Fulton County Ohio Media

With the primary goal of stream-lining its own meetings, the Swanton Village Council, at their December 12^th meeting, discussed major changes in the meeting agenda format that would make the sessions more efficient and concise by eliminating committee wait times and reporting redundancy.  Early in this meeting, Village Solicitor Kent Murphree explained to the Council members what their options were to make changes as spelled out in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC).

Currently, there are four committees (Finance, Public Safety, Public Service, Water & Sewer) each with three assigned Council members assigned and one serving as a chairperson.  There is also the Committee of the Whole where all Council members participate.  According to the ORC, the date and starting time of each committee meeting as well as the official Council meeting must be publicized and cannot be changed after a certain date.  For example:  The Finance Committee will be scheduled for 6:00 PM, the Public Service Committee for 6:30 PM and the Council Meeting for 7:00 PM.  If a committee adjourns any time before the next meeting is scheduled to begin, the ORC states the next committee must wait until the previously scheduled start time.  “One committee can finish its business in 15 minutes and we have to wait 15 minutes before we can resume,” explained Mayor Neil Toeppe.  “The next committee may only take 10 minutes and then we have to wait another 20 minutes before the Council meeting is allowed to begin.”

Another delay is built in to the format when each committee, and the business it tasked with, is only on the agenda every other meeting, often extending the time it takes to resolve certain issues.  Once the actual Council meeting begins, each committee chairperson will give a report on what was discussed and relate any recommendations to be considered for possible legislation which is basically a repeat from earlier in the evening.

The proposed changes to the committee structure and the agenda format would be to eliminate all committees but include all pertinent issues in every meeting agenda, regardless of what committee responsibility they would have fallen under.  The recommended starting time for a Council meeting would be 6:00 PM and the agenda would be followed without intermittent delays.  There would be no committee reports, no putting an issue on hold until that specific committee meets again in four weeks and motions for legislation could be made at any point.  “All the Council members attend the committee meetings anyway and they can offer input so, this would be no different,” said Mayor Toeppe.

All Council members voted to move forward with the new protocol.  The first Village Council meeting of 2023 is scheduled to take place on January 9^th at 7:00 PM.  It is in this meeting the Council members elect a Council President and establish the “Rules of Council” for the rest of the year.  At this time, it is expected the aforementioned changes will be enacted and will go into effect for the following meeting on January 23, 2023. 

Photo: Swanton Village Council, 12/12/22