NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio -- A proposed municipal charter amendment that will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot has been so controversial that, for the first time, City Council formed an ad-hoc committee to edit the amendment’s language.
The committee -- consisting of council members Joanne Krejci, Paul Marnecheck and Michael Wos, plus Michael Michalski and Joel Spatz, both members of the 2025 Charter Review Commission -- voted July 7 to make two minor changes in the amendment’s wording.
The proposed amendment, which is Issue 25 on the ballot, is controversial because it may in effect force council President Marnecheck to either step down from office or quit his full-time job with the City of Brook Park.
“This is not good government,” Marnecheck told cleveland.com. “This is politics at its worst.
“They couldn’t beat me at the ballot box, so they are using shenanigans to try to overturn the will of the people. Simply put, this is un-American.”
Issue 25 would prohibit council members from holding an “appointed” position with any other federal, state, county, municipal or school district government.
Marnecheck was appointed commissioner of economic development for the City of Brook Park in February 2022. His responsibilities include drawing in businesses to increase Brook Park’s tax base.
Marnecheck served on the ad-hoc committee that adjusted the charter amendment’s language.
An Ohio Ethics Commission legal opinion -- which Marnecheck himself sought -- said that he should not have served on the committee due to a conflict of interest.
However, the opinion came too late -- after the committee had voted on the two language changes in the proposed charter amendment.
Early voting on Issue 25, along with two other charter amendments and various council races, started Oct. 7.
Collaborative Committee
Before 2021, under the city charter, council was required to place all proposed charter amendments recommended by the charter review commission on the ballot.
Council was not permitted to keep an amendment recommended by the commission off the ballot or change the language of an amendment.
Under a charter amendment proposed by council and approved by voters in November 2021, if a majority of council disagrees with the charter commission over the language of a charter amendment headed to the ballot, two commission members, two council members and the council president would form a collaborative committee “to determine by majority vote on the actual text of the amendment” submitted to voters.
This year, after the 2025 charter commission made its recommendations, council decided to appoint a collaborative committee for the amendment that would become known as Issue 25.
On June 17, Law Director Tom Kelly told council that he didn’t see a conflict of interest for Marnecheck, as council president, to serve on the collaborative committee, even though Issue 25 might directly affect him if passed by voters.
However, Kelly added that to avoid even an appearance of a conflict, Marnecheck should recuse himself from the committee.
Marnecheck, working through his own lawyer, said he was seeking another opinion from the Ohio Ethics Commission.
Defining ‘appointed’
The collaborative committee met just once, on July 7. Marnecheck, still waiting for a legal opinion from the ethics commission, took part in the committee meeting.
Wos, a committee member, recommended two changes to the Issue 25 charter amendment.
Originally, the amendment read, “No member of council ... shall hold any other elected or appointed office or be employed by (the City of North Royalton), except for employment with a board of education or a school district...”
Wos said the phrase allowing board of education or school district workers to serve on council was unnecessary, because school board members are elected officials and can’t serve in two elected offices at the same time.
Meanwhile, the mention of school district employees wasn’t necessary, Wos said, because the charter amendment already established that appointed officials -- including a district superintendent or treasurer -- cannot hold a council seat. Non-appointed school workers, like teachers, can be council members.
Secondly, Wos wanted to clarify in the amendment the definition of an “appointed” public official.
He suggested that the terms “elected” and “appointed” officials be defined as “any position in federal, state, county, municipal or school district government to which a person is chosen by election or appointed by a public official or body.”
Marnecheck voted no on both recommended changes and suggested that the charter commission was targeting him to get him out of office.
Marnecheck asked Spatz -- a member of the collaborative committee and chairman of the charter commission -- who first suggested the Issue 25 amendment to the charter commission.
Spatz said the commission was studying potential conflicts of interest, and most commission members agreed that council members should not hold appointed positions for governments in other municipalities.
Grandfather clause
At the committee meeting, Marnecheck did not recommend applying the charter amendment, if approved by voters, only to future council members, thus “grandfathering” him in.
Marnecheck said he didn’t suggest a grandfathering clause because the idea had already been discussed by the charter commission in February and by council in May and never gained traction.
“It’s clear that they did not want a grandfather clause,” Marnecheck told cleveland.com. “This (charter amendment) was aimed directly at me.”
Krejci, who was chairperson of the collaborative committee, said she would have been opposed to a grandfathering clause.
“Since the purpose of this amendment is to avoid conflicts of interest, it would be counter-intuitive to allow someone to remain in a position that has been determined to have a conflict of interest under the new law,” Krejci told cleveland.com.
Wos agreed, adding that if the charter amendment passes on the ballot, it’s not a foregone conclusion that Marnecheck would have to leave his council position.
“If the amendment is passed, conflicts would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, something our law director has stated many times,” Wos said.
“Should and if a conflict be determined, the individual in conflict would have the choice to resign one position or the other,” Wos said.
“They could absolutely remain on council if they opt to step away from a conflicting role.”
Ethics opinion
In a July 18 legal opinion, the Ohio Ethics Commission said it would be a conflict of interest for Marnecheck to serve on the collaborative committee.
The commission, in a letter to Marnecheck, said it’s a conflict because his serving on council while keeping his full-time position with the City of Brook Park is a financial benefit to him.
Ohio law prohibits elected officials from using their authority or influence to “secure anything of value.”
“This means you cannot participate on the (collaborative) committee or as a member of council on matters regarding the (charter amendment),” the ethics commission said.
“You cannot vote, discuss, deliberate, lobby other committee or council members or act in any other manner, formally or informally, regarding the (charter amendment),” the ethics commission said.
“Although the voters of the city will ultimately decide whether to adopt the (charter amendment), your participation in any stage of the process leading up to such vote is prohibited,” the ethics commission said.
Krejci said Marnecheck should not even be discussing or campaigning against the Issue 25 charter amendment with anyone, let alone serve on the collaborative committee.
Marnecheck said he and his attorney are appealing the ethics commission opinion.
“As my attorney stated at the Oct. 7 council meeting, the Ohio ethics law focuses on official actions that create a particularized personal benefit -- something that is not present here -- and I do not forfeit my First Amendment right to express a personal viewpoint because of my official role,” Marnecheck told cleveland.com.
“The appeal process is ongoing, and I hope the ethics commission will reverse their opinion,” Marnecheck said.
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