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No. 21 October 5, 2001 PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS BULLETIN TO YOUR COUNCIL, DEPARTMENT HEADS & STAFF Anti-Charter, Anti-Residency Bill Up For Proponent Hearing. HB 258 (Flowers) is up for a proponent hearing next Wednesday before the House Local Government and Townships Committee. The hearing will be held in Rm. 121 at 10:00 a.m. Under the provisions of the bill, municipalities and other political subdivisions of the state would be prohibited from requiring employees who are "certified" by the state to reside with any specific area of Ohio. Under the provisions of the bill, police officers, firefighters, wastewater treatment plant operators and any other employee certified by the state could not be required to live within a city or village. Such a bill would, of course, attempt to overturn the many charters which include such requirements, even though those charters and those residency requirements are voted on by the people. To our knowledge, if passed, this would be the first bill in Ohio history to overturn a significant number of charter elections or any other local elections, for that matter. Police and Fire unions have long fought against residency requirements. They have attempted to overturn such requirements in court and at the local ballot box. For the most part, especially in Ohio's larger cities, they have lost. HB 258 is simply an attempt to have Representatives and Senators from other parts of the state get for them what local voters, for whom they work, won't give them. We expect an opponents hearing on this bill will be held the week following this proponent hearing. If you'd like to see the research the League has done on municipal residency requirements log on to our website (www.omunileague.org.) LGF Bill Up For Hearing. In the same meeting mentioned above of the House Local Government and Township Committee, HB 329 will be up for an open hearing (proponent, opponent and interested parties). Under provisions of that bill the veto power of the largest city in a county related to the adoption of a Local Government Fund alternative formula would no longer exist if that city's population was below 15% of the county population. Thus, under this bill, the cities of Milford, Martins Ferry, East Liverpool, New Lexington and Mason would lose their veto in the LGF process. That would obviously lessen the leverage those cities have in the process of divvying up LGF money, while increasing the leverage of the county and other cities, villages and townships in the process in those counties (Clermont, Belmont, Columbiana, Perry and Warren). HB 244 Passes Senate; Goes to the House for Concurrence. HB 244 (Niehaus), which relieves some municipalities of a significant portion of fines levied by the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund for the late filing of medical forms and contributions, passed through the Senate without dissent this week. The bill is supported by both the Pension Fund and the League. It is expected that the bill, which had some minor but helpful amendments made to it in the Senate, will now come before the House for concurrence in those amendments this coming week. Following that, it will then go to the Governor for his signature. Village Fiscal Officer Bill Up for Possible Vote in Senate Committee. HB 245, which would allow villages to create an appointed fiscal officer in place of an elected clerk-treasurer, is scheduled for a hearing and possible vote in the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans' Affairs Committee next week. The League and State Auditor Jim Petro's office testified in favor of the bill this week. The League's testimony on this bill is available on our website (www.omunileague.org) Under provisions of the bill, a village with an elected clerk-treasurer could, at the end of a term or when there is a vacancy, create position of village fiscal officer. The village fiscal officer would have to become an resident of the village within six months, unless the council waives that requirement. The fiscal officer position would be created and the person hired for the position could be removed through the same process that is used for the village administrator position. COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 8, 2001 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10 HOUSE LOCAL GOVERNMENT & TOWNSHIPS, 10 a.m., Rm. 121, Chr. Roman, Phone: 466-1790. HB 365 GOVERNMENT FISCAL WATCH (Setzer) Authorizes the Auditor of State to declare a fiscal watch when the projected fiscal year-end deficit of a municipal corporation, county, or township exceeds one-twelfth of its general fund revenue from the preceding fiscal year. (2nd Hearing - Proponent) HB 258 RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS (Flowers) Prohibits certain political subdivisions from requiring their employees, and municipal corporations from requiring police or fire officers, to reside within any specific area of this state. (3rd Hearing - Proponent) HB 329 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDS (Blasdel) Allows local government funds under certain circumstances to be distributed among subdivisions under an alternative apportionment scheme without the approval of the largest municipal corporation in the county. (3rd Hearing - Proponent, opponent & interested party) SENATE STATE & LOCAL GOVT. & VETERAN'S AFFAIRS, 3 p.m., South Hearing Rm., Chr. Coughlin, Phone: 466-4823. HB 245 VILLAGE OFFICES (Evans) Permits the offices of village clerk and treasurer to be combined into an appointed office of village fiscal officer and permits the appointed office to be subsequently abolished and replaced by the elected office of village clerk-treasurer. (3rd Hearing - Proponent, opponent & interested party - Possible vote) HB 226 COUNTY INTERNET AUCTIONS (Collier) Authorizes counties, townships and statutory municipal corporations to dispose of unneeded, obsolete or unfit personal property by Internet auction and, if that property has no value, to discard or salvage it. (3rd Hearing - Proponent, opponent & interested party - Possible vote) |
