Another possible solution arises to address Nelsonville’s ‘December problem’

By: Joshua Hoerner
Posted on: Friday, May 30, 2025

< < Back to

ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — As things stand, the city of Nelsonville may only have one council member in December. However, a possible solution to this situation came up at this week’s council meeting.   

The solution involves Councilmember Nancy Sonick appointing members of council for the month of December. Sonick asked specifically if she could appoint the candidates who win election to council seats in November but won’t be taking office until Jan. 1. 

Sonick is the only existing council member whose term extends beyond Nov. 30. She could resign her seat at that time, which would leave the city with no council members until January. But if she chooses to stay on the council through December, she would be the only remaining member.

This one-month gap between when the terms of existing council members end and the terms of the new members begin has created what is being called the “December problem.” It’s a result of an initiative passed in November that changes the city’s form of government. 

The council needs four votes to pass legislation, five votes in case of an emergency, so Sonick could not run the council alone in December. However, she would have the authority to appoint another council member. Then those two could appoint a third, and so on. 

Nelsonville Law Director Jonathan Robe called the solution “as smooth as probably can be anticipated.” 

This is because the candidates elected to take office Jan. 1 would simply be starting a month sooner. This would also allow them to pass the budget in December and get a head start on preparing for the new form of government in January. 

Under the new government, power will be shared between the City Council and an elected mayor, who will oversee the city’s administration. Under the charter government the city has had for the past three decades, the administration has been run by a city manager appointed by the council. 

The council also is considering another possible solution to the December problem. 

At the previous council meeting, Reid Courtney presented a suggestion to have two separate slates of candidates for the November election — one to serve a one-month term on the council in December, and the other to serve a two-year term starting Jan. 1.   

Courtney is the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee chair and has been providing the council with updates from the committee meetings. The committee is a group of citizens assisting the council with the transition from one government to the next. 

The committee is expected to have a full recommendation to the council on issues related to the transition by the first meeting in August.