SHELBY — A proposal from the Richland County Board of Elections to extend Shelby’s candidate filing deadline has received mixed feedback from Shelby City Council.
The change would bring Shelby’s dates in line with other governmental entities in the county.
Ordinance 13-2024 involves an amendment to Section 53 of the city’s charter — which would extend the filing deadline for Shelby candidates to 90 days from the current 75 days prior to an election.
The ordinance underwent its first reading during Shelby City Council’s regular meeting June 3, along with four other proposed charter amendments.
Should the ordinance be passed by City Council, the proposed charter amendment will appear on the upcoming November ballot for Shelby voters to decide for themselves.
Conflicting opinions regarding the extended filing deadline were voiced by several councilmembers during last week’s meeting.
At-Large Councilman Steven McLaughlin opened discussion by expressing support for the proposed extension.
“They (Richland County Board of Elections) would like our support in changing this — to help everything come together on the same day,” he said.
“We’re (Shelby) the only government entity in Richland County that is out of sync — that has 75 days versus everybody else has 90 (days).”
Board of Elections seeking countywide consistency
In 2014, Ohio Revised Code Section 3513.05 was changed — requiring candidates for office to file their petition 90 days prior to an election instead of 75.
However, Section 53 of Shelby’s adopted charter — which became effective Jan. 1, 1922, — still requires a 75-day filing deadline.
Richland County BOE Director Matt Finfgeld, Deputy Director Jane Zimmermann and Board Chairman Bill Freytag spoke to councilmembers May 20 to voice their reasoning for the change.
Finfgeld explained having the same filing schedule countywide would assist pre-election preparations. He added Shelby ballot issues have a 90-day filing deadline.
“We’re just asking that (filing deadline) to be consistent and with the rest of the county — to match, so we can get started in that earlier timeframe,” he said.
Zimmermann added the 15-day difference could help “immensely” with ensuring ballots are ready for voters.
“It is a very intensive process behind the scenes, before we ever send a ballot out,” she said. “Just adding another candidate can throw a whole ballot out of whack.”
Filing deadline proposal remains uncertain
Conflicting opinions regarding the proposed filing deadline extension were voiced by councilmembers during regular session June 3.
Fourth Ward Councilman Nathan Martin voiced concerns regarding the legislation and sought further reasoning for the amendment’s necessity.
“I appreciate them (Richland County BOE) coming to our council meeting, but I was completely unpersuaded by their arguments,” he said.
“Besides conformity, they didn’t actually provide a reason why the citizens of Shelby should have a different timeline,” the councilman said.
Furthermore, Martin said he feels an earlier filing deadline “limits the pool” of candidates.
“I don’t know that that is a good enough reason,” he said. “It’s all about tradeoffs, but I don’t know if that tradeoff is worth conformity.”
Second Ward Councilman Derrin Roberts echoed similar concerns as Martin, adding he’d vote against the proposed legislation.
Ordinance moves to second reading June 17
Council approved the first reading of the ordinance, 3-2, with Roberts and 1st Ward Councilman Charlie Roub dissenting.
Martin, McLaughlin and 3rd Ward Councilman Eric Cutlip voted to move the ordinance to its second reading on June 17.
Additional legislation voted on by Shelby City Council included two resolutions proposing levy renewals for the city’s park system and health department.
Both resolutions — approved unanimously — are renewals of existing five-year, 1-mill levies and will not add new taxes to city residents, according to Brian Crum, the city’s director of finance and public record.
If passed by Shelby voters in November, both renewal levies would begin collection in 2025 and run through 2029.
In other action June 3, City Council:
— confirmed the appointment of Mary Carothers Hooks to the Shade Tree Commission to fill an unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2026.
— passed an ordinance allowing the mayor to place qualified new hire employees with completed full time years of prior applicable/comparable work experience on the vacation accrual schedule at an advanced accrual rate based on their prior applicable/comparable work experience.
—passed an ordinance amending sections of Chapter 216 (Credit Card Policy) of the city’s codified ordinances in controls to increase card security and accountability.
— approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract change order with Kelstin, Inc. for the Seneca/Wyandot sanitary sewer project in the amount of $15,652 as an increase.
