(A) Title III of this code of ordinances is designed to include and incorporate, insofar as is practical, all legislation concerning the organization, qualifications, appointment or election, terms of office, compensation and the powers and duties of the officials, boards and bodies of the village. Pertinent sections of the Ohio Revised Code relative to these village offices and boards have been assembled and adopted as a part of this Title III. No material changes of the Ohio Revised Code sections referred to in the legislative histories have been made. The purpose of including these sections is to afford easy reference to the statutory provisions.
(B) In the interest of uniformity and consistency, all references to “village”, as the term appears in the Ohio Revised Code, have been changed to read “municipality” throughout this Title III. However, the provisions of this chapter shall only apply to the administration of village local government.
(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section or in another section of the Ohio Revised Code, each officer of the municipality or of any department or board of the municipality, whether elected or appointed as a substitute for a regular officer, shall be an elector of the municipality and, before entering upon official duties, shall take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State and an oath that the officer will faithfully, honestly and impartially discharge the duties of the office to which elected or appointed. These provisions as to official oaths shall extend to deputies, but they need not be electors.
(B) Neither this section nor any section of the Ohio Revised Code requires, or shall be construed to require, that a Fire Chief be an elector of the municipality.
(R.C. § 733.68) (Rev. 2002)
Before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties, each officer and employee, where it is required by the Legislative Authority, shall execute a bond approved according to law in the amount set forth for his or her respective office or position.
Except as otherwise provided in the municipal charter or in R.C. § 3.061, each officer required by law or ordinance to give bond shall do so before entering upon the duties of the office. Except as otherwise provided in the municipal charter or in R.C. § 3.061, the Legislative Authority may at any time require each officer to give a new or additional bond. Each bond, except that of the Auditor or Clerk, upon its approval, shall be delivered to the Auditor or Clerk, who shall immediately record it in a record provided for that purpose and file and carefully preserve it in the Auditor’s or Clerk’s office. The bond of the Auditor or Clerk shall be delivered to the Treasurer, who shall in like manner record and preserve it.
(R.C. § 733.69) (Rev. 2020)
The official bonds of all municipal officers shall be prepared by the Solicitor or Director of Law. Except as otherwise provided in state law, the bonds shall be in a sum as the Legislative Authority prescribes by general or special ordinance, and be subject to the approval of the Mayor, except that the Mayor’s bond shall be approved by the Legislative Authority, or, if it is not legally organized, by the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of the county in which the municipality or the larger part thereof is situated.
(R.C. § 733.70)
In each bond mentioned in § 30.05, the condition that the person elected or appointed shall faithfully perform the duties of the office shall be sufficient. The fact that the instrument is without a seal, that blanks for the date or amount have been filled subsequent to its execution but before its acceptance, without the consent of the sureties, that all the obligees named in the instrument have not signed it, that new duties have been imposed on the officers or that any merely formal objection exists shall not be available in any suit on the instrument.
(R.C. § 733.71)
Unless otherwise provided by law, vacancies arising in appointive and elective offices of the municipality shall be filled by appointment by the Mayor for the remainder of the unexpired term, provided that:
(A) Vacancies in the office of the Mayor shall be filled in the manner provided by R.C. § 733.25, or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance;
(B) Vacancies in the membership of the Legislative Authority shall be filled in the manner provided by R.C. § 731.43, or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance;
(C) Vacancies in the office of President Pro Tempore of the Legislative Authority shall be filled in the manner provided by R.C. § 731.11, or a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance; and
(D) Vacancies in the Office of Clerk or Treasurer may be filled in the following manner: The Mayor may appoint a person to serve as acting officer to perform the duties of the office until a permanent officer is appointed to fill the vacancy.
(R.C. § 733.31(A)) (Rev. 1999)
(A) Upon request by any person and subject to division (H) of this section, all public records responsive to the request shall be promptly prepared and made available for inspection to the requester at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to division (H) of this section, upon request by any person, a public office or person responsible for public records shall make copies of the requested public record available to the requestor at cost and within a reasonable period of time. If a public record contains information that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or to copy the public record, the public office or the person responsible for the public record shall make available all of the information within the public record that is not exempt. When making that public record available for public inspection or copying that public record, the public office or the person responsible for the public record shall notify the requester of any redaction or make the redaction plainly visible. A redaction shall be deemed a denial of a request to inspect or copy the redacted information, except if federal or state law authorizes or requires a public office to make the redaction.
(B) To facilitate broader access to public records, a public office or the person responsible for public records shall organize and maintain public records in a manner that they can be made available for inspection or copying in accordance with this section. A public office also shall have available a copy of its current records retention schedule at a location readily available to the public. If a requester makes an ambiguous or overly broad request or has difficulty in making a request for copies or inspection of public records under this section, such that the public office or the person responsible for the requested public record cannot reasonably identify what public records are being requested, the public office or the person responsible for the requested public record may deny the request but shall provide the requester with an opportunity to revise the request by informing the requester of the manner in which records are maintained by the public office and accessed in the ordinary course of the public office’s or person’s duties.
(C) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in whole, the public office or the person responsible for the requested public record shall provide the requester with an explanation, including legal authority, setting forth why the request was denied. If the initial request was provided in writing, the explanation also shall be provided to the requester in writing. The explanation shall not preclude the public office or the person responsible for the requested public record from relying upon additional reasons or legal authority in defending an action commenced under R.C. § 149.43(C).
(D) Unless specifically required or authorized by state or federal law or in accordance this section, no public office or person responsible for public records may limit or condition the availability of public records by requiring disclosure of the requester’s identity or the intended use of the requested public record. Any requirement that the requester disclose the requester’s identity or the intended use of the requested public record constitutes a denial of the request.
(E) A public office or person responsible for public records may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may ask for the requester’s identity, and may inquire about the intended use of the information requested, but may do so only after disclosing to the requester that a written request is not mandatory and that the requester may decline to reveal the requester’s identity or the intended use and when a written request or disclosure of the identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing the ability of the public office or person responsible for public records to identify, locate or deliver the public records sought by the requester.
(F) If any person requests a copy of a public record in accordance with this section, the public office or person responsible for the public record may require the requester to pay in advance the cost involved in providing the copy of the public record in accordance with the choice made by the requester under this division. The public office or the person responsible for the public record shall permit the requester to choose to have the public record duplicated upon paper, upon the same medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any other medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the public record determines that it reasonably can be duplicated as an integral part of the normal operations of the public office or person responsible for the public record. When the requester makes a choice under this division, the public office or person responsible for the public record shall provide a copy of it in accordance with the choice made by the requester. Nothing in this section requires a public office or person responsible for the public record to allow the requester of a copy of the public record to make the copies of the public record.
(G) (1) Upon a request made in accordance with this section and subject to division (F) of this section, a public office or person responsible for public records shall transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission within a reasonable period of time after receiving the request for the copy. The public office or person responsible for the public record may require the person making the request to pay in advance the cost of postage if the copy is transmitted by United States mail or the cost of delivery if the copy is transmitted other than by United States mail, and to pay in advance the costs incurred for other supplies used in the mailing, delivery or transmission.
(2) Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time after receiving a request, copies of public records by United States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission pursuant to division (G) of this section. A public office that adopts a policy and procedures under division (G) of this section shall comply with them in performing its duties under that division.
(3) In any policy and procedures adopted under division (G) of this section:
(a) A public office may limit the number of records requested by a person that the office will physically deliver by United States mail or by another delivery service to ten per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested records, or the information contained in them, for commercial purposes.
(b) A public office that chooses to provide some or all of its public records on a web site that is fully accessible to and searchable by members of the public at all times, other than during acts of God outside the public office’s control or maintenance, and that charges no fee to search, access, download, or otherwise receive records provided on the web site, may limit to ten per month the number of records requested by a person that the office will deliver in a digital format, unless the requested records are not provided on the web site and unless the person certifies to the office in writing that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested records, or the information contained in them, for commercial purposes.
(c) For purposes of division (G) of this section, COMMERCIAL shall be narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen oversight or understanding the operation or activities of government, or nonprofit educational research.
(H) A public office or person responsible for public records is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated pursuant to a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to inspect or to obtain a copy of any public record concerning a criminal investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be a criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of acquiring information that is subject to release as a public record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the judge’s successor in office, finds that the information sought in the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a justiciable claim of the person.
(I) (1) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist, a public office, or person responsible for public records, having custody of the records of the agency employing a specified designated public service worker, as defined in R.C. § 149.43, shall disclose to the journalist the address of the actual personal residence of the designated public service worker and, if the designated public service worker’s spouse, former spouse or child is employed by a public office, the name and address of the employer of the designated public service worker’s spouse, former spouse or child. The request shall include the journalist’s name and title and the name and address of the journalist’s employer and shall state that disclosure of the information sought would be in the public interest.
(2) Division (I)(1) of this section also applies to journalist requests for:
(a) Customer information maintained by a municipally owned or operated public utility, other than social security numbers and any private financial information such as credit reports, payment methods, credit card numbers, and bank account information.
(b) Information about minors involved in a school vehicle accident as provided in division R.C. § 149.43(A)(1)(gg), other than personal information as defined in R.C. § 149.45.
(3) As used in this division (I), JOURNALIST means a person engaged in, connected with or employed by any news medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news agency or wire service, a radio or television station, or a similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, transmitting, compiling, editing or disseminating information for the general public.
(J) Upon a request made by a victim, victim’s attorney, or victim’s representative, as that term is used in R.C. § 2930.02, a public office or person responsible for public records shall transmit a copy of a depiction of the victim as described in R.C. § 149.43(A)(1)(ii) to the victim, victim’s attorney, or victim’s representative.
(K) (1) To ensure that all employees of public offices are appropriately educated about a public office’s obligations under this section, all elected officials or their appropriate designees shall attend training approved by the Attorney General as provided in R.C. § 109.43. A future official may satisfy the requirements of this division by attending the training before taking office, provided that the future official may not send a designee in the future official’s place.
(2) All public offices shall adopt a public records policy in compliance with this section for responding to public records requests. In adopting a public records policy under this division, a public office may obtain guidance from the model public records policy developed and provided to the public office by the Attorney General under R.C. § 109.43. Except as otherwise provided in this section or R.C. § 149.43, the policy may not limit the number of public records that the public office will make available to a single person, may not limit the number of public records that it will make available during a fixed period of time, and may not establish a fixed period of time before it will respond to a request for inspection or copying of public records, unless that period is less than eight hours.
(3) The public office shall distribute the public records policy adopted by the public office under this division (K) to the employee of the public office who is the records custodian or records manager or otherwise has custody of the records of that office. The public office shall require that employee to acknowledge receipt of the copy of the public records policy. The public office shall create a poster that describes its public records policy and shall post the poster in a conspicuous place in the public office and in all locations where the public office has branch offices. The public office may post its public records policy on the internet web site of the public office if the public office maintains an internet web site. A public office that has established a manual or handbook of its general policies and procedures for all employees of the public office shall include the public records policy of the public office in the manual or handbook.
(R.C. § 149.43(B), (E)) (Rev. 2022)
Statutory reference:Availability and scope of public records; mandamus action to compel disclosure, see R.C. § 149.43Competitive bidding, public inspection and copying prohibited, see R.C. § 125.071(A) There is hereby established in and for the municipality a Records Commission, composed of the Chief Executive of the municipality, or the Chief Executive’s appointed representative, as Chairperson, and the Chief Fiscal Officer, the Chief Legal Officer and a citizen appointed by the Chief Executive. The Commission shall appoint a Secretary, who may or may not be a member of the Commission and who shall serve at the pleasure of the Commission. The Commission may employ an archivist or records manager to serve under its direction. The Commission shall meet at least once every six months and upon the call of the Chairperson.
(B) The functions of the Commission shall be to provide rules for retention and disposal of records of the municipality and to review applications for one-time disposal of obsolete records and schedules of records retention and disposition submitted by municipal offices. The Commission may dispose of records pursuant to the procedure outlined in R.C. § 149.381. The Commission, at any time, may review any schedule it has previously approved and, for good cause shown, may revise that schedule under the procedure outlined in that section.
(R.C. § 149.39) (Rev. 2012)
Statutory reference:Review of records by Ohio Historical Society, see R.C. § 149.381(A) This section shall be liberally construed to require public officials to take official action and to conduct all deliberations upon official business only in open meetings, unless the subject matter is specifically excepted by law.
(B) As used in this section:
MEETING. Any prearranged discussion of the public business of the public body by a majority of its members.
PUBLIC BODY. Any of the following:
(a) Any board, commission, committee, council or similar decision-making body of a state agency, institution or authority, and any legislative authority or board, commission, committee, council, agency, authority or similar decision-making body of any county, township, municipal corporation, school district, or other political subdivision or local public institution;
(b) Any committee or subcommittee of a body described in division (a) of this definition; or
(c) A court of jurisdiction of a sanitary district organized wholly for the purpose of providing a water supply for domestic municipal and public use when meeting for the purpose of the appointment, removal or reappointment of a member of the board of directors of such a district pursuant to R.C. § 6115.10, if applicable, or for any other matter related to such a district other than litigation involving the district. As used in this division (c), COURT OF JURISDICTION has the same meaning as “court” in R.C. § 6115.01.
PUBLIC OFFICE. Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 149.011.
REGULATED INDIVIDUAL. Either of the following:
(a) A student in a state or local public educational institution; or
(b) A person who is, voluntarily or involuntarily, an inmate, patient or resident of a state or local institution because of criminal behavior, mental illness, an intellectual disability, disease, disability, age or other condition requiring custodial care.
(C) (1) All meetings of any public body are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times. A member of a public body shall be present in person at a meeting open to the public to be considered present or to vote at the meeting and for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the meeting.
(2) The minutes of a regular or special meeting of any public body shall be promptly prepared, filed and maintained and shall be open to public inspection. The minutes need only reflect the general subject matter of discussions in executive sessions authorized under division (F) of this section.
(D) This section does not apply to any of the following: a grand jury; an audit conference conducted by the auditor of state or independent certified public accountants with officials of the public office that is the subject of the audit; or to other entities as set forth in R.C. § 121.22(D) and (E).
(E) (1) Every public body, by rule, shall establish a reasonable method whereby any person may determine the time and place of all regularly scheduled meetings and the time, place and purpose of all special meetings. A public body shall not hold a special meeting unless it gives at least 24 hours advance notice to the news media that have requested notification, except in the event of an emergency requiring immediate official action. In the event of an emergency, the member or members calling the meeting shall notify the news media that have requested notification immediately of the time, place and purpose of the meeting.
(2) The rule shall provide that any person, upon request and payment of a reasonable fee, may obtain reasonable advance notification of all meetings at which any specific type of public business is to be discussed. Provisions for advance notification may include but are not limited to mailing the agenda of meetings to all subscribers on a mailing list or mailing notices in self-addressed, stamped envelopes provided by the person.
(F) Except as provided division (F)(8) of this section, the members of a public body may hold an executive session only after a majority of a quorum of the public body determines, by a roll call vote, to hold an executive session and only at a regular or special meeting for the sole purpose of the consideration of any of the following matters:
(1) To consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official, or the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee, official, licensee or regulated individual, unless the public employee, official, licensee or regulated individual requests a public hearing. Except as otherwise provided by law, no public body shall hold an executive session for the discipline of an elected official for conduct related to the performance of the elected official’s official duties or for the elected official’s removal from office. If a public body holds an executive session pursuant to division (F)(1) of this section, the motion and vote to hold that executive session shall state which one or more of the approved purposes listed in division (F)(1) of this section are the purposes for which the executive session is to be held, but need not include the name of any person to be considered at the meeting;
(2) (a) To consider the purchase of property for public purposes, the sale of property at competitive bidding, or the sale or other disposition of unneeded, obsolete, or unfit-for-use property in accordance with R.C. § 505.10, if premature disclosure of information would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to a person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest. No member of a public body shall use this division (F)(2) as a subterfuge for providing covert information to prospective buyers or sellers. A purchase or sale of public property is void if the seller or buyer of the public property has received covert information from a member of a public body that has not been disclosed to the general public in sufficient time for other prospective buyers and sellers to prepare and submit offers.
(b) If the minutes of the public body show that all meetings and deliberations of the public body have been conducted in compliance with this section, any instrument executed by the public body purporting to convey, lease, or otherwise dispose of any right, title or interest in any public property shall be conclusively presumed to have been executed in compliance with this section insofar as title or other interest of any bona fide purchasers, lessees, or transferees of the property is concerned.
(3) Conferences with an attorney for the public body concerning disputes involving the public body that are the subject of pending or imminent court action;
(4) Preparing for, conducting or reviewing negotiations or bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions of their employment;
(5) Matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or regulations or state statutes;
(6) Details relative to the security arrangements and emergency response protocols for a public body or a public office, if disclosure of the matters discussed could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the security of the public body or public office;
(7) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to R.C. Chapter 339, a joint township hospital operated pursuant to R.C. Chapter 513, or a municipal hospital operated pursuant to R.C. Chapter 749, to consider trade secrets, as defined in R.C. § 1333.61;
(8) To consider confidential information related to the marketing plans, specific business strategy, production techniques, trade secrets, or personal financial statements of an applicant for economic development assistance, or to negotiations with other political subdivisions respecting requests for economic development assistance, provided that both of the following conditions apply:
(a) The information is directly related to a request for economic development assistance that is to be provided or administered under any provision of R.C. Chapter 715, 725, 1724, or 1728 or R.C. §§ 701.07, 3735.67 to 3735.70, 5709.40 to 5709.43, 5709.61 to 5709.69, 5709.73 to 5709.75, or 5709.77 to 5709.81, or that involves public infrastructure improvements or the extension of utility services that are directly related to an economic development project.
(b) A unanimous quorum of the public body determines, by a roll call vote, that the executive session is necessary to protect the interests of the applicant or the possible investment or expenditure of public funds to be made in connection with the economic development project.
(9) If a public body holds an executive session to consider any of the matters listed in divisions (F)(2) through (F)(8) of this section, the motion and vote to hold that executive session shall state which one or more of the approved matters listed in those divisions are to be considered at the executive session; or
(10) A public body specified in division (c) of the definition of “public body” in this section shall not hold an executive session when meeting for the purposes specified in that division (c).
(G) A resolution, rule or formal action of any kind is invalid unless adopted in an open meeting of the public body. A resolution, rule or formal action adopted in an open meeting that results from deliberations in a meeting not open to the public is invalid unless the deliberations were for a purpose specifically authorized in division (F) of this section and conducted at an executive session held in compliance with this section. A resolution, rule or formal action adopted in an open meeting is invalid if the public body that adopted the resolution, rule or formal action violated division (E) of this section.
(H) (1) Any person may bring an action to enforce this section. An action under this division (H)(1) shall be brought within two years after the date of the alleged violation or threatened violation. Upon proof of a violation or threatened violation of this section in an action brought by any person, the court of common pleas shall issue an injunction to compel the members of the public body to comply with its provisions.
(2) (a) If the court of common pleas issues an injunction pursuant to division (H)(1) of this section, the court shall order the public body that it enjoins to pay a civil forfeiture of $500 to the party that sought the injunction and shall award to that party all court costs and, subject to reduction as described in this division (H)(2), reasonable attorney’s fees. The court, in its discretion, may reduce an award of attorney’s fees to the party that sought the injunction or not award attorney’s fees to that party if the court determines both of the following:
1. That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law and case law as it existed at the time of violation or threatened violation that was the basis of the injunction, a well-informed public body reasonably would believe that the public body was not violating or threatening to violate this section;
2. That a well-informed public body reasonably would believe that the conduct or threatened conduct that was the basis of the injunction would serve the public policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.
(b) If the court of common pleas does not issue an injunction pursuant to division (H)(1) of this section and the court determines at that time that the bringing of the action was frivolous conduct, as defined in R.C. § 2323.51(A), the court shall award to the public body all court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees, as determined by the court.
(3) Irreparable harm and prejudice to the party that sought the injunction shall be conclusively and irrebuttably presumed upon proof of a violation or threatened violation of this section.
(4) A member of a public body who knowingly violates an injunction issued pursuant to division (H)(1) of this section may be removed from office by an action brought in the court of common pleas for that purpose by the prosecuting attorney or the attorney general.
(R.C. § 121.22) (Rev. 2024)
Statutory reference:Application of open meetings and exceptions to specific entities, see R.C. § 121.22(D), (E) and (J)(A) Any elected or appointed officer, deputy, assistant or employee of the municipality may attend, at the expense of the municipality, any conference or convention relating to municipal affairs, if authorized by the Mayor, the President of the Legislative Authority or the Administrator. If the fiscal officer of the municipality certifies that funds are appropriated and available for that purpose, the person shall be reimbursed for his or her expense so incurred.
(B) A request for this allowance shall be made in writing to the Mayor, the President of the Legislative Authority or the Administrator, showing the necessity for the attendance and an estimate of the costs thereof to the municipality.
(R.C. § 733.79) (Rev. 2002)
(A) As used in this section:
POLITICAL SUBDIVISION. Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 2743.01.
VOLUNTEER. Means a person who is not paid for service or who is employed on less than a permanent full-time basis.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section, no political subdivision shall require any of its employees, as a condition of employment, to reside in any specific area of the state.
(C) (1) Division (B) of this section does not apply to a volunteer.
(2) To ensure adequate response times by certain employees of political subdivisions to emergencies or disasters while ensuring that those employees generally are free to reside throughout the state, the electors of any political subdivision may file an initiative petition to submit a local law to the electorate, or the Legislative Authority may adopt an ordinance or resolution, that requires any individual employed by that political subdivision, as a condition of employment, to reside either in the county where the political subdivision is located or in any adjacent county in this state. For purposes of this section, an initiative petition shall be filed and considered as provided in R.C. §§ 731.28 and 731.31, except that the Fiscal Officer of the political subdivision shall take the actions prescribed for the Auditor or Clerk if the political subdivision has no Auditor or Clerk, and except that references to a municipal corporation shall be considered to be references to the applicable political subdivision.
(D) Except as otherwise provided in division (C), employees of political subdivisions of this state have the right to reside any place they desire.
(R.C. § 9.481) (Rev. 2007)