PATA History Pages

Merger Meeting excerpts from Attorney Richard Brahm

Merger Process Outlined at Community Meeting

These are summarized excerpts from the Merger presentation By Attorney Brahm. PATA will attempt to summarize and post the alternative methods of cooperation such as CEDA and JEDD in the near future.

LEGAL METHODS OF COOPERTION
By
Richard Brahm, Attorney, presented by the City of Pickerington 10/22/2000

Excerpts from 10/22 Pickerington Growth Summit Meeting Handout


Section 1 Deals with annexation agreements.

Section 2 Deals with “Cooperative Economic Development Agreements (CEDA’s)

Section 3 Deals with Joint Economic Development Districts (JEDD’s)

Section 4 Deals with Mergers
R.C. 709.43 ET SEQ. “Merger”

In Ohio, merger is used to denote the merger of one (1) or more municipal corporations with (1) or more townships. The resultant entity is a single municipal corporation. The township or townships involved would go out of existence once the merger is approved.

The process is relatively simple, but the preparation may prove more difficult.

The Process begins with the establishment of a petition of merger that must contain, in concise language, the purpose of the petition and set out the names of not less than five (5) electors of each municipal corporation and five (5) or more names of members of the unincorporated area to be merged. The petition is subject to the election laws of the State of Ohio.

The petition is then circulated both within the township and in the municipal corporation proposed to be merger. The petition must be signed by at least 10% of the electors in both the city and the township who voted in the last gubernatorial election.

The petition then is filed with the Board of Elections of the county in which the largest portion of the population of the municipal corporation to which the merger is proposed resided. The Board of Election then validated the signatures. If the petition is sufficient, the Board of Election places on the ballot the issue of “shall a commission be chosen to draw up a statement of conditions for merger of the political subdivisions of _____________ and _____________ ?”

The electors of both the township and municipal corporation must, by a majority vote in each, approve the establishment of the commission to study the merger. The election takes place at the general election.

If the vote to establish a merger commission is denied, the issue is finished and cannot be brought up again for three (3) years.

If the merger study commission is approved, the five (5) candidates from each political subdivision then meet on the 10th day after the certification of the election. The commission members then begin their negotiations and study on the proposed terms for merger. Conditions of merger can, even prior to the merger itself, call for the election of the officers who will succeed to govern the new municipal corporation if the merger is subsequently approved. Things such as changes in the city charter, effective date of the merger, and the annexation of a school district located wholly within the township to the school district of the municipal corporation and other issues can be addressed by the commission.

The commission has until 75 days before the next general election to study the conditions of merger and agree to put them on the ballot. If no agreement occurs, the merger commission goes out of existence and the merger is finished. The conditions of merger, if approved, are then submitted to the electors of the township and the city where they must pass by a majority vote in both the city and township. If the merger conditions do pass in both the city and township, the merger is accomplished based on the terms established in the merger agreement. The charter of the municipal corporation, if an, then applies throughout the newly included territories. The corporation existence of the offices of the township that were merged terminates on the date of the merger. The municipal corporation with which merger is proposed then succeeds to all monies and taxes, property and interest, rights and interest in contracts and securities and becomes liable for all outstanding debts, franchises, contracts, etc.


Summary (this includes Annexation, CEDA, JEDD, & Merger information)

There are a number of ways in which statues of the State of Ohio have allowed cities and townships to cooperate on mutually established interests. Some of the processes are very complex with alternative procedures utilized in special circumstances. Each method seems to be tailored to allow flexibility in allowing townships, counties and cities looking to cooperate for economic development. Choosing the correct tool to do the job is a matter that takes a lot of consideration.