NELSONVILLE, Ohio — Nelsonville’s statutory city council group met Monday, Nov. 2 and repealed three measures recently adopted by the opposing charter-based city council, including an ordinance that extended the city manager’s contract through 2035.
The text of the statutory council’s ordinance notes that Issue 23 abolished the position of city manager. The city manager position replaced the office of Director of Public Safety and Service when the city adopted the charter in 1995.
Issue 23, which Nelsonville voters passed in 2024, would have abolished the Nelsonville city charter in favor of returning to “the same form of government that [Nelsonville] had prior to and up to January 1st, 1995.” The city’s charter-based city council overturned the voter-passed initiative in August 2025, leaving the city in legal turmoil ever since.
The statutory council’s ordinance criticized the “million-dollar penalty” attached to the charter council’s contract — a point of contention within the charter council. The contract includes a $1 million is a contractual termination payment in the event of the unjust termination of the city manager.
“This is the most ridiculous thing they’ve done so far,” statutory Council President Dan Sherman said. Sherman said a public records request for the contract is underway.
Diane Wolf, a consultant for the Public Entity Pool of Ohio, which insures the city, submitted a letter in support of the city manager’s contract that was read during public comments at the charter council’s Oct. 26 session.
Sherman criticized the Public Entity Pool of Ohio for weighing in on the issue. “At the end of the day, why PEP [Public Entity Pool of Ohio] is getting involved in this and supporting it, I’ll never know,” he said.
The council also repealed the charter council’s Ordinance 105-26, which doubled the charter council’s clerk’s salary from $1,500 to $3,000 per month.
“The fund balances of the city cannot support a raise of 100 percent and the holdover council is acting in a fiscally irresponsible manner,” the statutory council’s repeal ordinance states.
The charter council clerk position is currently vacant; Erica Padgett stepped down from the role in September to assume a different city position.
“Because they can’t keep people, they’ve had to go ahead and up it to $3,000 just to get someone started,” Sherman said.
The statutory council’s Ordinance 50-26 repeals the charter council’s Resolution 2382 — on the basis that the measure’s adoption on first reading under suspension of the rules violates Ohio law. The ordinance authorized the city manager to consult experts regarding expansion of Nelsonville’s boundaries through annexation.
“The Nelsonville Holdover Council contracted for debt with a one reading resolution which is contrary to Ohio Law and proper accounting procedures,” the statutory council’s repeal ordinance claims.
“Granted, we do need to annex,” Sherman said, but explained that his objection was to the hiring of a consultant. “They should do it themselves instead of hiring someone else to do it.”
The charter-based council meets every other Monday of each month, at Nelsonville City Council Chambers, 211 Lake Hope Drive, Nelsonville. Its next regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9.
The statutory council’s next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at The Lodge at Hocking College, 15770 SR 691, Nelsonville. It meets the first and third Mondays of the month.
