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Residents urge Piqua commissioners to stop 'rubber‑stamping' board appointments
Summary
At a Piqua City Commission meeting, residents urged commissioners to remove appointment items from the consent agenda and review full applicant pools, saying staff is presenting single recommended candidates that commissioners merely approve.
Several residents pressed the Piqua City Commission on transparency and process during the public‑comment period, asking commissioners to stop treating board and commission appointments as routine consent‑agenda items.
The most detailed remarks came from a commenter identified in the record as Kim Heisler, who asked whether the commission would amend meeting minutes and then challenged how applicants are screened and presented. Heisler said staff appears to receive and sort applications, pick a preferred candidate and offer the commission only that single name for approval. "They are picking who they want you guys to say yes or no to and all you guys are doing is saying yes or no. That is not how the charter is written," Heisler said, urging the commission to move appointment resolutions out of the consent agenda so members can review the full applicant pool and deliberate.
A second commenter, recorded as Ser Larson, echoed that view and said qualified applicants — including one named Jonathan Wessel in the public remarks — have been excluded from the list commissioners see. Larson called the practice "abhorrent" and asked the commission to examine whether staff is effectively narrowing the pool without giving elected officials access to all qualified applicants.
Commissioners did not adopt any immediate rule changes during the meeting. The record shows the commission proceeded later in the agenda to approve several appointment resolutions and other routine items. Commissioners and staff have discussed charter amendments at prior meetings; several members said during the meeting that proposed charter changes will return for further deliberation. The public comments lengthened a developing conversation about how the city posts openings, how candidates are screened and whether appointment items belong on the consent agenda or in new business for fuller review.
The meeting produced no formal change to the appointment process; public commenters asked the commission to alter that practice and to provide more transparency in future appointment cycles.
