Charter Review Commission proposes city-administrator role and other amendments

The Charter Review Commission presented its final report to the Harrison City Council, recommending a package of amendments to the city charter and explaining options for placing changes on the November ballot. Joe Combs, the commission chair, said the group conducted six open meetings and produced a marked-up charter with targeted language updates intended to modernize governance and reduce ambiguity.

"We trust you'll find this material helpful as you make your determination regarding placement of these proposed changes on a ballot for our fellow citizens to consider," Combs said. Major recommendations include removing council authority to set a mandatory retirement age; explicitly listing felony conviction as cause for removal and increasing the removal threshold to a five-member supermajority; clarifying vacancy-fill procedures so council fills vacancies rather than central party committees; and indexing the charter's public-bidding threshold to the Ohio Revised Code to keep pace with inflation.

The commission also recommended adding a city administrator position while preserving the city's strong-mayor structure: the administrator would be appointed by the mayor with council approval by supermajority and removable by the mayor. Combs told council the change aims to professionalize city management without eroding elected officials' authority. "By all accounts, the role has proven to be quite effective, and we feel it's definitely time to enshrine the city administrator role in our charter," he said.

Council members asked for clarifications about voting and implementation timelines: whether an acting mayor retains a vote when presiding (the commission answered yes) and how 'consent of council' would be construed for appointments (majority unless a supermajority is specified). The commission noted election-administration constraints — the board of elections has a short window for preparing absentee ballots — and recommended council consider separating higher-risk changes from simpler, "slam-dunk" items so voters can decide on discrete questions rather than an all-or-nothing package.

Council indicated it will review the detailed redline and slide packet the commission provided, pursue a work session within weeks for follow-up questions, and consider placing one or more items on the November ballot via council resolution. The commission suggested some items could be split into multiple ballot questions to avoid a single controversial item defeating broadly supported reforms.