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Commissioners voice concern over proposed NOACA bylaws change that could remove engineer voting seat
Summary
Medina County commissioners debated proposed changes to NOACA’s code of regulations that would let counties designate seats and remove a ratification requirement; commissioners asked for a legal opinion and signaled they may act at the December meeting to protect current representation.
Medina County commissioners spent a substantial portion of the meeting discussing proposed changes to the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) code of regulations that would alter how counties designate voting seats and seek to remove a requirement that changes be ratified by all member counties.
Unidentified commissioners raised concerns that the proposed amendment would allow counties to designate seats without the current ratification protections and could, in practice, exclude county engineers from being guaranteed voting members. One commissioner described a scenario in which a county board could choose not to seat an independently elected county engineer. The group repeatedly flagged the proposed removal of the ratification requirement as a material procedural change.
An unnamed commissioner urged legal review: "I would like a legal opinion from the county prosecutor's office and share that with the NOACA board because I don't believe that they can go ahead and get around the ratification requirement," the commissioner said during the discussion. Other participants said the modification appeared tailored to edge out a particular voting member in a neighboring county and cautioned against allowing governance changes that could be administered without limits.
Participants cited concern about precedent and county representation, noting counties have historically determined their own representation on the transportation-planning body and that removing the ratification requirement could enable broader changes to voting structure without unanimous consent. One commissioner argued the change "protects the rights of the smaller counties" by retaining ratification; another said Lake County had pushed for the change.
The board did not adopt any formal resolution on NOACA governance at the meeting but directed staff to obtain legal guidance and indicated the issue will be revisited at the December meeting. That legal review will determine whether NOACA can implement the proposed changes without the ratification the commissioners expect under the current code.
