NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS

Notice is hereby given that a special election will occur on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, which will allow registered voters of the City of Dayton, Ohio, to vote on several proposed amendments to the Dayton City Charter. The proposed Charter amendments are to the following sections: Section 36: Responsibilities of the Mayor; Section 38: Commission Member Salaries; Section 39: Commission Meetings; Section 97: Chief Examiner’s Duties; and Section 105: Political Activities.  Voters will also vote on a proposal to enact new Charter Section 190: Water As A Public Utility. The proposed language for removal is indicated by a strike through and all newly proposed language is bolded and underlined. The full text of the proposed charter amendments is: 

City of Dayton Proposed Charter Amendments May 4, 2021 Election

Responsibilities of the Mayor

Section 36

Ballot Language for Section 36 proposed amendment:

“Shall the Charter of the City of Dayton, Ohio be amended by revising Section 36 to specifically detail the Mayor’s responsibilities?”

Proposed Charter Language:

The Mayor shall be separately nominated at the primary election to be held in May, 1969 and separately elected at the regular municipal election to be held in November, 1969 and each fourth year thereafter. The Mayor shall have and exercise all such powers as are conferred and perform all duties imposed upon him or her by this Charter, the ordinances of the city, and the laws of the state. He or she shall be the presiding officer of the Commission, except that in his or her absence, a president pro tempore may be chosen. The Mayor shall be recognized as the official head of the city by the courts for the purpose of serving official head of the city by the courts for the purpose of serving civil process; by the Governor for purposes of the military law; and for all ceremonial purposes. The Mayor’s responsibilities shall include:   to convene community groups;   advocate for the City on state and federal levels; maintain relationships with other elected officials; cultivate grant and foundation opportunities; and lead the Commission establishment of policy. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Mayor, the remaining members of the Commission shall choose his successor for the unexpired term from their own number.

Commission Member Salaries

Section 38

Ballot Language for Section 38 proposed amendment:

“Shall the Charter of the City of Dayton, Ohio be amended by revising Section 38 to calculate Commission member salaries as a designated fraction of Montgomery County Commissioner salaries and to reflect benefits received?”

Proposed Charter Language:

(A) The compensation of each Commissioner and of the Mayor shall be determined in accordance with the following procedure:

(1)The presiding officer of the Commission shall appoint five electors of the city as a Compensation Board, three to serve for two years and two for four years, to take office within 30 days after the effective date of this section. Thereafter, members of the Compensation Board shall be appointed to serve four years and until their successors have been appointed and have qualified. One member of the Board shall represent organized labor, one shall be representative of business, two shall be members of the city's citizen participation organizatons [organizations] and one shall represent the community-at-large. The seat of a member of the Board shall be forfeited if such member fails to maintain the qualifications of an elector of the city, and a replacement shall be appointed in the manner previously prescribed.

(2)The Board shall from time to time elect a chairperson from its membership. Within 45 days of its creation, and at least quadrennially thereafter, the Board shall meet to consider the salary and compensation of the Mayor and Commissioners.

(3) No later than December l of each year that the Board meets, the Board shall prepare a report to the City Commission setting forth its recommendations of compensation for the Mayor and Commissioners. The City Commission shall, within 30 days of receiving the Board's report, either approve it by ordinance or, in the event a majority of the Commission is not in favor thereof, reject it. The proposal may not be amended or modified. In the event a proposal submitted by the Board is rejected, the Board may, but shall not be required to, reconvene and submit a revised proposal to the Commission.

(4) Until such time as a Compensation Board is appointed and a proposal approved by the Commission, the Mayor and the Commissioners shall continue to receive the compensation hitherto set forth in the Charter.

For each City Commissioner, the greater of the City Commissioner’s previous calendar year salary or 50% of the current calendar year’s salary paid to the highest paid Commissioner of the Montgomery County, Ohio Board of County Commissioners. 

For the City Mayor, the greater of the Mayor’s previous calendar year salary or 75% of the current calendar year salary paid to the highest paid Commissioner of the Montgomery County, Ohio Board of County Commissioners. 

Commission Meetings

Section 39

Ballot Language for Section 39 proposed amendment:

“Shall the Charter of the City of Dayton, Ohio be amended by revising Section 39 to allow Commission meetings to occur by electronic means during an emergency?”

Proposed Charter Language:

For the purpose of allowing newly-elected and qualified Commissioners to assume the duties of their office, the Commission shall meet on the first Monday in January following a regular municipal election, or the next day if the first Monday in January following a regular municipal election is a legal holiday. The Commission shall meet at a place and time announced during the last Commission meeting of the previous year. Thereafter the Commissioners shall meet at such times as may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution, except that they shall not meet less than once each week. Should a scheduled meeting of the Commission lack a quorum, the meeting may be cancelled by a majority of the Commission providing written notification to the Clerk of their unavailability. A cancelled meeting shall not constitute an absence from a meeting by a Commissioner and shall not require authorization from the Commission. 

The Mayor, any two members of the Commission, or the City Manager, may call special meetings of the Commission upon at least 24 hours' written notice to each member of the Commission, served personally on each member or left at his or her usual place of residence. All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public in accordance with the Ohio Sunshine Law presently codified in Ohio R.C. § 121.22.   The Commission shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall keep a journal of its proceedings

However, notwithstanding the foregoing, during the pendency of a city declaration of emergency, the City Commission may hold and attend meetings and may conduct and attend hearings by means of teleconference, video conference, or any other similar electronic technology pursuant to conditions that will be established by ordinance.

Chief Examiners Duties

Section 97

Ballot Language for Section 97 proposed amendment:

“Shall the Charter of the City of Dayton, Ohio be amended by revising Section 97 to allow for police and firefighter recruit appointments to be selected from a larger group of applicants?”

Proposed Charter Language: 

The Chief Examiner shall be the employment officer of all city employees coming under the classified service. He or she shall provide examinations in accordance with regulations of the Board and maintain lists of eligibles of each class of the service of those meeting the requirements of said regulations. Positions in the classified service shall be filled by him or her from such eligible lists upon requisition from and after consultation with the City Manager. As positions are filled the employment officer shall certify the fact, by proper and prescribed form, to the City Treasurer and the director of the department in which the vacancy exists.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Chief Examiner is authorized to establish and implement a selection process for the appointment of police recruits or firefighter recruits, which within his or her discretion, will result in the selection of candidates based on merit, efficiency, character, industry and conduct. The selection process is not limited to Rule of One, but the City may use any lawful process to select police and fire recruits, including, but not limited to, Rule of Three, Rule of Ten, and/or banding, and is, subject only to the Ohio Constitution and the Rules and Regulations or Policies of the Civil Service Board.

Political Activities

Section 105

Ballot Language for Section 105 proposed amendment:

“Shall the Charter of the City of Dayton, Ohio be amended by revising Section 105 to expand employees’ rights to engage in political activity?”

Proposed Charter Language:

No person in the classified service or seeking admission thereto, shall be appointed, reduced or removed, or in any way favored or discriminated against because of political opinions or affiliations, or because of race, color or religious belief. No officer or employee of the city shall directly or indirectly solicit or receive or be in any manner concerned in soliciting or receiving any assessment, subscription or contribution for any political party or political purpose whatever to be used in a city of Dayton municipal election, or in support of or in opposition to any candidate for election to the office of mayor or member of commission of the city of Dayton, Dayton Municipal Judicial election, or Dayton Municipal Clerk of Courts elections. No person holding a position in the classified service shall take any part in political management or affairs or in political campaigns further than to cast his vote or to express privately his opinion. This section shall not be construed to limit any person's right as a citizen to express opinions or to cast a vote, nor shall it be construed to prohibit any person from active participation in political campaigns at any level of government other than city of Dayton municipal elections or in support of or in opposition to any candidate for election to the office of mayor, member of commission of the city of Dayton, Dayton Municipal judicial elections, or Dayton Municipal Clerk of Court elections. Any violation of this section shall operate to forfeit the office or position held by the person violating the same and shall render any such person ineligible to any municipal office or position for a period of one year.

Water as a Public Utility

Section 190

Ballot Language for proposed new Section 190:

“Shall the Charter of the City of Dayton, Ohio be amended by enacting Section 190 to declare the City’s water system to be a public utility that shall not be leased or transferred to private ownership or control?”

Proposed Charter Language: 

The public water resources and infrastructure of the City of Dayton, including systems and facilities related to the supply, storage, treatment, and distribution of water, shall be owned or leased by the city of Dayton and controlled by the city of Dayton. Such resources and infrastructure, within the city of Dayton municipal boundaries shall not be sold, leased, or transferred into private ownership.