NELSONVILLE, Ohio — Nelsonville City Council voted at its Dec. 9 meeting to appeal Issue 23 — which abolishes the city charter — to the Ohio Supreme Court.
At the meeting, several residents said they did not understand why council was considering taking the issue to the Ohio Supreme Court when the measure won 70% of votes in the Nov. 5 general election.
“Whether or not the council will appeal to the Supreme Court is not my decision,” City Law Director Jonathan Robe said.
Robe explained that council has “full authority” to repeal Issue 23 and, if the Ohio Supreme Court decides to hear the case, could prevent council from having such authority.
The Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled that the decision to repeal Issue 23 is in the hands of council, Robe said.
“I’ve told the Judiciary Committee, I don’t think the Supreme Court will take this case,” the law director said. “I think the Supreme Court’s likely to say the election is over, but if they do take the case, that would be the one question that they would give clarity on.”
Following a series of questions asked by council member Jonathan Flowers about the potential appeal to the Supreme Court, both Flowers and President Gregg Clement said they signed the petition to get Issue 23 on the ballot before the Nov. 5 election.
“For the record, I signed the petition to put this on the ballot. I did it for various reasons, but when the language came out, it was very lacking in what we’ve been discussing,” Clement said. “Now we each have to decide, as Mr. Robe said, individually, how we deal with that in our own conscience. So, I’m going to support moving it on.”
Council voted 4-1 to proceed with an appeal to the state supreme court, with Flowers casting the lone vote against.
In other business Dec. 9, council:
- Moved to create an advisory commission for Issue 23.
- Confirmed Reed Courtney, a Nelsonville resident, to be a member of the Parks and Recreation board.
- Passed emergency measure for the Nelsonville Fire Chief to donate out-of-service equipment to Mountain Angels Rescue, a nonprofit organization aiding in the recovery of Western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.
Flowers asked City Auditor Taylor Sappington if the city had enough funds to hire someone to assist Code Enforcement Officer Bill Reighard.
“The short answer is that the budget in 2025 is scheduled, slated for deficit in the general fund, and there is no expansion in that budget for code enforcement,” Sappington said.
Council member Cory Taylor introduced two ordinances, both of which would increase sewer and trash rates for the city of Nelsonville by 4%.
The increase in sewer rates would finance the city’s new sewer treatment plant, and the increase in trash rates would maintain the “financial stability and health” of the city’s trash removal service.
Nelsonville City Council meets every other Monday of each month, at Nelsonville City Council Chambers, 211 Lake Hope Drive. Its next regular meeting will be Jan. 13, 2025, at 7 p.m. Meetings are livestreamed on YouTube. Find more at cityofnelsonville.com.
Disclosure: Robe completed and filed incorporation papers for Southeast Ohio Independent News, the nonprofit that publishes the Athens County Independent. He also has provided the Independent with legal advice.
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