Carlisle residents will see a change in the way they elect members of council next year.

Voters approved three of four proposed charter amendments Tuesday night, according to final, but unofficial results from the Warren County Board of Elections.

One issue calls for the elimination of the ward system in Carlisle. Rather than voting on three at-large council members and one ward representative, beginning in 2013 all council seats will become at-large seats and will be subject to election by all residents. The mayor is directly elected as well.

“I’ve been told the wards were designed to get a voice from every area of the community and not to have representation from just one area of town,” said Carlisle Mayor Randy Winkler. “Hopefully, when people run for office they are running for the entire community and not just the area in which they reside.”

Amendments that change the language regarding the filling of vacancies on council by defining the term majority to mean “a number greater than one half” of the remaining council members when it comes to voting on filling a vacancy, and one that will charge the Charter Review Commission to review the salaries of the mayor and council members every five years also passed.

An amendment that would have defined what ordinances and resolutions are and changed the requirement that ordinances be read on just two occasions and that resolutions be read only once failed.

Franklin

A charter amendment that would eliminate the requirement of no more than three people from the same political party being able to serve on the five-member Civil Service Commission failed Tuesday night, as did an amendment that would have reduced the requirement of the city keeping three copies of any standard state code to one.

Voters did approve a third amendment to change language in reference to records of council, including all ordinances and resolutions, to be maintained as part of the official “clerk’s” journal.

Mason

Mason voters overwhelmingly approved a pair of charter amendments, including one that keeps a 5-mill fire levy at its 1998 level and establishes a maximum 0.0015 income tax levy to support fire and EMS services.

The other amendment pushes back the deadline for council candidates to file petitions from 75 days to 90 days.

“I am very pleased, but not surprised,” said Char Pelfrey, Safety Committee chairwoman and council member. “We knocked on 6,000 doors and received tremendous reaction. We did have some people that felt we were asking for a tax hike and it took a while to get them to understand we were holding it to the 5-mill level.”

Under the current system residents pay 65 percent of the fire fund, business properties pay 21 percent and workers pay nothing. Under the new plan, residents will pay 52 percent, businesses 16 percent through property taxes and workers, who previously paid nothing, will pay 22 percent.

Harlan Twp.

Harlan Twp. residents once again showed support for their volunteer fire department by approving a 1.6-mill renewal property tax levy.

The renewal levy will generate approximately $90,000 a year for five years, according to fire chief Andy Mitten, who said the funds will be used to purchase and upgrade equipment, as well as to maintain the general operation of the fire department.