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NEWTON FALLS -- Village residents are being asked to support seven charter amendments on a variety of issues on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
A charter review committee spent several months reviewing the village's charter and determining where updates, revisions and changes needed to be made. The committee then presented its recommendations to council.
The charter amendments deal with:
• Procedure for passage of emergency ordinances;
• Requiring only the mayor or council members can act as a legislative sponsor for ordinances and resolutions;
• Public comments and closing comments at regular, special and emergency council meetings with speakers allowed up to three minutes at the beginning of the meeting before council votes on agenda items and at the end of regular meetings after council has voted on agenda items;
• Establishing vote thresholds necessary to pass measures before council;
• Rules for abstentions and absences of council members;
• Removing the residency requirement for the city manager;
• Procedures for recall elections requiring a 90-day time limit for getting the required number of signatures on a petition from the original filing date and having the recall placed on the soonest general or primary election for which the recall can be scheduled;
• Mayor's authority to implement and supervise the enforcement of health directives from the state or county.
Law Director Brad Bryan said residents will vote on each charter amendment separately so there is a possibility that some may be passed and others not passed based on the votes each receives.
Second Ward Councilman John Baryak said the voters have the right to go the polls to vote on the changes and revisions.
''This will help simplify a lot in the charter since what has been in there has been argumentative and not clear," Baryak said.
Bryan said the emergency reading of ordinances will require justification for the emergency clause and also a two-thirds passage of council.
He said the sponsor of legislation can only be the mayor or members of council. Bryan said residents are permitted to make comments at regular, special and emergency meetings.
Bryan said if someone indicates they are abstaining from voting on an issue, they need to tell council why they are abstaining.
As for passage of emergency ordinances it will require an additional reading by council before passage if the ordinance does not have sufficient votes to pass on first reading. If the emergency ordinance does not receive an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the elected members on the first reading it will be deemed to have failed to pass at the meeting and shall require two additional readings and a public hearing before passage.
As for recall elections, the residents have a 90-day period to get signatures on a recall petition that will be submitted by the village clerk to the Trumbull County Board of Elections. On the date an uncirculated petition is filed with the clerk of council, the petitioner will have 90 days to circulate the petition and then refile with the clerk.
Bryan said this charter amendment will clear up past confusion on recall election procedures.
The Newton Falls Charter Review Committee held meetings and received public input on the charter changes before presenting them to village council last spring. In addition to residents, the charter committee also sought input from council members, department heads and the village administration.
"What has concerned me in the past few years is several of these issues in the charter that have occurred. The citizens have the right to express their opinion at meetings and to talk about issues with the people who are doing things that affect our lives and our laws," charter commission review member John Richards said.
The charter changes and amendments passed by the voters would go into effect in 2023.
Charter changes voted in 2003 had 14 of 19 passed by voters, and in 2004, all six placed on the ballot were passed by voters.