election. The interim Mayor shall be paid a base salary of $59,000. Council will have authority to effectuate all necessary steps to implement these changes. This amendment shall be certified and placed on the May 6th, 2025 primary ballot. Should this amendment pass, following the Board of Elections official result certification shall become effective no later than 30 days thereafter.

In the event this amendment proves ineffective in providing proper governance over the City of Nel- sonville Council shall have full authority to call for the dissolution of the Charter of the City of Nelson- ville to be voted on by the Citizens of the City of Nelsonville. Should the Citizens pass such provision by popular vote Council shall have full authority to implement any necessary transition into a statutory form of government.

By enacting this amendment to the City of Nelsonville Charter, Ordinance# (issue 23) shall henceforth be repealed. At no time would this provision prohibit the Citizens of Nelsonville from calling for the abolishment of the City Charter under their rights set forth iri the Constitution of the State of Ohio.

Shall the proposed ordinance amendment 05-25 be adopted?

• YES
• NO

The entirety of this ballot language can be downloaded using this link and paper copies are available at City Hall. Any inquiries can be directed to 740-753-1314 Lake Hope Drive, Nelsonville, Ohio 45764 or emailed at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.