Source: http://mayorward.tripod.com/highlighted.htm
Timestamp: 2018-07-15 22:36:59
Document Index: 635722461

Matched Legal Cases: ['§731', '§5', '§ 36', '§ 37', '§38', '§ 39', '§40', '§ 45']

Charter Amendment Petition - Highlighted
This was the first petition. Not the same as the second one. Didn't have time to change it on line.
Note: Do not print this out to circulate as a petition. It will not be in the correct format. Sections of the petition have been highlighted in bright or light yellow to show the changes made to our current charter and other sections have been highlighted in light blue and comments added by BF Gregory.
NOTICE: Whoever knowingly signs this petition more than once, signs a name other than his own, or signs when not a legal voter is liable to prosecution. (Revised Code §731.33)
A petition for a vote upon the following Charter Amendments and Changes to the Charter of the City of Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio to be amended and changed to read as follows:
1 Name and powers
1(a) Tax rate for territory within City, but outside Sandusky
1(b) Gender
1(c) Compliance with open meeting laws
3 City Council. Creation and powers [term limits]
4 Qualifications [residency requirement]
6 Salary and bonds [Would you work 20+ hours/week for $100?]
9 Clerk and employees
11 Penalty for absence
12 Legislative procedure
13 Ordinance passage [ordinances are to be read at the meetings so the public has a chance to have input into their passage]
14 Emergency measures
15 Record and publication
16 Price and mode of publication
17 Law Director and assistants
18 Department of Finance and Audits
19 Accounting procedure
20 Assessments and licenses
21 Payment of claims
22 Certification of funds
23 Money in the fund
24 Emergencies
25 Expenditures
26 Sinking Fund Trustees
27 Civil Service
28 Other boards and departments
29 Advisory boards
30 Salaries and bonds
32 Mayor's Powers and Duties
33 Heads of departments
34 Platting Commissioner
Improvements - Contracts
35 Limitation of assessments
36 Improvements by direct labor
37 Sewer, water, and gas connections
38 Expenditures in excess of $2,500
39 Time of making contracts
40 Modification of contracts
41 Bids in excess of estimate
42 Contracts - when void
43 General disqualifications
44 Time of holding elections
45 Ballots
46 Petition for place on ballot
47 Declaration of candidacy
48 Election
49 General laws to apply
50 The estimate
51 Appropriation ordinance
52 Revision of appropriations
53 Transfer of funds
54 Unencumbered balances
55 Grants limited
56 Period of grants
58 Right of purchase
59 Extension by annexation
60 Right of regulation
61 Forfeitures
62 Accounts and reports
63 Grants not included
65 State laws to apply
66 Recall petitions
68 Recall election
69 Ballots
70 Filling of vacancies
71 Counting the votes
72 Effect of resignations
73 Miscellaneous provisions
74 Offenses relating to petitions
75 General laws to apply
76 Audit and appraisal
77 Ordinances continued in force
78 Continuance of present officers
79 Continuance of contracts and vested rights
80 Oath of office
81 Hours of labor
82 Amendment of Charter
83 Saving clause
84 When Charter takes effect
85 When amendments take effect
86 Residency requirement
87 Review of Charter
We, the people of the City of Sandusky Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom to secure its blessings and promote our common welfare, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the State of Ohio, extending to municipalities the privilege of "home-rule," in order to secure for ourselves and posterity practical and efficient methods in administrating the affairs of the City, to Protect the interests and insure the continued general welfare of the community, and to enjoy all the privileges of local self-government, do adopt this Charter. [back to top]
S 1 NAME AND POWERS.
The inhabitants of the City of Sandusky, Ohio, as its limits now are or hereafter may be established, shall continue to be a body politic and corporate, to be known and designated as "The City of Sandusky, Ohio," and as such shall have perpetual succession. It shall have, and may exercise, all powers which now or hereafter it would be competent for this Charter specifically to enumerate, as fully and completely as though said powers were specifically enumerated herein; and no enumeration of particular powers by this Charter shall be held to be exclusive. [back to top]
S 1(a) TAX RATE FOR TERRITORY WITHIN CITY BUT OUTSIDE SANDUSKY CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT.
In any year that any part of the territorial limits of the City is not within the territorial limits of the Sandusky City School District, that part of the total tax rate levied by the City which would otherwise cause the aggregate rate of taxes levied without a vote of the people upon any property in the City to exceed 10 mills, because of the tax rates of overlapping subdivisions allowable by law within the 10 mill limitation, shall be levied outside of the 10 mill limitation, so that in each year the City shall be able to levy taxes at a uniform rate throughout the entire City without a vote of the electors. [back to top]
S 1(b) GENDER.
All references to gender in this Charter shall designate both sexes and wherever the male gender is used, it shall be deemed to include both male and female counterparts. [back to top]
S 1(c) COMPLIANCE WITH OPEN MEETING LAWS.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Charter, all meetings held pursuant to this Charter shall comply in all respects with the open meeting laws as then in force and effect in the State of Ohio. [back to top]
S 2 FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
The form of government provided in this Charter shall be known as the Council-Mayor Plan," and shall consist of a commission of 7 citizens, who shall be elected four (4) by wards and three (3) at large in manner hereinafter provided. The City Council shall constitute the governing body with powers as hereinafter provided to pass ordinances, adopt regulations, and exercise all powers hereinafter provided. The executive power of the City shall be vested in the Mayor, the heads of departments of the City, and such other executive officers as are provided for in this Charter. [back to top]
S 3 CITY COUNCIL CREATION AND POWERS.
There is hereby created, commencing January 1, 2004, a City Council to consist of 4 electors of the City elected by wards and 3 electors of the City elected at large, each of whom shall be elected for a term of 4 years beginning January 1, after their elections, as hereinafter set forth. Four of the City Councilmembers shall be elected at the Municipal election to be held in 2003 and in alternate Municipal elections thereafter; three shall be elected at the Municipal election to be held in 2005 and in alternate Municipal elections thereafter.
[TERM LIMITS of CITY COUNCIL ] No person shall be qualified to be elected to the City Council or to be appointed to fill an unexpired term of another person's election or appointment to the City Council if serving the term being sought in an election or the balance of the term to which the appointment is being made would result in the person serving on the City Council more than eight years of the twelve year period ending the end of the term to which the person is seeking election or to which the person would be appointed. This limitation shall be effective for all terms that commence or appointments that are effective on or after January 5, 1992.
All of the powers of the City, except such as are vested in the Mayor and Board of Education and except as otherwise provided by this Charter or by the Constitution of the State, are hereby vested in the City Council; and except as otherwise prescribed by this Charter or by the Constitution of the State, the City Council may by ordinance or resolution prescribe the manner in which any power of the City shall be exercised. In the absence of such provision as to any power, such power shall be exercised in the manner now or hereafter prescribed by the general laws of the State applicable to municipalities.
For purposes of the November, 2003 election and immediately after each decennial proclamation by the secretary of state as to the population of the City, as determined by the decennial federal census, the Council may redivide the City into four (4) wards subject to the requirements of this Charter and, in particular § S 87, upon the basis of its population, which shall be as nearly equal in population as possible and composed of contiguous and compact territory, bounded by natural boundaries or street lines. [back to top]
S 4 QUALIFICATIONS.
Each member of the City Council, for at least 3 years immediately prior to his or her election shall have been, and during his or her term of office shall continue to be, a resident of the City of Sandusky, Ohio, and shall have the qualifications of an elector therein. Any member of Council, elected from wards, who, at the time of his or her election was a resident of the ward which he or she represents, shall forfeit his or her office if he or she removes from such ward, and the Council shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term, or the next general election whichever shall first occur, with an otherwise qualified resident elector of the City. He or she shall not hold any other public office except in the State militia, except as otherwise provided in this Charter, and shall not be interested in the profits or emoluments of any contract, job, work, or service for the Municipality. Any Commissioner who shall cease to possess any of the qualification herein required shall forthwith forfeit his or her office, and any such contract in which any member is or may become interested may be declared void by the City Council. [I believe this is stricter than the Ohio Revised Code which requires only 1 year residence?]
A candidate may cause notice of his or her candidacy to be published and may circulate or procure the circulation of a petition for his or her nomination. Nothing in this section shall preclude a write-in candidacy. He or she shall not promise any money, office, employment, or other thing of value to secure a nomination or election; but may expend money to finance his or her campaign for election to the extent permitted by law. A violation of these provisions, or any of them, shall disqualify him or her from holding the office, if elected; and the person receiving the next highest number of votes, who has observed the foregoing conditions and otherwise qualifies under this Charter, shall be entitled to the office. [back to top]
§5 VACANCIES.
The first vacancy for any seat in the City Council which occurs following any regular municipal election shall be filled by the candidate for City Council at that election who had the highest number of votes for that seat but was not elected, provided he or she is then still qualified to serve and is willing to serve. When such a vacancy occurs, the Clerk of the City Council within 7 days shall notify such candidate of the vacancy and he or she shall have 30 days from the time the vacancy occurs to assume office. Notice by first class mail addressed to the candidate at the address shown on his or her nominating petition shall be sufficient compliance by the Clerk.
When a vacancy in the City Council occurs and is not filled by the method specified in the preceding paragraph, the vacancy shall be filled by the remaining members by a majority vote. In the event that the vacancy is not filled in 60 days from the time it occurs, then it shall be filled by the Civil Service Commission, and its Clerk shall cause his certificate of its action to be entered on the journal of the City Council.
If, by reason of resignations, deaths, failure to elect, or other circumstance, so many vacancies exist or occur at the same time in said City Council that the number of City Councilmembers is less than a majority of the full membership, then the Civil Service Commission shall make such number of appointments as may be necessary to constitute a City Council of qualified members constituting a majority of the full membership, which majority shall then proceed to fill the remaining vacancies as hereinbefore provided. The Clerk of the Civil Service Commission shall cause his certificate of its action to be entered on the journal of the City Council.
In any case where the Civil Service Commission neglects or fails to make an appointment for 10 days, the appointment shall be made by the senior judge of the Common Pleas Court of Erie County, Ohio.
In any case where a vacancy occurs, if the term of the office filled or to be filled does not expire for 2 or more years after the next municipal election following such vacancy, and such vacancy occurs not less than 105 days prior to the next municipal election, an additional City Councilmember shall then be elected; and, of those City Councilmember elected at such election, the one having the lowest vote shall then succeed to and serve the unexpired term. In the event of more than one vacancy to be so filled by election the same provision shall apply. [back to top]
S 6 SALARY AND BONDS.
Commencing January 1, 2000, the salary of each City Councilmember shall be $100 per week payable according to the established payroll practices of the City which shall after January, 2003 be subject to the requirements of S 30. Each City Councilmember shall give bond in the sum of $5,000 with a bonding company regularly accredited to do business in the State of Ohio as surety thereon, to the approval of the City Treasurer; and the premium of each bond shall be paid by the City. The bonds of the City Councilmember shall be filed with the City Treasurer. [Would you work 20+ hours with alot of it on weekends for $5/hour?]
The president shall receive $20 per week in addition to his salary as a City Councilmember during the time he shall serve as president, payable with his salary as a City Councilmember. [back to top]
S 7 PRESIDENT.
The City Council may at the time of organizing elect by secret ballot, one of its members as President and another as Vice-President for terms of 2 years. In case the members of the City Council within 5 days after the time herein fixed for their organization meeting, are unable to agree upon a President or a Vice-President of such City Council, then a President, or a Vice-President, or both as the occasion may require, shall be elected from all the members of such City Council by lot conducted by the Law Director; who shall certify the result of such selection by lot upon the journal of the City Council.
The President shall preside at all meetings of the City Council and perform such other duties consistent with his or her office as may be imposed by it; and he or she shall have a voice and vote in its proceedings, but no veto. He or she may use the title of President of City Council in any case in which the execution of legal instruments of writing or other necessity arising from the general law of the State so requires; but this shall not be construed as conferring upon him or her the administrative functions of a mayor under the general laws of Ohio,
If the President be temporarily absent from the City, or becomes temporarily disabled from any cause, his or her duties shall be performed during such absence or disability by the Vice- President. In the absence of both President and Vice-President, the other members of the City Commission Council shall select one of their number to perform the duties of President. [back to top]
S 8 MUNICIPAL BONDS.
The City Council shall, subject to all the limitations of and in the manner prescribed by the general laws of Ohio, have the same power and authority to issue the bonds of the Municipality as is vested by said laws in city councils, except, that in cases of municipal bond issues requiring the approval of the electors of the Municipality, such bonds may and shall be issued and sold if a majority of the voters voting at the election upon the question of issuing such bonds, vote in favor thereof. [back to top]
S 9 CLERK AND EMPLOYEES.
The City Council shall appoint a Clerk who shall be known as the Clerk of the City Council, and who shall keep a record of the proceedings of the City Council and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or by the City Council. It may also appoint and employ such other officers and employees of its body as are necessary. [back to top]
S 10 MEETINGS.
The City Council shall meet at such times as may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution. The President, and 2 members of the City Council, or the Mayor, may call a special meeting of the City Council. All meetings of the City Council shall comply in all respects with the open meeting laws as then in force and effect in the State of Ohio. The City Council shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall keep a journal of its proceedings. [back to top]
S 11 PENALTY.
Absence from three (3) consecutive regular meetings or from more than fifty percent (50%) of the regular meetings held in any ninety (90) day period, shall operate to vacate the seat of a member unless the absence is excused by a majority vote of the Council and entered upon the Journal of the City Council. [back to top]
S 12 LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE.
A majority of all the members elected to the City Council shall be a quorum to do business, but a less number may adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed by ordinance. The affirmative vote of at least 4 of the members shall be necessary to adopt any ordinance or resolution; and the vote upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions shall be taken by "yeas" and "nays" and entered upon the journal. [back to top]
S 13 ORDINANCE ENACTMENT.
Each proposed ordinance or resolution shall be introduced in written or printed form, and shall not contain more than one subject which shall be clearly stated in the title; but general appropriation ordinances may contain the various subjects, and accounts for which moneys are to be appropriated. The enacting clause of all ordinances passed by the City Council shall be: "Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Sandusky, Ohio." The enacting clause of all ordinances submitted to popular election by the initiative shall be: "Be it ordained by the people of the City of Sandusky, Ohio."
No ordinance or resolution of a general or permanent nature, or granting a franchise, or creating a right, or involving the expenditure of money or the levying of a tax, or for the purchase, lease, sale or transfer of property, unless it be an emergency measure or unless otherwise provided by this Charter, shall be passed until it has been read at 2 regular meetings not less than one week apart, or the requirement for such reading has been dispensed with by an affirmative vote of 5 of the members of the City Council. No ordinance or resolution or section thereof shall be revised or amended unless the new ordinance or resolution contains the entire ordinance or resolution or section revised or amended, and the original ordinance, resolution, section or sections so amended shall be repealed. [This gives the community a little time to protest an ordinance. I don't care how smart our council members may be, they can't think of everything or see an issue from all viewpoints so the community (you and me) need to be able to have input into new legislation!]
Any ordinance or resolution passed by the Council shall be signed by the [chairman] President and two members of Council and presented to the Mayor. If the Mayor approves such ordinance or resolution he shall sign it and it shall thereupon take effect and be enacted, but if he does not approve it, he shall return it to the Council with his objections within ten days thereafter, or if the Council is not then in session such objections shall be returned at the next regular meeting thereof. The Council shall cause such objections to be entered in full on its journal. If the Mayor does not return an ordinance or resolution within the time specified it shall take effect and be enacted in the same manner as if he had approved it. The Mayor may approve or disapprove the whole or any item or part of any ordinance or resolution appropriating money. When the Mayor refuses to sign any ordinance or resolution, or part thereof, and returns it to the council with his objections, the council shall, after the expiration of not less than one week, proceed to reconsider it, and if, upon reconsideration, the resolution or ordinance, or part or item thereof, disapproved by the Mayor is approved by the vote of two thirds or more of all the members elected to the Council, it shall then take effect and be enacted as if it had received the approval and signature of the Mayor. In all such cases the votes shall be taken by "yeas" and "nays" and entered on the journal. [back to top]
S 14 EMERGENCY MEASURES.
All ordinances and resolutions passed by the City Council shall be in effect from and after 30 days from the date of their passage, except that the City Council may, by an affirmative vote of 5 of its members, pass emergency measures to take effect at the time indicated therein.
Any emergency measure is an ordinance or resolution for the immediate preservation of the public peace, property, health, or safety, or providing for the usual daily operation of a municipal department, in which the emergency is set forth and defined in a preamble thereto. Ordinances appropriating money may be passed as emergency measures, but no measure making a grant, renewal or extension of a franchise or other special privilege, or regulating the rate to be charged for its service by any public utility, shall ever be so passed. [back to top]
S 15 RECORD AND PUBLICATION.
Every ordinance or resolution upon its final passage by City Council shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose, and shall be authenticated by the signature of the presiding officer and the Clerk of the City Council. Every ordinance of a general or permanent nature shall be published once within 10 days after its final passage by City Council in the manner hereinafter provided.
The Clerk of City Council shall maintain all original ordinances or resolutions, whether or not enacted. Every ordinance or resolution enacted into law shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose and shall be authenticated by the Clerk of the City Council.
Ordinances and resolutions providing for public improvements, to pay the cost of which special assessments are to be made, need not be published; but within 10 days after enactment of each a notice shall be published as follows, the same being in addition to the notice required by law to be served on the property owners.
As to the resolution declaring the necessity of the proposed improvements, a notice shall be published headed "Notice of Public Improvement," stating when the same was adopted by the City Council and approved by the Mayor or otherwise enacted into law, and setting forth the general nature and the extent of such improvements including any change of street grade that is to be made, what part of the cost thereof is to be assessed against the property to be especially benefited thereby, and when water, gas, or other street connections must be made.
As to the ordinance determining to proceed with the improvement, a notice shall be published headed "Notice of Determination to Proceed with Public Improvement, " stating when the City Council adopted the same, describing the character and extent of the improvement in general terms, and setting forth within what time assessments on property specially benefited may be paid in cash, and for what period and at what interest bonds will be issued for that portion of the assessment not so paid.
In regard to the ordinance to provide for the issue of bonds, a notice shall be published headed "Notice of Bond Issue for Public Improvement" stating when the City Council adopted the same and when it was approved by the Mayor or otherwise enacted into law, describing the improvement in general terms, and stating the total amount of bonds to be issued, in what denomination, when maturing, how to be dated and numbered, the rate of interest, when and where payable, and the lowest price at which any portion of such bonds will be offered at public sale. Wherever practicable notices of the same character required to be published regarding separate improvements shall be combined into one notice under a single heading.
No resolution declaring it necessary to proceed with any public improvement shall be adopted until complete plans, specifications, profiles and estimates have been submitted to the City Council and have been approved by it; and the same, or a copy thereof, shall thereafter remain on file in the office of the City Engineer subject to inspection by the public. [back to top]
S 16 PRICE AND MODE OF PUBLICATION.
All of the above mentioned publications, as well as all other newspaper publications made by the City, shall be published in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in the Municipality, and, where legally permissible, such publication shall be made but once and in one newspaper only.
The newspaper carrying such publication shall be paid a price per inch of space used at the lowest and best rate offered. Whenever it may appear to the City Council that the rates offered by such newspapers are unfair, such other means of securing due publicity may be employed, in lieu of newspaper advertising, as the City Council may by resolution determine. [back to top]
S 17 LAW DIRECTOR AND ASSISTANTS.
The Mayor shall appoint a Law Director and his or her assistants with the advice and consent of the City Council who shall hold office at the pleasure of the Mayor. The Law Director and his assistants shall act as the legal advisors to, and attorneys and counsel for, the Municipality and all of its officers in matters relating to their duties. The Law Director or his or her assistants shall prepare all contracts, bonds, and other instruments in writing in which the Municipality is concerned, and shall endorse on each approval of the form and correctness thereof; and no contract with the Municipality shall take effect until such approval is thus endorsed thereon. The Law Director or his or her assistants shall be the prosecutor or prosecutors in the Municipal Court. In addition to such duties the Law Director and his or her assistants shall perform such other duties as may be required of them by the Mayor, as well as such as may be required by law directors by the general laws of the State applicable to municipalities.
The Law Director and his or her assistants shall have the power at any time to cause the affairs of any department or the conduct of any officer or employee to be investigated, but upon request of either the City Council or Mayor it shall be mandatory upon the Law Director or his or her assistants to make such investigation.
The Law Director or an assistant shall be required to attend all meetings of the City Council, except when excused by the City Council and Mayor. The Law Director or an assistant shall give an opinion in writing when so requested, to the City Council, to the Mayor, or to the head of any department or the head of any office not connected with a department, upon any question of law involving their respective powers and duties.
Wherever in the Charter the term "City Solicitor" is used it shall be deemed to refer to Law Director pursuant to this section.[back to top]
S 18 DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND AUDITS.
There is hereby created a Department of Finance and Audits to be headed by an officer known as the Finance Director. This office shall be held by a person especially qualified by education and experience for such position.
The City Council shall appoint a Finance Director who shall hold office at the pleasure of the City Council. He or she shall be the custodian of all moneys of the Municipality, and shall keep and preserve the same in such manner and in such place or places as shall be determined by the City Council.
In addition to such duties he or she shall perform such other duties as may be required of him or her by the City Council as well as such as may be required of finance directors and City auditors by the general law of the State applicable to municipalities and not inconsistent with this Charter or with any ordinance or resolution that may be passed by the City Council.
He or she shall issue all warrants for payment of money by the City and shall require the signature of the Mayor to all such warrants in addition to that of his or her own and that of the head of the department for which the money is drawn and appropriated. He or she shall keep an accurate account of all taxes and assessments, of all money due to and all receipts and disbursements by, the Municipality, of all its assets and liabilities, and of all appropriations made by the City Council.
He or she may prescribe the form of reports to be rendered to his or her department, and the method of keeping accounts by all other departments, and he or she shall require daily reports to be made to him or her by each department, showing the receipt of all moneys by such department and the disposition thereof. Upon the death, resignation, removal, or expiration of the term of any officer, the Finance Director shall audit or cause to be audited the accounts of such officer, and if such officer shall be found to be indebted to the Municipality, he or she shall immediately give notice thereof to the City Council and the Law Director; and the latter shall forthwith proceed to collect the same.
At least quarterly during each year, the Department of Finance and Audits shall file with the City Council, a complete statement of the financial condition of the Municipality upon blanks to be prepared to the satisfaction of the City Council which blanks shall show fully and in detail the exact status of each of the City's funds, the receipts and disbursements of each department or office of the City for the quarter, and a comparative statement covering the same related period of the 2 consecutive years just prior, as well as such other information as shall be required by the City Council.
The Finance Director shall give surety bond in a company authorized to do business in Ohio in such amount as the City Council may determine and the City shall pay the premium therefor.
Wherever in this Charter the term "City Treasurer" is used it shall be deemed to refer to Finance Director pursuant to this section. [back to top]
S 19 ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE.
Accounting procedure shall be devised and maintained for the City adequate to record in detail all transactions affecting the acquisition, custodianship, And disposition of values, including cash receipts and disbursements; and the recorded facts. shall be presented periodically to officials and to the public in such summaries and analytical schedules in detailed support thereof as shall be necessary to show the full effect of such transactions for each fiscal year upon the finances of the City and in relation to each department of the City government, including distinct summaries and schedules for each public utility owned and operated. [back to top]
S 20 ASSESSMENTS AND LICENSES.
The City Treasurer shall have charge of the preparation and certification of all special assessments for public improvements; and the mailing of notices of such assessments to property owners and all other duties connected therewith; the collection of such assessments as are payable directly to the City and the preparation and certification of all unpaid assessments to the County Auditor for collection. He shall collect all fees for licenses issued under authority of the City Council and shall pay the same into the City Treasury in the manner provided by ordinance, but the City Council shall not authorize the City Treasurer to issue licenses. [back to top]
S 21 PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.
No warrant for the payment of any claim shall be issued by the Finance Director unless such claim shall be evidenced by a voucher approved by the head of the department for which the indebtedness was incurred and countersigned by the Mayor. Before issuing such voucher, the supplies and materials delivered, or work done, shall be. duly inspected and certified to by the head of the proper department or office, or by a person designated by him or her. The head of each department or office shall require proper time reports for all services rendered to be certified by those having cognizance thereof, to serve as a basis for the preparation of payroll vouchers. Each head of a department and his or her surety shall be liable to the City for all loss or damage sustained by the City by reason of the negligent or corrupt approval of any claim against the City in his or her department. Prior to drawing of a warrant for the payment of any voucher or claim, the Finance Director may at his or her discretion cause an investigation or inspection to be made by a person designated by him or her. [back to top]
S 22 CERTIFICATION OF FUNDS.
No contract, agreement or other obligation involving the expenditure of money shall be entered into, nor shall any ordinance, resolution, or order for the expenditure of money be passed by the City Council, or be authorized by any officer of the City, unless the City Treasurer shall first certify to the City Council or to the proper officer, as the case may be, that the money required for such contract, agreement, obligation, or expenditure, is in the Treasury, to the credit of the fund from which it is to be drawn, and not appropriated for any other purpose, which certificate shall be filed and immediately recorded. The sum so certified shall not thereafter be considered unappropriated until the City is discharged from the contract, agreement, or obligation. [back to top] [I wonder if our City actually follows this all the time?]
S 23 MONEY IN THE FUND.
All moneys actually in the Treasury to the credit of the fund from which they are to be drawn, and all moneys applicable to the payment of the obligation or appropriation involved, that are anticipated to come into the Treasury before the maturity of such contract, agreement, or obligation, from taxes or assessments, or from sales or services, products or by-products or from any City undertakings fees, charges, accounts, and bills receivable or other credits in the process of collection; and all moneys applicable to the payment of such obligation or appropriation, which are to be paid into the Treasury prior to the maturity thereof, arising from the sale or lease of lands or other property, and moneys to be derived from lawfully authorized bonds sold and in process of delivery shall, for the purposes of such certificate, be deemed in the Treasury to the credit of the appropriate fund and subject to such certification. [back to top]
S 24 EMERGENCIES.
In case of emergency, purchases may be made without competition, if a sufficient appropriation has theretofore been made against which such purchases may lawfully be charged. In such cases a copy of the order issued shall be filed with the City purchasing agent, together with a certificate by the head of the department, stating the facts of the emergency. A copy of his certificate shall also be attached to and filed with the voucher covering payment for the supplies. [back to top]
S 25 EXPENDITURES.
Until otherwise provided by the City Council, the Mayor shall act as the purchasing agent for the City, by whom all purchases shall be made, and who shall approve all vouchers for the payment of the same. Such purchasing agent shall also conduct all sales of personal property which the City Council may authorize to be sold as having become unnecessary or unfit for the City's use.
All purchases and sales shall conform to such regulations as the City may from time to time prescribe; but in either case, if an amount in excess of $1,000 is involved, competitive quotations shall be obtained. When it is anticipated an expenditure will exceed $10,000, formal competitive bidding shall be required; no such expenditure shall be split up for the sole purpose of evading this requirement.
When purchases or sales are made on joint accounts of separate departments, the purchasing agent shall apportion the charge or credit to each department. He or she shall see to the delivery of supplies to each department and take and retain the receipt of each department therefor.
Real property owned by the City may be sold or leased by the City without the need for competitive bids. Negotiations for the sale or lease of City property are permissible, where deemed appropriate by the Mayor, for the benefit of the City. [This is important to know.]
Competitive bidding shall not be required where the purchase consists of supplies, a replacement part or supplemental parts, or services for products, equipment or property owned or leased by the City and the only source of supply for such supplies, parts or services is limited to a single provider.
When an expenditure, other than the compensation of persons employed by the City, exceeds $10,000, such expenditure shall first be authorized and directed by ordinance of the City Council, and no contract involving an expenditure in excess of such sum shall be made or awarded, except upon approval of the City Council and the Mayor as provided for in this Charter. [back to top] [Doesn't this mean that the City does not hire an architect to do work unless it was approved by the Commission/Council beforehand?]
S 26 SINKING FUND TRUSTEES.
(Amend. repealed by the voters 11-8-77) [back to top]
S 27 CIVIL SERVICE.
The Civil Service Commission of the City of Sandusky, Ohio, shall be comprised, and the members thereof shall be appointed in compliance with the laws of the State of Ohio, and said Civil Service Commission shall adopt rules and regulations consistent with, and shall enforce and be governed by the Civil Service law of the State of Ohio as the same is presently in effect, or as it may be enacted or amended hereafter, with the express exception that in the process of filling any vacancy in the offices or positions of Chief of the Department or Division of Police, or Chief of the Department or Division of Fire of the City the procedures set forth herein shall be utilized, and the same shall supersede, override, govern, apply and prevail over any law, statute or regulation of the State of Ohio in conflict or inconsistent therewith, and be binding and applicable in such circumstances in and upon the City of Sandusky, and all of its officers, commissions and employees.
When a vacancy occurs in the office or position of Chief of Police, or the office or position of Chief of Fire, a Selection Board shall be appointed. In each such situation the Selection Board shall be composed of the President of the City Commission or a member of the City Council, designated by said President, who shall serve as the Chairman of the Selection Board, the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission of the City of Sandusky, Ohio, or a member of said Civil Service Commission designated by said Chairman, and three (3) other resident electors of the City of Sandusky who are not officers or employees of said City who shall be appointed by the President of the City Council with the advice and consent of the City Council. It shall be the duty and responsibility of the Selection Board in each said instance to examine, and certify to the Mayor of the City of Sandusky, Ohio, the name or names of individuals who are eligible for appointment to the office or position involved.
When a vacancy occurs in either office, the Mayor of the City of Sandusky, Ohio, promptly shall report the fact of said vacancy to the President and members of the City Council. Concurrently the Mayor shall take appropriate steps to notify such individuals who are qualified to apply for consideration for appointment to said vacant office or position, of the existence of said vacancy, and that applications for consideration for appointment to the same may be filed in the office of the Mayor up to and within a period of time to be determined by the Mayor not less than ten (10) days after the notice of said vacancy is effected as required hereby. After the expiration of said application period, the Mayor shall promptly deliver to the Chairman of the Selection Board all of the applications which have been timely and appropriately filed in the office of the Mayor.
Any active full-time law enforcement officer with not less than ten (10) years of prior active full-time law enforcement service, and holding the permanent rank of Lieutenant or higher, as of the date of the application of said officer hereunder, shall be qualified and eligible to so apply and to be considered for appointment in relation to a vacancy in the position or office of Chief of the Department or Division of Police.
Any active full-time firefighter with not less than ten (10) years of prior active full-time service as a firefighter, and holding the permanent rank of Captain or higher, as of the date of the application of said officer hereunder, shall be qualified and eligible to so apply and to be considered for appointment in relation to a vacancy in the position or office of Chief of the Department or Division of Fire.
Applications shall be in written form and shall be personally executed by the applicant. They shall contain the information required by this section, the address of the applicant, and such other pertinent information as the Mayor may require. Applications shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the Mayor. Each applicant as part of the application process shall attest to the truth of the representations and information set forth in the application thereof, and that said applicant is qualified and eligible to make such application.
The Selection Board, on the basis of merit and fitness, shall determine the qualifications of each applicant hereunder by administering such written examinations, psychological examinations and evaluations, oral assessments and examinations, and such other examinations evaluations, and/or screening processes and procedures as said Board deems appropriate and practicable in determining the relative capacity and. abilities of the applicants to discharge the duties and responsibilities of the position or office to which they aspire. Thereafter, on the basis of its evaluation and determination, the Selection Board shall certify to the Mayor the names of not more than three (3) applicants who are eligible to serve in the office or position which is vacant and to which they aspire whom the Board deems best qualified and able to perform the duties and responsibilities of said position. Said certification shall be the result of the exercise of judgment and discretion of the members of the Selection Board, and 'of the Board itself, arrived at individually and collectively as a result of the evaluation process described herein.
The Mayor shall appoint to the vacancy at issue one (1) of the three (3) persons certified by the Selection Board as eligible and qualified for said appointment. Said appointment shall be for a probationary period of six (6) months. If the appointee satisfactorily completes said probationary period, the Mayor then shall make said appointment permanent. [back to top]
S 28 OTHER BOARDS AND DEPARTMENTS.
All other administrative departments in existence shall continue until otherwise provided by the City Council, and all administrative boards in charge of any administrative department of the City shall continue in office, and their successors shall be appointed as heretofore, excepting as other provision is made in this Charter, or may hereafter be made by the Mayor.
The City Council shall have authority to provide an officer whose duty it shall be to defend and furnish legal advice or other assistance in all such matters and to all such persons as the City Council may by ordinance prescribe, and who shall perform such other duties and receive such compensation as the ordinance shall prescribe.
Excepting the officers, boards, commissioners, and departments hereinbefore specially mentioned and provided for, the City Council shall have power to establish, create, combine, or abolish offices, boards, departments, or divisions when in its opinion the proper administration of the business of the City so requires. [back to top]
S 29 ADVISORY BOARDS.
The City Council at any time may appoint an advisory board or boards composed of citizens qualified to act in an advisory capacity to the City Council, the or the head of any department, with respect to the conduct and management of any property, institution or public function of the City. The members of any such board shall serve for a time fixed in their appointment, or at the pleasure of the City Council; and for such compensation, if any, as the City Council may provide; and their duty shall be to consult and advise with such municipal officers and make written recommendations which shall become part of the records of the City. [back to top]
S 30 SALARIES AND BONDS.
The City Council shall fix by ordinance the salary or rate of compensation of all officers and employees of the City entitled to compensation, including their own; and may require any officer or employee to give a bond for the faithful performance of his duty, in such an amount as it may determine, and it may provide that the premium thereof shall be paid by the City. Any ordinance fixing the salary or rate of compensation of a City Councilmember or Mayor shall not apply to any City Councilmember or Mayor until after the next general election in which that person seeks election for a full term. [back to top] [Face it, folks. If we are going to have a choice at the polls, we have to pay our Councilmembers well. Everybody else gets a regular raise, so should the Councilmembers. Currently the Commission has to have the charter amended to get paid more and we have been too cheap to give them a raise. Even if you don't like the current commission and want to show your displeasure, this is not the way to do it. In order for people to be willing to run for council, the money has got to be there!]
S 31 MAYOR.
The Mayor of the City shall be elected at a regular municipal election for a term of four years, and shall assume office on the first day of January next following his election. The Mayor, for at least 3 years immediately prior to his or her election, shall have been, and during his or her term of office shall continue to be, a resident of the City of Sandusky, Ohio, and shall have the qualifications of an elector therein. The first election for Mayor shall be held in the next general election following initial passage of this Charter section. [back to top]
S 32 POWERS AND DUTIES.
(A) To see that the laws and ordinances are enforced.
(B) Except as herein provided, to appoint and remove all heads of departments, and all subordinate officers and employees of the City: all appointments to be upon merit and fitness alone.
(C) To exercise control over all departments and divisions created herein or that hereafter may be created by the City Council, except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
(D) To see that all terms and conditions imposed in favor of the City or its inhabitants in any public utility franchise are faithfully kept and performed; and upon knowledge of any violation thereof to call the same to the attention of the City Law Director, who is hereby required to take such steps as are necessary to enforce the same.
(E) To attend all meetings of the City Council, with the right to take part in the discussions but having no vote.
(G) To act as Budget Commissioner and to keep the City Council fully advised as to the financial condition and needs of the City; and
(H) To perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or be required of him by ordinance or resolution of the City Council enacted into law.
The Mayor shall be recognized as the official head of the City by the courts for the purpose of serving civil process, by the Governor for the purpose of military law, and for all ceremonial purposes. He or she may take command of the police and govern the City by proclamation during times of public danger or emergency, and he or she shall himself or herself be judge of what constitutes such public danger or emergency. However, such a public danger or emergency proclamation of the Mayor may be terminated at any time by an affirmative vote of 4 members of the City Council. The powers and duties of the Mayor shall be such as are conferred upon him or her by this Charter, together with such others as are conferred by the City Council in pursuance of the provisions of this Charter, and no others. [back to top]
S 33 HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS.
Excepting the Departments of Finance and Audits and the officers, boards, and commissions appointed by the City Council as hereinbefore provided, the Mayor shall appoint the heads of all departments created by the City Council, the Mayor shall be the acting head of each of the departments of the City. The Mayor shall appoint a deputy or chief clerk to represent him in any of said departments of which he is the acting chief and may appoint an assistant or vice-mayor if such position is created by Council. [back to top]
S 34 PLATTING COMMISSIONER,
The shall be the Platting Commissioner of the City and he shall exercise the authority and discharge the duties of that office under the provisions of the general law of the State applicable thereto, except as the same may be modified by the City Council. [back to top]
S 35 LIMITATION OF ASSESSMENTS.
In levying special assessments to pay any part of the cost of any public work or improvement, the City Council shall not exceed any limitation as to the amount thereof which may be prescribed by the general laws of the State applicable to municipalities and in force at the time it is determined by the City Council that any such work shall be done or improvement made. Unless for special reasons which shall be stated in the ordinance levying an assessment or providing for the issue of bonds to pay any part of the cost of any such improvement to be made pursuant to contract, no such ordinance shall be passed, or assessment levied or money borrowed, until bids for the labor and material have been received and the approximate cost of the improvement accurately determined. [back to top]
§ 36 IMPROVEMENTS BY DIRECT LABOR.
Nothing in the preceding section shall be construed to prohibit the Mayor from doing any public work or making any public improvement by the direct employment of the necessary labor and the purchase of the necessary supplies and materials, with separate accounting as to each improvement so made, but the City Council may upon so declaring by ordinance or resolution cause any public work or improvement to be done or made in such manner. [back to top]
§ 37 SEWER, WATER, AND GAS CONNECTIONS.
Before paving or otherwise surfacing or resurfacing any street or alley of the City, the Mayor shall determine the time within which sewer, water, gas, or other connection shall be constructed, and shall give notice thereof to the persons or corporations required to make the same, and if a person or corporation fails to make any such connection when so required, no permission to make the same shall thereafter be granted within 5 years from the completion of any such street improvement unless with the consent of 4 of the City Councilmembers expressed by resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council and stating the reason therefore. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the City Council from providing that such connections may be made by the City and the cost thereof assessed against the lots and lands specially benefited thereby. [back to top]
§38 EXPENDITURES IN EXCESS OF $2,500.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The Provisions of former Section 38, as amended, have been added to Section 25.) [back to top]
§ 39 TIME OF MAKING CONTRACTS.
Neither the City Council nor Mayor shall not enter into any contract which is not to go into full operation during the term for which all the members of such City Council and Mayor are elected. [back to top]
§40 MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS.
When it becomes necessary in the opinion of the Mayor, in the prosecution of any work or improvement under contract, to make alterations or modifications in such contract, such alterations or modifications, if made, shall be of no effect until the price to be paid for the work and material, or both, under the altered or modified contract, has been agreed upon in writing and signed by the contractor and by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. [back to top]
S 41 BIDS IN EXCESS OF ESTIMATE.
In no instance shall contracts be let either as a whole, or in aggregate if bids for parts of the work are taken, which exceed the estimate of costs by more than 10%. [back to top]
S 42 CONTRACTS - WHEN VOID.
All contracts, agreements, or other obligations entered into and all ordinances passed, or resolutions and orders adopted, contrary to the provisions of the preceding sections, shall be void. [back to top]
S 43 GENERAL DISQUALIFICATIONS.
No member of the City Council, the Mayor or any other officer or employee of the City, shall directly or indirectly be interested in any contract, job, work, or service with or for the City; nor in the profits or emoluments thereof, nor in the expenditure of any money on the part of the City other than his or her fixed compensation; and any contract with the City in which any such officer or employee is, or becomes, interested may, at the discretion of the City Council, be declared void.
No member of the City Council, the Mayor or other officer or employee of the City shall accept any gift, frank, free ticket, pass, reduced price, or reduced rate of service from any person, firm, or corporation operating a public utility or engaged in business of a public nature within the City, or from any person known to him or her to have, or to be endeavoring to secure, a contract with the City. But the provisions of this section shall not apply to the transportation of police or fire personnel in uniform or wearing their official badges when the same is, or may be, provided by ordinance. [back to top]
S 44 TIME OF HOLDING ELECTIONS.
Regular Municipal elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the odd numbered years. Any matter which by the terms of the Charter may be submitted to the electors of the City at any special election may be submitted at a regular Municipal election. [back to top]
§ 45 BALLOTS.
The ballots used in all elections provided for in this Charter shall be without party marks or designations. [back to top]
S 46 PETITION FOR PLACE ON BALLOT
Candidates for election to the office of City Councilmember at large or Mayor may be nominated by petition signed in the aggregate for each candidate by not less than 1% of the total vote cast at the last preceding municipal election, but not to be less than 100 signatures. In the case of candidates for Councilmember by Ward, such petitions shall be signed by not less than 1% of the total vote cast in the particular Ward in which the candidate seeks election at the last preceding municipal election, but in no event shall the number of signatures on said petition be less than 25. Such petitions shall state the name and place of residence of each person whose name is presented for a place upon the ballot and that he or she is a candidate for the office of Mayor, City Councilmember at large, or City Councilmember for Ward#__. The requirements of the general election laws of the State shall apply and control with respect to such nominating petition, including the determination of qualified electors of the City, except that the requirements of this Charter shall control with respect to the number of signatures required as set forth above, the qualifications for such office as set forth in Section 4 of this Charter, and the declaration required to be contained in the statement of candidacy as set forth in Section 47 of this Charter. The name of any elector of the City shall be printed upon the ballot if there is filed with the election authorities a nominating petition for such elector meeting the foregoing requirements [back to top]
S 47 DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY.
The nominating petition for election to the office of City Councilmember or Mayor shall contain a statement of candidacy which shall be signed by the candidate named therein prior to the circulation of the petition. Such statement of candidacy shall contain a declaration made under penalty of election falsification that the candidate desires to be a candidate for the office named therein, and that he is qualified for the office he seeks.
The candidate need sign only one paper of the nominating petition but the declaration of candidacy shall be reproduced on each paper of such petition which is signed by electors. [back to top]
S 48 ELECTION.
The candidate for election to each office of City Councilmember who shall receive the highest number of votes at such regular municipal election shall be declared elected. A tie between 2 or more candidates for the office of City Councilmember shall be decided under the direction of the election authorities, as provided by the general elections laws of the State. [back to top]
49 GENERAL LAWS TO APPLY.
All elections shall be conducted, and the results canvassed and certified, by the election authorities prescribed by the general election laws of Ohio, and except as otherwise provided by this Charter or by ordinances or resolutions of the City Council hereafter enacted, the general election laws shall control in all such elections. [back to top]
S 50 THE ESTIMATE.
The fiscal year of the City shall begin on January 1. On or before November 1 of each year the Mayor shall submit to the City Council an estimate of the expenditures and revenues of the City departments for the ensuing year. This estimate shall be compiled from detailed information obtained from the several departments on uniform blanks to be furnished by the Mayor. The classification of the estimate of expenditures shall be as nearly uniform as possible for the main functional divisions of all departments, and shall give in parallel columns the following information:
(A) A detailed estimate of the expense of conducting each department as submitted by the department;
(B) Expenditures for corresponding items for the last 2 fiscal years;
(D) Amount of supplies and materials on hand at the date of the preparation of the inventory;
(E) Increase or decrease of requests compared with the corresponding appropriations for the current year;
(F) Such other information as is required by the City Council or that the Mayor may deem advisable to submit;
(G) The recommendation of the Mayor as to the amounts to be appropriated with reasons therefore in such detail as the City Council may direct. Sufficient copies of such estimate shall be prepared and submitted, that there may be copies on file in the office of the Council for inspection by the public. [back to top]
S 51 APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE.
Upon receipt of such estimate the City Council shall prepare an appropriation ordinance in such form as may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution. Before finally acting upon such tentative appropriation the City Council shall fix a time and place for holding public hearings upon the tentative appropriation, and shall give public notice of such hearings. Prior to the scheduled public hearings, the City Council shall cause the recommendations of the to be published in a newspaper of general circulation. The City Council shall not pass the appropriation ordinance until 5 days after publication of the Mayor's recommendations, nor before the second Monday in January of each budget year. [back to top]
S 52 REVISION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
If, at the beginning of the term of office of the first City Council elected under the provisions of this Charter, the appropriations for the expenditures of the City government for the current fiscal year have been made, said City Council shall have power by ordinance to revise, to repeal, or change said appropriations and to make additional appropriations. [back to top]
S 53 TRANSFER OF FUNDS.
Upon request of the Mayor the City Council may transfer any part of an unencumbered balance of an appropriation to a purpose or object for which the appropriation for the current year has proved insufficient or may authorize a transfer to be made between items appropriated to the same office or department. [back to top]
S 54 UNENCUMBERED BALANCES.
At the close of each fiscal year the unencumbered balance of each appropriation shall revert to the respective fund from which it was appropriated and shall be subject to future appropriation. Any accruing revenue of the City, not appropriated as hereinbefore provided, and any balances at any time remaining after the purposes of the appropriation shall have been satisfied or abandoned, may from time to time be appropriated by the City Council to such uses as will not conflict with any uses for which specifically such revenues accrued. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury of the City, nor shall any obligation for the expenditure of money be incurred, except pursuant to the appropriations made by the City Council, but nothing in this or the preceding section shall be construed to authorize the application of revenue derived from a public utility of the City to any other purpose than that of the utility from which the same was derived. [back to top]
S 55 GRANTS LIMITED.
No grant, or renewal thereof, to construct and operate a public utility in the streets and public grounds of the City shall be made by the City Council to any individual, company, or corporation in violation of any of the limitations contained in this Charter. [back to top]
S 56 PERIOD OF GRANTS.
No such grant shall be exclusive, nor shall it be made for a longer period than 20 years. No such grant shall be renewed earlier than 2 years prior to its expiration unless the City Council shall by a vote of at least 5 of its members first declare by ordinance its intention of considering a renewal thereof. All grants of the right to make extensions of any public utility shall be subject as far as practicable to the terms of the original grant and shall expire therewith. [back to top]
S 57 ASSIGNMENT.
No such grant shall be leased, assigned, or otherwise alienated except with the express consent of the City Council. [back to top]
S 58 RIGHT OF PURCHASE.
All such grants shall reserve to the City the right to purchase or lease all the property of the utility used in or useful for the operation of the utility, at a price either fixed in the ordinance making the grant, or to be fixed in the manner provided by such ordinance, which price shall in no event include any value for the grant. Nothing in such ordinance shall prevent the City from acquiring such property by condemnation proceedings or in any other lawful manner, which rights shall be in addition to those reserved in such ordinance. Upon the acquisition of such property by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise all grants shall at once terminate. [back to top]
S 59 EXTENSION BY ANNEXATION.
It shall be provided in every such grant that upon the annexation of any territory to the City the portion of any such utility that may be located within such annexed territory and upon the streets, alleys, or public grounds thereof, shall thereafter be subject to all the terms of the grant as though it were an extension made thereunder. [back to top]
S 60 RIGHT OF REGULATION.
All grants shall be subject to the right of the City, whether in terms reserved or not, to control at all times the distribution of space in, over, under, or across all streets, alleys, or public grounds occupied by public utility fixtures, and, when in the opinion of the City Council the public interest so requires, such fixtures may be caused to be reconstructed, relocated, altered, or discontinued; and the City shall at all times have the power to pass all regulatory ordinances affecting such utilities which in the opinion of the City Council are required in the interest of the public health, safety, or accommodation. [back to top]
S 61 FORFEITURES.
If any action shall be instituted or prosecuted directly or indirectly by the grantee of any such grant, or by its stockholders or creditors, to set aside or have declared void any of the terms of any such grant, the whole of such grant may be thereupon forfeited and annulled at the option of the City Council to be expressed by ordinance. All such grants shall make provision for the declaration of a forfeiture by the City Council for violation by the grantee of any of the terms thereof. [back to top]
S 62 ACCOUNTS AND REPORTS.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The provisions of Section 62 were repealed on November 7, 1989.) [back to top]
S 63 GRANTS NOT INCLUDED.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The provisions of Section 63 were repealed on November 7, 1989.) [back to top]
S 64 GENERAL PROVISIONS.
Nothing in this Charter contained shall operate in any way, except as herein specifically stated, to limit the City Council in the exercise of any of its lawful powers respecting public utilities, or to prohibit the City Council from imposing in any such grant such further restrictions and provisions as it may deem to be in the public interest, provided only that the same are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter or the constitution of the State. [back to top]
S 65 STATE LAW TO APPLY.
The provisions for the initiative and referendum in municipal corporations, now in force or hereafter enacted, as prescribed by the general laws of the State, shall govern. [back to top]
S 66 RECALL PETITIONS.
Any or all members of the City Council and Mayor may be removed from office by the electors by the following procedure:
A petition for the recall of the Mayor, City Councilmember, whether by ward or at-large, or City Councilmembers designated, signed by at least 10% of the total number of persons voting for that office at the last preceding municipal election, and containing a statement of not more than 200 words of the grounds of the recall, shall be filed with the Finance Director and he or she shall examine the same and ascertain and certify thereon whether the signatures thereto amount to at least 10% of the number of persons voting for that office at the last preceding municipal election and he or she shall forthwith notify the Mayor, City Councilmember or City Councilmembers sought to be removed, and he or they within 5 days after such notice, may file with such Finance Director a defensive statement in not exceeding 200 words. The Finance Director shall at once upon the expiration of said 5 days cause sufficient printed or typewritten copies of such petition, without the signatures, to be made, and to each of them he or she shall attach a printed or typewritten copy of such defensive statement, if one is furnished him or her within the time provided. He or she shall cause one copy of such petition to be placed on file in his or her office, and provide facilities for their signing the same, and he or she shall also cause one copy to be placed in each of the several fire engine houses of the City, where the same shall be in the custody of the captain of the house, or his or her designee, who shall provide facilities for their signing the same. The Finance Director shall immediately cause notice to be published in some newspaper of general circulation in the City of the placing of such copies of such petition.
Such copies of such petition shall remain on file in the several places designated for the period of 30 days, during which time any of them may be signed by any elector for that office in person; but not by agent or attorney. Each signer of any of such copies shall sign his or her name in ink, and shall place thereafter his or her residence by street and number. [back to top]
S 67 NOTICE.
At the expiration of said period of 30 days the City Treasurer shall assemble all of said copies in his office as one instrument, and shall examine the same and ascertain and certify thereon whether the signatures thereto amount to at least 15% of the number of persons voting for that office at the last preceding municipal election. If such signatures do amount to such percent, he shall at once serve notice of that fact upon the Mayor, City Councilmember or City Councilmembers designated in the petition, and also deliver to the election authorities a copy of the original petition with his certificate as to the percentage of registered voters for that office who signed the same, and a certificate as to the date of his last mentioned notice to the Mayor, City Councilmember or City Councilmembers designated in the petition. [back to top]
S 68 RECALL ELECTION.
If the Mayor, City Councilmember or City Councilmembers or any of them, designated in the petition, file with the Clerk of the City Council within 5 days after the last mentioned notice from the City Treasurer his or their written resignation, the Clerk of the City Council shall at once notify the election authorities of that fact and such resignation shall be irrevocable, and the City Council shall proceed to fill the vacancy. In the absence of any such resignation the election authorities shall forthwith order and fix a day for holding a recall election for the removal of those not resigning. Any such election shall be held not less than 30 nor more than 60 days after the expiration of the period of 5 days last mentioned, and at the same time as any other general or special election held within such period; but if no such election be held within such period the election authorities shall call a special recall election to be held within the period aforesaid. Any elector otherwise qualified to vote for that office in a general election shall also be qualified to vote for that office in a recall election. [back to top]
S 69 BALLOTS.
The ballots at such recall election shall conform to the following requirements. With respect to each person whose removal is sought, the question shall be submitted:
"Shall (name of person) be removed from the office of (insert office) by recall?" Immediately following such question there shall be printed on the ballots the 2 propositions in the order here set forth:
"For the recall of (name of person).
Immediately to the left of each of the propositions shall be placed a square in which the electors, by making a cross mark (X), may vote for either of such propositions. [back to top]
S 70 FILLING OF VACANCIES.
In any such election, if a majority of the votes cast on the question of removal of the Mayor or any City Councilmember are affirmative, the person whose removal is sought shall thereupon be deemed removed from office upon the announcement of the official canvass of that election, and the vacancy, caused by such recall shall be filled by the remainder of the City Council according to the provisions of S 5 of this Charter.
If, however, an election is held for the recall of either the Mayor or more than 2 Councilmembers, or both, candidates to succeed them for their unexpired terms shall be voted upon at the same election, and shall be nominated by petitions signed, dated and verified in the manner required for petitions presenting names of candidates for nomination at a regular election, and similar in form to such petitions, and signed by electors equal in number to at least 1% of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding municipal election and filed with the election authorities at least 20 days prior to such recall election. But no such nominating petition shall be signed or circulated until after the time has expired for signing the copies of the petition for the recall, and any signatures thereon antedating such time shall not be counted. [back to top]
S 71 COUNTING THE VOTES.
Candidates shall be nominated to succeed any particular City Councilmember, but if only one City Councilmember is removed at such election, the candidate at such election receiving the highest number of votes for that seat, whether by ward or at-large, shall be declared elected to fill the vacancy; and if more than one City Councilmember is removed at such election, such candidates for those seats equal in number to the number of City Councilmembers removed shall be declared elected to fill the vacancies if such candidate is otherwise qualified pursuant to this Charter; and among the successful candidates for at-large seats, those receiving the greater number of votes shall be declared elected for the longer terms. Cases of ties and all other matters not herein specifically provided for, shall be determined by the rules governing elections generally. [back to top]
S 72 EFFECT OF RESIGNATIONS.
No proceedings for the recall of the Mayor or all of the members of the City Council at the same election shall be defeated in whole or in part by the resignation of any or all of them, but upon the resignation of any of them the City Council shall have power to fill the vacancy until a successor is elected, and the proceedings for the recall and the elections of successors shall continue and have the same effect as though there had been no resignation. [back to top]
S 73 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS,
No person removed by recall shall be eligible to be elected or appointed upon or for a period of 2 years after the date of such recall. The City Treasurer shall preserve in his office all papers comprising or connected with a petition for a recall for the period of one year after the same were filed. The method of removal herein provided is in addition to such other methods as are, or may be, provided by general law. [back to top]
S 74 OFFENSES RELATING TO PETITIONS.
(EDITORS NOTE: The provisions of Section 74 were repealed on November 7, 1989.) [back to top]
S 75 GENERAL LAWS TO APPLY.
All general laws of the State applicable to municipal corporations, now or hereafter enacted, and which are not in conflict with the provisions of this Charter, or with ordinances or resolutions hereafter enacted be the City Council, shall be applicable to this City; provided that nothing contained in this Charter shall be construed as limiting the power of the City Council to enact any ordinance or resolution not in conflict with the constitution of the State or with the express provisions of this Charter. [back to top]
S 76 AUDIT AND APPRAISAL.
Upon the adoption of this Charter, the City Council shall immediately cause to have made a complete audit of all of the books and offices of the City, and also shall cause to have made what is termed a perpetual or continuous annual appraisal of all of the properties both real, personal, and mixed, belonging to the City. Such audit and appraisal shall be made by regularly accredited Ohio certified public accountants and appraisers. Upon the receipt and approval of said audit and appraisal they shall be filed with the City Board of Sinking Fund trustees, and copies thereof and all renewals and additions thereto, shall thereafter be kept conveniently filed with the City Clerk and be open at all reasonable times to the inspection of the public.
On and after January 1, 1916, it shall be the duty of the City Council to carry out the foregoing provisions of this section in the subsequent maintenance of said perpetual appraisal, but as hereinbefore provided in S18 of this Charter, it shall then be the duty of the Sinking Fund trustees to maintain said audit. [back to top]
S 77 ORDINANCES CONTINUED IN FORCE.
All ordinances and resolutions in force at the time of the taking effect of this Charter, not inconsistent with its provisions, shall continue in full force and effect until amended or repealed. [back to top]
S 78 CONTINUANCE OF PRESENT OFFICERS.
All persons holding office at the time this Charter is adopted shall continue in office and in the performance of their duties until provision shall have been otherwise made in accordance with this Charter for the performance or discontinuance of the duties of any such office. When such provision shall have been made the term of any such officer shall expire and the office be deemed abolished. The powers which are conferred and the duties which are imposed upon any officer, board, or department of the City under the laws of the State, or under any City ordinance or contract in force at the time of the taking effect of this act shall, if such office or department is abolished by this Charter, be thereafter exercised and discharged by the City Council, officer, board, or department upon whom are imposed corresponding functions, powers, and duties of this Charter or by any ordinance or resolution of the City hereafter enacted. [back to top]
S 79 CONTINUANCE OF CONTRACTS AND VESTED RIGHTS.
All vested rights of the City shall continue to be vested and shall not in any manner be affected by the adoption of this Charter; nor shall any right or liability, or pending suit or prosecution, either in behalf or against the City, be in any manner affected by the adoption of this Charter, unless otherwise herein expressly provided to the contrary. All contracts entered into by the City or for its benefits prior to the taking effect of this Charter shall continue in full force and effect. All public work begun prior to the taking effect of this Charter shall be continued and perfected hereunder. Public improvements for which legislative steps shall have been taken under laws in force at the time this Charter takes effect may be carried to completion in accordance with the provisions of such laws. [back to top]
S 80 OATH OF OFFICE.
All persons before taking office shall take the oath of office prescribed by law, but the oath of office of City Councilmember and Mayor shall be in writing and be filed with the City Treasurer and shall contain the affidavit that in his candidacy for nomination and election he has not violated any provisions of this Charter. [back to top]
S 81 HOURS OF LABOR.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The provisions of Section 81 were repealed on November 7, 1989.) [back to top]
S 82 AMENDMENT OF CHARTER.
Amendments to this Charter may be submitted to the electors of the City by a 2/3 vote of the City Council, and, upon petition signed by 10% of the electors of the City setting forth any such proposed amendment, shall be submitted by such City Council. The ordinance providing for the submission of any such amendment shall require that it be submitted to the electors at the next regular municipal election if one shall occur not less than 60 nor more than 120 days after its passage; otherwise it shall provide for the submission of the amendment at a special election to be called and held within the time aforesaid. Not less than 30 days prior to such election the Clerk of the City Council shall mail a copy of the proposed amendment to each elector whose name appears upon the poll or registration books of the last regular municipal or general election. If such proposed amendment is approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon it shall become a part of the Charter at the time fixed therein. [back to top]
S 83 SAVING CLAUSE.
If any section or part of a section of this Charter proves to be invalid or unconstitutional, the same shall not be held to invalidate or impair the validity, force or effect of any other section or part of a section of this Charter, unless it clearly appears that such other section or part of a section is wholly or necessarily dependent for its operation upon the section or part of a section so held unconstitutional or invalid. [back to top]
S 84 WHEN CHARTER TAKES EFFECT.
For the purpose of nominating and electing officers and all purposes connected therewith and for the purpose of exercising the powers of the City as provided herein, this Charter shall take effect from the time of its approval by the electors of the City. For the purpose of establishing departments, divisions, and officers, and distributing the functions thereof, and for all other purposes it shall take effect on January 1, 1916. [back to top]
S 85 WHEN AMENDMENTS TAKE EFFECT.
For all purposes connected therewith, and for the purpose of exercising the powers of the City as provided therein, the foregoing sections amending the Charter of the City of Sandusky as adopted by the electors on July 28, 1914, and as amended from time to time thereafter, shall take effect from the time of their approval by the electors of the City; and the amendments to the said Charter approved by the electors of the City on November 6, 1973, shall then be repealed and shall be of no force and effect, except that any powers of the City exercised thereunder shall continue to be valid. (Adopted May 7, 1974) [back to top]
S 86 RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter, each person appointed after May 5, 1986 to the position of Clerk of the City Council, City Law Director, City Treasurer, City Engineer, Fire Chief, Police Chief, Income Tax Administrator, and Director of Planning and Development, as said positions are presently described or as may be modified from time to time as to duties, shall become and continue to be a resident and qualified elector of the City within a reasonable time, as set by the City Council, of their respective appointment. Furthermore, the City Council, by ordinance, may also designate positions therein in addition to those enumerated above and therein provide that any such person appointed by the City to any such position designated in such ordinance shall also become and continue to be a resident and qualified elector of the City within a reasonable time, as set by the City Council with the approval of the Mayor, of their respective appointment. [back to top]
S 87 REVIEW OF CHARTER.
This Charter is to be reviewed every five years, commencing January 1, 1995. A public notice is to be published at least 30 days in advance so that persons residing within the City limits can submit their names as being interested in serving to review this Charter. The City Council shall take all names under consideration and each Councilmember shall make two recommendations to be voted upon and approved and appointed by the City Council. The Mayor shall appoint four individuals to serve on such Charter Review Committee. If an individual so appointed cannot serve, the Councilmember or Mayor making the original appointment shall appoint a replacement to be appointed in the same manner and way described. The Charter Review Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure for conducting its business. All Charter amendments recommended by a 2/3 majority vote of the Charter Review Committee shall be placed upon the ballot for vote at the next election occurring not less than 60 days after conclusion of the Charter Review Committee. Each Charter Review Committee shall consider whether to increase or decrease the number of ward council seats but shall not, in any event, decrease the number of ward council seats to less than four (4) in number. [back to top] [This gives the Charter Review Committee some real power. If they spend hours and hours discussing an issue and decide it should go to the ballot to be decided, that is what will happen. They will not have to get the approval of the Council to put an amendment on the ballot. The Charter Review Committee should not be run by the City. This corrects that problem, too.]
Upon completion of its duties pursuant to and in review of this Charter, said Charter Review Committee shall cause itself to be dissolved.
To the City Commission and Clerk of the City Commission of the City of Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio:
We, the undersigned, being registered electors residing in the City of Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio, equal to not less than ten percent (10%) of the number of electors of the City of Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio, request the City Commission and Clerk of the City Commission of the City of Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio to submit this Charter Amendment proposal to the electors of the City of Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio for approval or rejection at an election to be held on the day of the next regular municipal election if one shall occur not less than 60 nor more than 120 days after you certify the sufficiency and validity of this petition to the Board of Elections; otherwise by special election to be called and held within the time aforesaid.
Signature Street Address Precinct County Date Signed
I, declare under penalty of election falsification that I am an elector of the state of Ohio and reside at the address appearing below my signature hereto; that I am the circulator of the foregoing part petition containing _____ signatures; that I witnessed the affixing of each and every signature; that all signers were to the best of my knowledge and belief qualified to sign; and that each and every signature is to the best of my knowledge and belief the signature of the person whose signature it purports to be.
Circulator's signature
Circulator's full address and zip code
THE PENALTY FOR ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT MORE THAN SIX MONTHS, OR A FINE OF NOT MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS, OR BOTH.