Columbus City Council Announces Process To Fill Vacancies

COLUMBUS CITY COUNCIL

MEDIA ALERT

For Immediate Release: December 3, 2010

For More Information:

John Ivanic, (614) 645-6798

CITY COUNCIL ANNOUNCES PROCESS TO FILL VACANCIES

(Please Note - Application Deadline is Friday, December 17, 2010)

(COLUMBUS)—With the pending departure of City Council President Michael C. Mentel and Councilmember Charleta B. Tavares, City Council announced the application procedures to fill the two vacancies.

Following the recommendations prescribed in a memo by President Mentel, the City Clerk will accept applications from 8:00 a.m. on Monday, December 6, 2010 through 12:00 p.m. on Friday, December 17, 2010. Applicants must submit six copies each (one for each of the five remaining members of Council and one to be made available for media purposes) of a resume and a narrative of no more than two typed pages describing the issues and challenges facing Columbus. These documents must be accepted and time-stamped by the City Clerk’s office in City Hall Room 231 by the deadline. Emails and facsimiles will not be accepted. No exceptions will be made.

The City Clerk will schedule interview appointments to be held on Thursday, January 6, 2011 and Friday, January 7, 2011. The vote to appoint new Council members is tentatively scheduled for Monday, January 10.

A full copy of Mentel’s memo is provided below.

To: Columbus City Councilmembers

From: Columbus City Council President Michael C. Mentel

Cc: City Clerk Andrea Blevins

Date: December 2, 2010

RE: Proposed Procedures and Timeline for City Council Vacancies

With two vacancies on Columbus City Council soon to be created by the impending departure of Councilmember Tavares and myself, there are many imminent issues facing Columbus—such as the adoption of the 2011 general fund budget and the implementation of the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP)—that will require a full complement of Council members to address the city’s business. Thus, it is necessary to begin now in establishing a timeline and process to fill the vacancies in order to provide appropriate notice and guidance to the public and the remaining five-member Council caucus.

In an effort to help facilitate the appointment process in accordance with the public meeting requirements of the Columbus City Charter and Ohio Revised Code, I am proposing the following procedures and timeline listed below. It is an objective, practical, and timely approach to ensure minimal disruption to the daily operation of the city and permit emergency action to be taken if warranted by exigent circumstances.

It has been the longstanding policy of City Council that departing members refrain from any involvement or influence in the process to choose their replacements. Therefore, if a majority of the remaining five-member Council caucus agrees with this prescribed process, I would recommend the City Clerk work in conjunction with the Communications Director to publicize and implement these procedures as soon as possible.

TIMELINE and PROCEDURES

Monday, December 6, 2010 through Friday, December 17, 2010 – 12:00 p.m.

• Applicants must submit six copies (one for each remaining member of Council and one to be made available for media purposes) of their resume and a two-page narrative to the City Clerk. All applications must be physically received and time-stamped by City Clerk staff in Room 231 of City Hall by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, December 17. No emails or facsimiles will be accepted. Applicants are solely responsible for ensuring the City Clerk receives their information before the deadline. No exceptions will be made.

All information submitted by the applicants is considered public record and shall be made available upon request.

As always, each Council member is free to decide whether or not to schedule individual interviews with any of the applicants with whom they choose to meet. To help provide ample time to schedule these individual interviews, the City Clerk will provide copies of the applicants’ information to the five remaining Council members immediately upon submission.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 – 5:00 p.m.

• After reviewing the applications and conducting individual interviews at their discretion, the five remaining Council offices shall submit up to four names to the City Clerk for consideration to fill the vacancies. The names of these applicants and the member of Council who made the respective request are considered public information and shall be made available upon request. The City Clerk shall then contact these applicants to schedule interview appointments with the full five-member Council caucus.

Monday, January 3, 2011 – 5:00 p.m.

• Reorganization Meeting

Thursday, January 6, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.

• A public meeting shall be held (with all required notices to be published in advance in the City Bulletin) in order to enter into executive session for the sole purpose of interviewing applicants. (Per 121.22 (G) of the Ohio Revised Code, a “majority of a quorum” of the five remaining Council members must decide “by a roll call vote” to hold an executive session). Minutes shall be maintained by the City Clerk and no decisions or straw votes shall be permitted during executive session. Once the interviews are completed, the five remaining Council members shall adjourn out of executive session and enter back into the public meeting, which subsequently will be adjourned as well. Media and the public are free to attend the public portions of this meeting and may speak with any of the applicants before or after their interviews.

Friday, January 7, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.

• In a repeat of the day before, a public meeting shall be held (with all required notices to be published in advance in the City Bulletin) in order to enter into executive session for the sole purpose of interviewing applicants. (Per 121.22 (G) of the Ohio Revised Code, a “majority of a quorum” of the five remaining Council members must decide “by a roll call vote” to hold an executive session). Minutes shall be maintained by the City Clerk and no decisions or straw votes shall be permitted during executive session. Once the interviews are completed, the five remaining Council members shall adjourn out of executive session and enter back into the public meeting, which subsequently will be adjourned as well. Media and the public are free to attend the public portions of this meeting and may speak with any of the applicants before or after their interviews.

Monday, January 10, 2011 – 4:00 p.m.

• Pursuant to division (G)(1) of section 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code, a public meeting shall be held (with all required notices to be published in advance in the City Bulletin) in order to enter into executive session for the sole purpose of considering the appointment of two new Council members. Minutes shall be maintained by the City Clerk and no decisions or straw votes shall be permitted during executive session.

Monday, January 10, 2011 – 5:00 p.m.

• The five remaining Council members will adjourn out of executive session and enter back into the public meeting. The Council members shall then have the opportunity to nominate applicants for each of the two vacancies and vote to appoint new members. If a majority of the Council members vote to appoint a nominee, he or she shall then be eligible to be sworn in under oath and take office pursuant to Sections 5 and 202-1 of the Columbus City Charter.

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