AUSTINTOWN Trustees to vote on home rule

Home rule would allow the trustees to regulate instant bingo, transient vendors and exotic animals.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- A form of limited self-government that was defeated by voters three times in the 1990s most likely will be approved by township trustees Dec. 20.
Trustee Jeff Groat said he will make a motion at a meeting that day to enact home rule. The Ohio Revised Code allows the trustees to establish home rule by a 3-0 vote.
Trustees Richard Edwards and David Ditzler say they support home rule, but Ditzler said he would vote only for Groat's motion if it is endorsed by trustee-elect Bo Pritchard.
Pritchard, who is set to replace Groat on Jan. 1, said he supports home rule. Edwards said he'll vote for Groat's motion.
New authority: Home rule would give trustees the authority to pass ordinances aimed at improving health, safety and sanitation. Under home rule, they would be able to enact resolutions prohibiting instant bingo games.
Villages and cities in Ohio have that power.
Home rule was defeated on the ballot in 1992, 1995 and 1997. The margin of defeat in 1997 was less than 10 votes.
The trustees conducted a public hearing Monday night to discuss the future of home rule. About 20 residents attended.
At the hearing, Groat said that when he first took office in 1998 he thought home rule should only be enacted by voters, but since then, he has learned that most voters cast their ballots against home rule because they didn't want to learn about it.
Argument for it: Groat said residents should understand that home rule will make it easier to solve problems. As an example, he said home rule would allow the trustees to fine homeowners up to $1,000 if the condition of their homes lowers the value of surrounding properties.
Trustees now have to meet with representatives from several government agencies to find a way to act against property owners, Groat said.
Home rule also would allow resolutions prohibiting residents from keeping exotic animals as pets. In August, one of two pet caimans escaped from a Stanford Avenue home by climbing out a second-story window.
A caiman is a Central and South American reptile similar to an alligator. The Stanford Avenue caiman was eventually captured by his owner and two police officers.
The trustees have said they do not have the power to order the animal removed without home rule.
Ditzler said trustees would pass only resolutions that address issues identified by residents. He noted that the trustees are required to hold three public hearings beforehand.
Boardman and Howland townships are under home rule. Trustees in those townships have used it to pass resolutions regarding exotic pets, instant bingo games, transient vendors, and dumping in open ditches.
Support for it: Most Austintown residents who spoke at Monday's hearing supported home rule, but some said they think trustees shouldn't enact it without voter approval.
Wilcox Road resident Monty Greggo said he felt the trustees should make more of an effort to educate voters about home rule. "If you had gone out and blitzed people with information about it, it would have passed," he said.
hill@vindy.com