2025-56 AN ORDINANCE SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORS THE QUESTION OF WHETHER A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE III OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF VERMILION, OHIO TO ADD SECTION 12 SHALL BE ADOPTED AND THE CITY CHARTER BE AMENDED, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
WHEREAS, the City of Vermilion is a chartered municipal corporation established pursuant to Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution; and
WHEREAS, Article XVIII Section 9 of the Ohio Constitution provides for the process and procedures by which a municipal charter may be amended and states that amendments to any charter framed and adopted pursuant to the Ohio Constitution may be submitted to the electors of a municipality by a two-thirds vote of the legislative authority thereof, and, upon petitions signed by ten per centum of the electors of the municipality setting forth any such proposed amendment, shall be submitted by such legislative authority; and
WHEREAS, Article XVIII Section 9 of the Ohio Constitution also provides that the submission of proposed amendments to the electors shall be governed by the requirements of Section 8 as to the submission of the question of choosing a charter commission; and
WHEREAS, Article XVIII Section 8 of the Ohio Constitution provides that the ordinance providing for the submission of such question shall require that it be submitted to the electors at the next regular municipal election if one shall occur not less than sixty nor more than one hundred and twenty days after its passage; otherwise it shall provide for the submission of the question at a special election to be called and held within the time aforesaid; and
WHEREAS, on August 27, 2025, the City of Vermilion received a petition for submission of proposed amendment to the City’s Charter; and
WHEREAS, said petition proposes to amend Article III of the Charter of the City of Vermilion, Ohio to add Section 12; and
WHEREAS, the petition was reviewed by the Lorain County Board of Elections, which found that the petition contained 454 valid signatures; and
WHEREAS, the Lorain County Board of Elections also certified that ten percent of the electors at the last preceding municipal election in Erie and Lorain Counties was 434 electors; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Vermilion, Counties of Erie and Lorain, State of Ohio that:
SECTION 1: Pursuant to Section 9 of Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution, the Council finds and determines that the petition for submission of the proposed amendment to City Charter is signed by the requisite number of electors and, accordingly, the question whether to amend the Charter of the City of Vermilion shall be submitted to the electors at the election to be held on November 4, 2025.
SECTION 2: The question to be submitted to the electors shall be whether the proposed amendment to Article III of the Charter of the City of Vermilion, Ohio to add Section 12 shall be adopted and the City Charter be amended, with the proposed ballot language being as follows:
Shall the following amendment to the Charter of the City of Vermilion, Ohio, be aDOPTEd?
“Section 12. Tax Incremental Financing ("TIF") Ordinance-Voter Approval.
Any tax incremental financing ordinance or resolution, passed by City Council shall not become effective until approved by a majority of the electors at the next general election no less than (90) days from such passage. For purposes of this Section 12 the term "electors" shall mean registered voters both in the City of Vermilion, and in any school district which will be affected by the tax incremental financing presently or in the future at the time of the passage of the ordinance or resolution, such as the Firelands School District.
A “yes” vote means approval of the amendment.
A “no” vote means disapproval of the amendment.
______ YES
______ NO
SECTION 3: This Council finds and determines that all formal actions of this Council concerning and relating to the passage of this Ordinance were taken in an open meeting of this Council and that all deliberations of this Council and of any committees that resulted in those formal actions were in meetings open to the public and in compliance with all legal requirements, including Section 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code.
SECTION 4; This Ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety and general welfare of the City and its residents and for the further reason that it is necessary to enact this measure immediately to comport with the requirements of Article XVIII, Sections 8 and 9 of the Ohio Constitution. Wherefore, this Ordinance shall be in full force and effect immediately upon its adoption and approval by the mayor.