Jared Holloway, assistant city manager of Xenia, said voters approved a charter review committee two years ago. Those citizens have since reviewed the charter and made recommendations to the council.
Three issues are on this ballot, and Holloway said more are expected to be on the ballot later.
The issues include, according to the city of Xenia:
- An amendment that would differentiate between ordinances and resolutions and requires two readings of each.
- An amendment listing the four Charter-created Boards and Commissions and creating sections to describe membership, terms, organizations, powers and duties for each.
- An amendment changing the title of Article X from the Human Resource System to the Civil Service and Personnel because the matters in the article discuss the Ohio Constitution’s civil service requirements and other personnel matters. The language would consider the reality of current hiring needs.
Franklin
Franklin has six charter issues on the ballot.
The issues include, according to the ballot language:
- Eliminating the raised requirements for the city to bid and provide several public notices of all sales, leases and other interests in city-owned properties.
- Allowing the city to advertise notices on social media and the internet instead of in a newspaper.
- Allowing the city’s laws to be made available online.
- Updating audit requirements from city-specific requirements to what is needed under Ohio law.
- Allowing city heads of departments to consider lateral candidates for certain positions.
The final charter issue requires ballot measures to be at the Board of Elections to 90 days in advance of the election instead of 75 days.
Khristi Dunn, clerk of council for Franklin, said that was done at the request of the Board of Elections, which prefers items to be in 90 days ahead of the election to allow for early voting.
Dunn said the city’s charter requires a charter review board to be assembled every five years. Out of the recommendations that review board made to council, Franklin council prioritized these six, she said.
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