ONTARIO ─ Citizens of Ontario will decide if the city is going to be a charter city in the primary election on May 4.
The city government recently released the following information to address questions regarding the issue. Most of the information was obtained via Defining a charter, part one: What is a charter government? on Knox Pages, a sister site of Richland Source.
What is a charter?
A charter is the constitution of a city. It details the powers, duties and structures of a local government and the rights of its citizens. It determines the system of checks and balances in a local government. The charter is written by an elected charter commission.
Adopting this type of government is possible because Ohio is a ‘home rule’ state, which means local governments are given certain powers to adapt government structure in order to better serve residents.
What form of government do we currently have?
Ontario currently operates under a statutory form of government, meaning city government is structured under state regulations outlined in the Ohio Revised Code. Under statutory government, Ontario is limited in its flexibility when considering how its government operates.
For cities without a charter, statutory government serves as the state’s default form of government.
What is a charter commission?
A charter commission is the group of 15 city residents elected to frame the charter.
What will citizens be voting on May 4?
Ontario Residents will vote on two things:
- They will vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on the question, “Shall a commission be chosen to frame a charter?”
- They will then vote for 15 citizens on the ballot for the charter commission.
What happens if the vote passes?
If the vote passes, the elected commission will construct the city’s charter, with the goal of having it on the ballot in November.
Commission meetings will be open to the public and the commission will take resident feedback into account when drafting the charter.
The commission will then need to inform the public of what is included in the charter before voting on it.
