In the past, township trustees have had little lawmaking authority under the Ohio Constitution. Many townships complained they were legally handcuffed from enacting specific projects or initiatives. The new township model of home rule passed by the state, which went into effect Sept. 20, allows township trustees to adopt the model by a resolution, if the population is more than 15,000. Residents may rescind the resolution through a ballot initiative. If adopted, townships can pass ordinances and contract with independent legal counsel and engineers, rather than rely on county resources.
Townships can also borrow at the same rate as cities, villages and counties under the law.
But you can do a lot of different things when you can spread it out over 30 years. Lee Speidel, a township resident and member of Deerfield's zoning commission, said while home rule is probably the next logical step in the township's evolution, it's a power trustees must use cautiously. Most cities don't use their legislative powers wisely. I don't think townships should be trying to act like cities. The limited self-government, or home rule, form of township government was established in Ohio law in 1991.