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Pepper Pike council receives charter review report, schedules special meetings and asks law director to draft ordinance
Summary
Council members accepted submission of the Charter Review Commission's final report (filed Dec. 27, 2024), discussed presentation options for voters and tentatively scheduled special meetings in January; Council requested the law director draft an ordinance by Jan. 7 to submit revisions to the Board of Elections.
The Pepper Pike City Council on Dec. 30 received the final report of the Charter Review Commission, which the council said was submitted to the city on Dec. 27, 2024.
“The first Charter Commission in the history of Pepper Pike completed its work and submitted its report to Council on Friday December 27th, 2024,” the presenting speaker said, noting paper copies were made available to council members. The speaker thanked the commission members by name and said the group logged more than 300 collective hours across many meetings, producing thorough minutes and a continuous redline of the charter.
Council discussed next steps and scheduling. The law director and other members advised that the state statute filing deadline for the Board of Elections is Feb. 5 and that the council should plan to meet that timeline unless an extra week is requested and accepted by the board. Council asked the law director, Mr. Byron, to draft an ordinance to submit the final charter revisions as a single issue to the Board of Elections, with a requested draft by Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Members debated how best to present the revisions to voters. One council member recommended an amended-and-restated charter presented as a single ballot question to avoid confusing electors with many separate items; others said the council could consider separating changes by topic but noted potential voter confusion and the risk that some parts might pass while others fail.
Council tentatively discussed holding special meetings in early January to begin three readings and to meet procedural deadlines. Dates discussed included the week of Jan. 6 (possible evenings Jan. 6 or Jan. 9) for an initial special meeting and a follow-up meeting in the third week (Jan. 22 or 23) to complete additional readings, though final scheduling and Outlook invitations were left to staff.
No formal action to adopt charter changes occurred at the Dec. 30 meeting; council directed the law director to prepare an ordinance and scheduled follow-up meetings to consider the commission's recommendations.
