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No. 6 March 24, 2000 PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS BULLETIN TO YOUR COUNCIL, DEPARTMENT HEADS & STAFF Annexation Update Despite any rumors to the contrary, current efforts to introduce a compromise annexation bill still have a little way to go. Senate leaders Finan, Cupp and Johnson met to discuss the unresolved issues that exist stemming from the negotiating efforts of the League and Ohio Township Association, plus one proposed amendment touted by private interests. The result of that session will not be definitely known until both OTA and the League have a chance to review amendment(s) stemming from that meeting. Those amendments, as far as we know, have not yet been drafted by the Legislative Service Commission. Once such amendments are available, both the OTA and the League will have the chance to say whether those amendments make for a bill upon which both parties can agree and support or not. We do not expect anything of substance to happen on annexation until this review of amendments occurs. PERS Legislation Expect within the next few weeks the introduction of legislation drafted by the Public Employees Retirement System and supported by the League that will make a number of changes to benefits within PERS. For regular members, and for retirees through recalculation, the multiplying factor for calculating the final average salary will change from 2.1% to 2.2% for each year in the system. The legislation will also propose that retirees receive a 3% COLA, regardless of the actual change in the Consumer Price Index. The PERS would also be authorized to establish a defined contribution plan for current members as an alternative to the current defined benefits plan. These changes are expected to be received well in the General Assembly. These increases in benefits come on the heels of an effective 40% employer contribution credit for the remainder of 2000 and an expectation that some similar credit may be possible again in 2001 for employers. We will continue to work with PERS and the General Assembly to see that our members and our member-municipalities receive the kinds of dividends from the System that reflect the extraordinary earnings which have occurred in the System over the past few years. Residency is Back! Once again the fire and police unions have begun an effort to overturn all residency requirements in all municipalities in Ohio. This time the action is in the House in the form of HB 249. The bill is sponsored by Representative Pat Tiberi (R-Columbus), who is also running for Congress this year. The bill received it first hearing this week in the House Local Government and Townships Committee. The bill is simple. Under its provision, no municipality could have a residency requirement for any of its employees. The bill would thus have the General Assembly, for the first time in Ohio history, pass a law to negate the election results in at least 137 Ohio cities and villages which have, by popular vote placed a residency requirement in their Charter for some or all of their employees. The bill would have the General Assembly say to those citizens that the judgment of the Assembly, and the police and fire unions, is by far superior to that of local voters, especially when it comes to who those local voters want to hire to provide municipal services, paid for by municipal taxes. Today, it's about overturning local voter decisions on residency requirements. Perhaps next session we'll see bills telling local voters what other things the General Assembly doesn't want local voters to put in their Charters. One bill might ban the use of the city manager form of government, while another might demand that all municipalities have nineteen members of council. HB 249 is a bad piece of legislation and we hope you will let you members of the General Assembly know that. HB 483, Rep. Mottley’s Municipal Electric Deregulation Bill Passed By House On Wednesday the House of Representatives passed HB 483, Rep. Don Mottley’s bill that would give the State of Ohio the authority to collect municipal taxes generated by the deregulation of the electric industry and redistribute that money back to municipalities. Although the bill passed the House, it did so with a narrower than expected margin of 58-32. The League thanks Rep. Bryan Flannery of Lakewood for his floor speech in opposition to the legislation. Rep. Flannery disputed the merits of the bill by correctly indicating this proposal is a dangerous precedent that could lead to more "Big Brother" types of state intervention on traditional municipal duties and responsibilities. HB 483 will now move on to the Senate for further consideration. COMMITTEE HEARING SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF MARCH 27 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 HOUSE LOCAL GOVERNMENT & TOWNSHIPS, 4 p.m., Rm. 121, Chr. Schuler, Phone: 644-6023. HB 397 MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT (Schuler) Permits municipal corporations to create a municipal development commission to act as an urban renewal and redevelopment agency for the municipal corporation. (4th Hearing - Possible vote) HB 449 ANNEXATION (Young) Relative to the annexation of municipally owned property by municipal petition where the property is to be transferred back to prior owners within a certain period of time after annexation. (3rd Hearing)HB 565 RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT (Young) Specifies that state law
does not require a municipal corporation fire chief or village fire prevention officer to
be a resident or elector of the municipal |
