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Council gets charter changes Non-partisan vote, smaller council urged in Kent

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Diane Smith
June 16, 2005

By Diane Smith

Record-Courier staff writer

Kent City Council got its first look Wednesday at the Charter Review Commissions list of proposed amendments to the citys charter.

Commission chairwoman Nancy Hansford said the 13-page document divides the proposals into three groups the 10 proposals the commission thought should be implemented right away, those proposals the panel thought council could adopt by ordinance without altering the charter, and the charter proposals council could decide to present to voters at any time in the future.

She urged council to send the proposed amendments on to voters for their consideration.

You can lay aside the work of the 18 members that you elected to serve on the charter review commission or you can offer to those who elected you their right to determine the significant issues for the city, she said. I trust that you will do what is in the best interest of the city of Kent, Ohio and allow the citizens of Kent to have their say.

The commissions report is expected to be discussed by city council at a special committee meeting on July 13.

The 10 proposals the commission believed most significant were:

A proposal to reduce the size of council to seven members, three at-large council members and four who would be elected from wards.

A proposal stating that council would be elected on a non-partisan basis.

A proposal stating that the mayor would be elected on a non-partisan basis.

Two separate proposals that would make the city manager, not the mayor, the person who is recognized by the governor and state authority for purposes of martial law and emergency management.

A proposal substituting the words emergency management for civil defense in the safety directors job description.

Three separate charter amendments that would do away with the construction commission, as the power to license contractors now rests with the state of Ohio.

An amendment allowing the construction commission and the board of building appeals to include members who are not electors of the city. The two panels are required by Ohio law to include members of certain trades, and some positions could not be filled because of a lack of willing volunteers who lived within the city limits.

Council has the power to put any charter change on the ballot without a charter review commission, Hansford said.

The panel decided that at any time, council could enact an ordinance requiring the city manager to make a report outlining economic goals, creating a department of university relations, clarifying that all members of boards and commissions shall serve with no compensation, and an ordinance stating that all city meetings be held in the city limits.

Proposals deemed less urgent included a change that would clarify the amount of contracts approved by the citys board of control, and an amendment that clarifies the procedure for dealing with typographical errors in the charter.

Mayor John Fender presented a plaque to Hansford recognizing her for her work as chairwoman, saying she kept the commission on schedule while allowing full discussion of proposals. Fender said the commission reviewed more than 55 proposals since its first meeting in January, which he said is a difficult task.

The charter is the framework by which we define ourselves, he said.

In other action, council:

Asked the city administration to look into two buildings in the downtown area: the old Kent Hotel and a building on College Street expected to be demolished in the future. Both buildings are boarded up but appear to have boards missing, and some members were concerned that there may be vagrancy and possibly drug activity in the buildings.

Welcomed City Manager David Ruller, who was serving his first day as city manager.

You talk about change, I am living that change, he said. I am very excited to be part of the future for Kent. Your support is very much appreciated. I hope to be able to earn that.

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Phone: (330) 673-3491




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