Politics & Government

City Council Will Discuss Next Steps on Proposed Charter Amendments

Council President Gary Sorace said city council will decide what to do after both issues, which were invalid, failed

Even though city council will discuss what they will do next with the proposed charter and zoning amendments.

Council President Gary Sorace said they will talk about it in the future, but he is not sure what the outcome might be. He also said 15 to 20 residents came to him because they didn't understand what the proposed charter amendments, Issues 62 and 63, meant.

"It tells me, maybe we need to do a better job of explaining them," Sorace said.

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Last week Twinsburg resident Sally Gaydosh told council she hadn’t seen any legal publication of Issues 62 and 63 in any of the local newspapers. Sorace said he met with Law Director David Maistros Wednesday and they determined the law was not followed. That meant that while they would still be on the ballot, they were invalid, no matter the outcome.

Issue 62, which failed with a 54 percent vote, was a charter amendment that would have made police and fire chiefs unclassified positions and eliminated positions that no longer exist. Issue 63, failing with a 50.37 percent vote, would have allowed the appointing of all positions in the city's safety forces below chief through the Civil Service.

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According to Ohio Revised Code Section 731.211 residents must be notified of proposed charter amendments either through the mail or published in a newspaper of general circulation with the full text of the proposed amendment.

But it wasn't just the charter amendment that was confusing residents. Issue 64, the zoning amendment that would have banned outdoor furnaces, failed with 52 percent of the vote. Sorace said people were telling him they "totally didn't understand what it meant."

"If the wishes of the people is to not pass that, it's fine with me," Sorace said. "But I'm more concerned, at this point, that people just didn't understand what it's about."

Because it was approved by planning commission earlier this year and had proper public notice, Issue 64 was a valid ballot.

Sorace said he will talk with other council members to see if they heard similar concerns, and if it is a pattern across the city, they could readdress it.

Twinsburg Patch will continue following this story as it develops, bringing you the latest updates.


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