Paul Nenni: Time for a Butler County charter?

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4:07 PM Friday, January 29, 2010

When I ran in 2008 on the Republican primary ballot for Ohio’s 53rd House District, I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to make positive changes in Ohio. I won’t get that chance, as I had hoped, but as I was quoted in the newspaper after the election results: “You haven’t heard the last of Paul Nenni.”

I served on the Middletown City Commission (now called City Council) for eight years, and was vice chairman of Middletown’s 2005 Charter Review Committee and a member of its 2009 Charter Review Committee. So I have been intricately involved in Middletown’s debate about ward vs. at-large representation. I believe we have made the right choices in allowing everyone to be fairly represented in Middletown by a council made up of five at-large members.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the same type of representation in Butler County. The county is organized under the traditional statutory framework set forth in the Ohio Revised Code, providing for county governments headed by 11 elected officials, including three county commissioners, a treasurer, prosecutor, clerk of courts, engineer, coroner, auditor and sheriff. Each elected official is assigned specific statutory duties, which define official responsibilities and restrict the official’s authority to act to powers expressly provided, or those that are necessary to the exercise of express powers.

This structure has been criticized by many as being out of date and corrupt. However, despite several statutory alternatives, it is still in place in 87 of Ohio’s 88 counties, including Butler.

Summit County was the first county to change the way it is represented. Summit County is one of two counties of the 88 in Ohio that has a charter government, as authorized by Article X of the Ohio Constitution. Under its charter, rather than three elected commissioners, Summit County has an elected county executive and an 11-member county council. Summit County also has an appointed medical examiner, rather than an elected coroner, and an elected fiscal officer, who exercises the powers and performs the duties of a county auditor, treasurer and recorder.

The remaining officials are similar to the officials in other counties. They include: clerk of the court of common pleas (elected); prosecuting attorney (elected); engineer (elected); and sheriff (elected).

In 1979, Summit County voters decided to replace the commissioner form of government with a charter government. The new, more responsive method of government began in 1981 with a seven-member council replacing the three commissioners. In 1988, voters increased the size of council to 11 members. Eight members represent specific districts, while three members serve at-large.

In November 2009, Cuyahoga County voters overwhelmingly approved the adoption of a county charter form of government, which will replace the three-commissioner form of county government with an elected county executive and a 12-person county council.

A charter form of government allows the elected representatives of the people to govern with more flexibility, creating a more open, progressive county government. The charter also gives counties “home rule” (like many Ohio cities), permitting council to adopt legislation more in tune with the needs of the community.

Charter adoption is not an instantaneous process. To get on the ballot, either a petition signed by 10 percent of the electors and proposed charter is submitted to the county commissioners or the county commissioners resolve to submit to the voters the question of whether a charter commission should be created to draft a charter. In the latter case, if the majority of voters answer in the affirmative, a 15-member commission is elected to draft a proposed charter.

Finally, whether the charter has been citizen or commission drafted, it must garner majority support in a public election before it can be officially adopted.

I think it is time for Butler County to take a serious look at a more representative form of government. If I was a Butler County commissioner, this idea would be on top of my agenda.

aul Nenni

is a

iddletown

accountant and a former member of Middletown City Commission.

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Neeni is an Anti- Constitution RINO . Charter in Ohio counties are the last thing America needs

Tom B
8:10 PM, 2/1/2010

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It doesn't matter what form of government exists. All decisions would be made by the same three or four people who make them now. And none of them have ever run in a general election.

paul
8:18 AM, 1/31/2010

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