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Nelsonville City Council votes to send an initiative to the November ballot that would change the city’s government

By: David Forster
Posted on: Tuesday, September 24, 2024

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Under court orders, the Nelsonville City Council on Monday voted unanimously to place an initiative on the ballot that would change the city’s government.

Now it’s up to the Athens County Board of Elections to determine whether the initiative received enough signatures to qualify for the November election.

The board has reached out to its legal counsel for guidance on this decision, said Deputy Director Tony Brooks.

The initiative would abolish the city charter and return Nelsonville to the government it had 30 years ago, when the city’s administration was run by an elected mayor independent of the City Council. Under the charter, the administration is run by a city manager who is hired, and can be fired, by the council.

The council had for months refused to send the initiative to the elections board for placement on the ballot. It argues the wrong procedure was used by the residents behind the initiative.

Two residents took the city to court, and the case has bounced back and forth between an Athens County judge, who twice ordered the city to vote to place the initiative on the ballot, and a state appeals court.

Last week, the appeals court removed a hold on the judge’s order and cautioned the city that if it didn’t comply with the order it could be found in contempt of court.

The question now is how many signatures are required to place the initiative on the ballot. The county judge, citing a provision in the Ohio Constitution for amending city charters, wrote in his order that the number of signatures required is “10 percent of the number of votes cast at the last preceding general municipal election.”

Brooks said it’s still not clear whether this refers to last year’s November election or the 2022 November election.

As a practical matter, it may not make a difference.

In the November 2023 election, 930 Nelsonville voters voted. The number in 2022 was 929. So 10 percent would be 93 signatures in either case. The board previously confirmed that the initiative received 180 valid signatures.

Another issue the board will have to address is ballots for Nelsonville residents in the military and those living overseas, have already been mailed. New ballots would likely have to be printed to include the initiative, Brooks said.