Council members are grappling with how to handle surprising census results that prevent Plain City from becoming an actual city.
Results from the 2020 U.S. Census indicate Plain City’s population is 4,065, according to a proclamation of village status from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
“The number they provided us is clearly wrong,” Council member Michael Terry said during Wednesday’s work session.
The village’s population has apparently decreased in the past decade, as 2010 U.S. Census results list it at 4,225.
Municipalities with a population of 5,000 or above are considered cities rather than villages.
In anticipation of meeting the city threshold in the most recent census, Plain City residents voted to create a charter commission in March 2020.
Voters in Madison and Union counties overwhelmingly approved the document, which will essentially serve as Plain City’s constitution, one year later.
Mayor Jody Carney said Wednesday that many residents voted in favor under the pretense that the village would become a city this year.
That, however, did not happen.
Village Administrator Nathan Cahall said the village’s ability to challenge its classification is extremely limited.
He said the Ohio Revised Code details an option for cities whose populations have apparently dropped to village-size to challenge census results.
However, he said “the inverse is not discussed.”
Cahall said Plain City’s legal counsel researched what options are available to villages who believe their population actually meets the threshold to become a city.
He said they have found only one example so far: a 1955 attorney general’s opinion that notes the classification of a municipality must be based on federal census results, but it does not have to be the decennial census.
This allowed the then-village of Kettering to contract the U.S. Department of Commerce to conduct a census mid-cycle and use those results instead.
Cahall said, as of now, contracting the federal government to conduct another census of Plain City appears to be the only way to challenge its classification as a village.
Plain City officials did not immediately know the potential cost of doing so.
Before traveling down that route, Council President John Rucker said officials need to consider “what are the pros of remaining a village as opposed to becoming a city?”
Overarchingly, Cahall said there are financial benefits to remaining a village, while cities are generally granted more legal and operational power.
For example, Cahall said the Ohio Department of Transportation’s urban paving project only requires villages to pay for repairs that require more than “milling about three inches.” This year, Plain City paid approximately $50,000 into ODOT’s program, he said.
Cities are instead required to pay ODOT 20% of the total cost. That would have resulted in a “mid-sized six figure” bill for Plain City, Cahall said.
He noted that, in some cases, additional grant funding is available to Plain City because it is a village.
The village can currently apply for grant funding in the Ohio Public Works Commission’s “main pot,” along with a “kiddie pool” designated specifically for small governments.
If Plain City is bumped to city status, though, Cahall said its bond rating would increase even if its financial status remained exactly the same.
He added that cities also have more options to dispose of real property, which could have been beneficial when recently selling the former municipal buildings.
Terry said he is hesitant to pursue another federal census “if there’s not a blatant pro” to doing so. He said he “would hate” to use taxpayer dollars and “fail” to obtain a different result.
Council member Frank Reed agreed.
He speculated that the population provided by the census is inaccurate due to low response rates.
Reed said he knows of many individuals who did not respond to the census for “philosophical reasons” surrounding a distrust of the federal government.
“What would be the guarantee they would respond differently to a second census?” he asked.
While Carney agreed, she said she feels “we owe it to residents” to at least consider options to challenge the census results.
She said residents who voted to adopt the charter are confused as to why Plain City is remaining a village.
Plain City currently operates under a statutory form of government, meaning the village government is structured under state regulations that are outlined in the Ohio Revised Code.
Because Ohio is a “home rule” state, cities are given certain powers to create and adapt government structure in a way that best fits their residents. This structure is outlined in the charter.
Still, Rucker emphasized that the charter was written in a manner that allowed its provisions to be enacted regardless of whether Plain City became a city or remained a village.
“None of that charter was wasted,” he said.
Terry said as long as the charter stays in place, he feels council should wait to take action.
He said officials have “a decent amount of time to get a grip on the pros and cons” of being a village compared to a city.
In the meantime, he said Plain City is continuing to grow and push closer to the city threshold. If council chose to conduct another census and challenge the results, he said they would be more likely to succeed following the completion of several residential developments in progress.
His fellow council members agreed.
“So, what’s the consensus?” asked Reed.
“Sit and wait,” Rucker said.