Reducing the size of City Council, eliminating the ward system, and establishing term limits for council and the mayor are among the possible charter changes going to city officials.
The Middletown Charter Review Committee Monday night, June 15, finalized its recommendations to the city’s charter.
Among those proposed changes are reducing the size of council from seven to five members. The panel also is recommending the ward system be done away with and have each council member and the mayor run at-large.
The panel also is seeking to establish term limits of no more than two four-year terms for council and the mayor, and permitting the city’s police and fire chiefs to be selected from outside the divisions of police and fire.
Council has the option of accepting the recommendations and placing them on the Nov. 3 general election ballot; rejecting the recommendations outright; or substitute its own recommendations to the voters.
Council will set aside time at its July 7 meeting for a work session discussion with the committee on its recommendations, Law Director Les Landen said.
Other charter changes being recommended include:
• Recommended repealing residency rules for the city manager. This item was modified as a result of last week’s Ohio Supreme Court ruling that repealed residency requirements for municipal employees. However, the council could include a residency requirement as part of a contract with a future city manager, according to Landen.
• Reducing the number of council meetings from two to one per month.
• Removing the advice and consent of council when city employees are appointed or removed.
• Repealing sections of the charter that address the Park, Health, Library Trustees boards and the Civil Service Commission and authorizing council to create boards and commissions as needed, as well as set the size, term of office and method of appointment for those boards.
• Eliminating the requirement of having the title of proposed legislation published as a legal notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the city.
• Increasing the length of a rebuttal statement of a city officer being recalled as well as making it available to voters.
• Making the charter language gender neutral.
