Newton Falls voters pass 14 of 19 proposed charter amendments

Voters declined to approve a raise for council members.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NEWTON FALLS -- Voters decided all but a handful of proposed charter amendments were worth passing, including specifying qualifications for a city manager and allowing department heads to supervise and discipline employees under their direction.
Voters in the city had 19 proposed charter amendments before them Tuesday, and opted to pass all but five.
Amendments approved included how long council has to fill a vacancy on the board, defining the role of the city clerk and defining the duties of the city's zoning administrator.
Approved
Voters agreed:
UTo have council fill vacant seats within 60 days; if members fail to appoint a new council member in that time, the mayor can appoint a replacement within five days.
UTo allow the mayor, vice president of council or two council members to call a special meeting with at least 72 hours notice.
UTo permit council to appoint a qualified individual to perform the duties of city manager during his/her temporary absence.
UTo have council appoint a city clerk who will also serve as clerk of council; the individual appointed, however, will not act as an assistant or secretary to the city manager.
UTo authorize council to choose a city manager solely on the basis of his/her executive and administrative qualifications and/or experience in public administration. Voters further agreed that anyone named city manager must relocate to the city within six months of appointment.
Defeated
Of the proposed changes that were defeated, the most significant were to raise council members' salary to $4,800 per year, and to allow the city manager to enter into a contract for work or services without a competitive bidding process according to the laws of the state.
State law generally allows officials to enter into a contract for services under $15,000, but voters declined to give that power to the city manager.
slshaulis@vindy.com