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Defiance council adopts street-renaming ordinance and tables four capital and budget ordinances for redraft
Summary
Council voted to adopt an ordinance renaming Colin Drive to Colleen Drive after a first-reading caption and explanation under Ohio Rev. Code §723.04; council also voted to table four ordinances creating capital-improvement funds and a 2026 appropriation/transfer resolution so staff can revise language per auditors' recommendations.
The Defiance City Council on May 12 unanimously adopted an ordinance to rename a right-of-way currently referenced as Colin Drive to Colleen Drive and, in the same meeting, tabled four separate ordinances that would create capital-improvement funds, make appropriations and authorize monthly transfers.
At the first reading by caption, Mr. O'Donnell explained the street-name change and cited Ohio Revised Code 723.04 as the statutory authority allowing council to rename streets if the change is not detrimental to the public interest. He said the Defiance County 911 center had reported confusion over the existing name and that universal recognition of the Colleen spelling would address the issue.
Council then moved to adopt the ordinance on the record. The roll-call-style response recorded "yes" from council members who spoke on the vote: Mr. Waxler, Mr. Mass, Mrs. Crutch, Mr. Hancock, Miss Kaufman, Mr. Ingle and Mr. Corbett. The motion carried and the ordinance was adopted.
Later in the meeting, a speaker identified as Miss Brag explained proposed ordinances to create a Police and Fire Capital Improvement Fund (number 4065) and a parks capital-improvement fund (4075), and to submit an appropriation ordinance (No. 8702) and a monthly-transfer authorization for the 2026 fiscal year. Miss Brag said auditors recommended using a different Ohio Revised Code section in the draft language to improve transparency—specifying limits on how long funds could remain and capping the amount. To allow staff time to adjust the language, she asked the council to table each ordinance. Council voted to table each of those ordinances so the finance director could redraft them and return them for consideration at the end of May.
The council recorded the tabling votes and confirmed the items are removed from the active agenda until reintroduced. No substantive policy decisions on the capital funds or appropriation amounts were made at the meeting; council instructed staff to return revised language based on auditors' guidance.
