Plain City officials have decided to wait before looking at the future governmental structure of the village.
At a recent meeting, the Plain City Village Council decided to wait until the completion of a comprehensive plan before taking up the question of whether the village would move to become a charter city.
“We have a lot of irons in the fire right now,” said Village Solicitor Paul Lafayette.
In Ohio, once a municipality reaches a population of 5,000, it becomes a city. Communities with less are considered villages. The 2010 census measured Plain City’s population at 4,225. Officials have said they believe when the 2020 census is complete, the population will exceed 5,000.
When the community becomes a city, it needs a plan about whether it will be a statutory city or a charter city that creates its own structure and rules for self-government.
He said a statutory form of government is similar to what the village currently has, except the mayor has more authority. A statutory form of government follows the set standard provided in the Ohio Revised Code.
A charter form of government creates a legal instrument that can roughly be compared to a constitution. It details the framework for the municipal government.
Lafayette said, “in the charter, you get to set the rules.”
Once adopted, the charter basically replaces the Ohio Revised Code as the rules for the municipality.
Lafayette said in a charter government, the city can employ a strong mayor, a weaker mayor, a city commission or a city manager. He said a charter gives the city a great deal of flexibility. Lafayette said a city can change a charter to respond to the changing needs of the community.
The solicitor explained that council would need to vote to create a 15-member charter commission. Once the commission creates its document, the charter would need to be approved by vote of the residents.
Lafayette said the charter does not cover every law in the city but is meant to serve as “an overview.”
“The charter will contain a form of government whether it be a strong mayor, weak mayor, city member or some other form of government,” John E. Gotherman, counsel to the Ohio Municipal League and General Counsel to the Ohio Municipal Attorneys Association, wrote in an article for Cities and Villages. “It usually does not attempt to solve all the detailed administrative or legislative policy matters forever; rather, it usually leaves a great deal of policy making power to council and gives it a degree of flexibility in meeting the needs of the municipality as they arise. A good charter, like a constitution, does not attempt to cover all situations specifically; rather, charters are usually a statement of fundamentals.”
Lafayette said the village doesn’t need a plan as soon as it passes the 5,000 resident mark, but it does need to begin the process.
“I throw this out for people to look at to consider as we begin to look forward,” Lafayette said.
He added, “It doesn’t hurt to begin early.”
Council has been discussing the issue for several years, and hoped to have a plan coming into 2018. Officials said they wanted to complete the comprehensive planning process before tackling the idea of city government. Even so, council members acknowledged they needed to get moving.
“I think we need to have something firm by the end of the year,” council member John Rucker said.