Louisville council enacts two emergency ordinances for public defense and county dispatching

The Louisville City Council on Tuesday passed two emergency ordinances authorizing short-term contracts with county providers for legal defense and emergency dispatching.

Ordinance 26-01 authorizes the city manager to enter a one-year contract with the Stark County Public Defender Commission, with an option to renew for an additional year, to cover defense costs for indigent defendants charged under city ordinance. Council members moved to bring the measure to the table for first reading and then voted to suspend the rules and pass the ordinance by emergency.

Council then took up Ordinance 26-02, approving an agreement with the Stark County sheriff’s dispatch radio group to provide fire and EMS dispatching services through Dec. 31, 2026. City staff told the council the per-call fee increases slightly from $39.80 to $40.20, which staff estimated would amount to about $72,000 annually. Because both contract documents were received after the previous meeting, council members agreed to consider both measures by emergency and approved them in the same session.

Both emergency measures were moved, seconded and approved by the council in voice vote. The council recorded affirmative responses from multiple members on each item and pronounced each ordinance duly enacted by emergency.

No amendments or roll-call tallies denying passage were recorded in the meeting transcript. The ordinances authorize the city manager to sign the contracts and take necessary steps for implementation.