Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Here is the proposed initiative to the Pickerington City Charter. The Pickerington City Council tabled the three ordinances that would have placed the three initiatives on the November ballot. Their next council meeting is August 6th and if they pass it then it would become law until September 6th. The deadline for the getting the issues to the board of Elections is August 22nd.


WHEREAS, it is our desire to amend section 2.06 of the Charter of the City of Pickerington to make provisions for certain ordinances and resolutions;

WHEREAS; it is our desire that zoning ordinances and resolutions (1) always have the three full readings, (2) be passed or adopted by no less than ?¾?’s of the members of the City Council and (3) not be passed as emergency legislation.

NOW THEREFORE, section 2.06 of the Charter of the City of Pickerington be amended to read as follows:

SECTION 2.06 ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS


Actions of council shall be by ordinance, resolution, or motion. Motions shall be used to conduct the business of council, in procedure matters, for elections conducted among Council members and as otherwise provided in this Charter. All other action shall be taken by ordinance or resolution. No action of Council shall be invalidated merely because the form thereof fails to comply with provisions of this section.
Any member of Council, or the Mayor, may introduce any ordinance or resolution, at a regular or special meeting, which shall be in written form and which shall contain a concise title.
The form and style of the ordinance and resolutions shall be determined by council.
Each ordinance and resolution shall be read on three separate meeting days, unless this requirement is dispensed with by a vote of at least three-fourths (3/4?’s) of the members of Council. The first and second readings may be by title only. The third reading shall be by title only unless a full reading is required by a majority of the members of Council.
Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, there may be a consent agenda which may provide for routine ordinances and resolutions which include, but are not limited to, appointments to boards or commissions, acceptance or grants of easements, resolution of support or opposition, or acceptance of land, to be read only one time and voted on one time for passage. Any Councilperson, the Mayor, or any resident of the City may request an ordinance or resolution be removed from the consent agenda at any time prior to a vote. Such ordinance or resolution shall then be moved to the regular agenda. No appropriation or measure to expend funds in an amount of more than ten dollars ($10.00) shall be placed on the consent agenda.
NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER SECTIONS OF THIS CHARTER, OR ANY PROVISION IN THIS SECTION 2.06, EACH ZONING ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION SHALL BE READ ON THREE SEPARATE MEETING DAYS, AND THIS REQUIREMENT SHALL NOT BE DISPENSED WITH BY A VOTE OF THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
The vote on the question of passage of each resolution, ordinance, or motion, shall be taken by ?“yea?” or ?“nay?” and the vote entered in minutes. No measures shall be passed without a concurrence of a majority of the members of Council, EXCEPT A VOTE ON THE QUESTION OF PASSAGE OF ANY ZONING RESOLUTION OR ORDINANCE, WHICH SHALL NOT BE PASSED WITHOUT A CONCURRENCE OF AT LEAST THREE-FOURTHS (3/4?’S) OF THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.

Charter Change continued.

The vote on the question of passage of each resolution, ordinance, or motion, shall be taken by ?“yea?” or ?“nay?” and the vote entered in minutes. No measures shall be passed without a concurrence of a majority of the members of Council, EXCEPT A VOTE ON THE QUESTION OF PASSAGE OF ANY ZONING RESOLUTION OR ORDINANCE, WHICH SHALL NOT BE PASSED WITHOUT A CONCURRENCE OF AT LEAST THREE-FOURTHS (3/4?’S) OF THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
Emergency of ordinances or resolutions shall require a THREE-FOURTHS (3/4?’s) vote of council for enactment. If any emergency ordinance or resolution shall fail to receive the required THREE-FOURTHS (3/4?’s) affirmative vote, but received the necessary majority for passage as non-emergency legislation, it shall become effective as non-emergency legislation. The Council before enacting shall determine that the ordinance or resolution is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare of the citizens of Pickerington, Ohio, and the ordinance or resolution shall contain a statement of necessity of declaring an emergency. NO ZONING ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION SHALL BE ENACTED AS AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION AND NO ZONING ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION SHALL CONTAIN ANY STATEMENTS OF THE NECESSITY OF DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

SEE ATTACHMENT A FOR THE ENTIRE SECTION 2.06
Each Ordinance or resolution shall be authenticated by the clerk. The failure to sign shall not invalidate an otherwise properly enacted resolution or ordinance.
Public notice, as required by laws of the State of Ohio or by this Charter, shall be given legislation once in a newspaper determined by Council to be of general circulation within the Municipality, and this publication shall contain a statement that a copy of the legislation is available for inspection at the office of the manager.
By a majority vote of its members, Council shall cause the codification of the laws and ordinances of the Municipality. This codification will be updated at least every ten (10) years to include all new legislation. Copies of this code shall be placed in the Public Library, the Mayor?’s office, and the Municipal offices for public use.
Notwithstanding the other sections of this Charter, Council may adapt by resolution or ordinance all or part of any technical codes promulgated by State or Federal agencies, boards, or any other public or private agency. These codes may be adopted by reference but shall include the date, title, and source of the code adopted by reference.
Each resolution or ordinance providing for appropriation of money, or for the annual tax levy, or for improvements petitioned for by the owners of a majority of the adjacent property to be benefited and specially assessed preservation of the public peace, health, welfare, or safety, shall take effect, unless a later date be specified therein, upon its approval by the Mayor, or upon the expiration of time within which it may be vetoed by the Mayor, or upon its passage after veto by the Mayor, as the case may be.
No other resolution or ordinance shall become effective until thirty (30) days after its approval by the Mayor, or upon the expiration of the time within which it may be vetoed by the Mayor, or upon its passage after veto by the Mayor, as the case may be.