Council forwards package of charter changes to rules committee after floor votes

Barberton City Council on June 9 voted to forward a broad package of proposed charter amendments to the Rules Committee for drafting into ballot resolutions, after a floor session in which councilmembers took roll-call votes on multiple individual changes.

The measures advanced by simple majority include proposals to make municipal elections nonpartisan, to add term limits for the mayor and for council members, to change election timing and nomination procedures, and a range of administrative updates affecting department qualifications and appointment authorities. Council President Greer framed the vote as a filter to reduce “voter fatigue,” saying the floor votes would let the council decide which items move forward for formal drafting and later public consideration.

Why it matters: the package would change how Barberton elects officials and how several departments and boards are organized. If the rules committee drafts resolutions from the items approved tonight, council will need to adopt them and then send them to the board of elections for placement on a ballot; some charter changes also require a supermajority at later stages.

Councilmembers debated many specific items during the floor session before the roll-call votes. Proposals that received majority support in the floor votes included: nonpartisan elections and related adjustments to nomination and primary timing; a provision limiting the mayor to three consecutive terms beginning with the 2027 general election; and restrictions on how many at-large seats the municipal legislative body could have under state law language cited in discussion.

Councilmember Gerhardt urged caution about packing too many changes together, saying during committee discussion, “I just feel like this is a lot to put on the ballot. I don't think it's smart to group it all together because I think it won't pass.” She nevertheless supported sending the items to rules so the body could revise the language before it becomes a resolution.

Several procedural points were raised during the floor session: members noted the difference between a simple-majority floor vote that sends language back to committee and the higher threshold needed later to place certain charter changes on the ballot; the law director (referred to in the meeting as Director Miller) and council staff said they would prepare a clean, consolidated draft that reflects the measures the council advanced.

Next steps: items approved on the floor will be drafted into resolutions by the rules committee and returned to council for the standard readings and final votes required under the charter. Council members and staff said there will be further opportunity to adjust or remove items in committee before any measure is finalized for the ballot.

Ending: Council President Greer set the expectation that the rules committee will meet to translate the package into formal resolutions and to reduce or refine items before the next legislative steps. The council did not adopt any charter amendment tonight; it voted only to forward selected proposals to the rules committee for drafting and further review.