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Law director recommends charter amendment to create local recall process after state ruling
Summary
The law director told the Feb. 3 council that an Ohio Supreme Court decision limits use of Revised Code section 705.92 to certain municipal plans, leaving charter municipalities like New Lebanon without a clear recall procedure; he recommended drafting a charter amendment and outlined a March 6 deadline if council sought the May 5 primary ballot.
The New Lebanon law director told council on Feb. 3 that a July 2025 Ohio Supreme Court decision narrowed which municipalities may use Revised Code section 705.92 for recall procedures. Because New Lebanon is a charter municipality, the memo said the village cannot rely on that statute to supply a recall process by reference and therefore lacks a clear, operative recall procedure in its charter.
The law director recommended that council pursue a charter amendment to establish a local recall process. He explained the timeline constraints for placing an amendment on an upcoming ballot: proposed charter amendments must be submitted to the county board of elections at least 60 days before the election. To meet the May 5, 2026 primary, documents would have to be filed by March 6, 2026 — a compressed schedule that would limit public review. The law director advised planning instead for the November ballot to allow more time for input, while offering to draft proposed language for council review.
The law director summarized the legal issue: the village had incorporated by reference the recall procedure in Revised Code chapter 705.92, but the Supreme Court’s interpretation means that chapter’s recall procedure applies only to three statutory municipal plans (commission, manager and federal plans) and not to charter municipalities. The memo urged council to consider options and set a process for public review if it wants a local recall mechanism.
Council did not vote on a charter amendment at the meeting; the law director said he would prepare sample language and suggested the council schedule a work session for consideration.
Next steps: the law director will provide draft amendment language for council review and recommend scheduling a work session; council must decide whether to pursue a March 6 filing for the May primary or plan for a November referendum to allow more public input.
