Voters to decide on non-partisan proposal

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A partisan or non-partisan city council and administration? That’s the question voters in the city of Van Wert will decide in November.

Currently, anyone who runs for a Van Wert council seat or administrative post such as mayor appears as a Democrat, Republican or Independent on the May primary ballot and the November general election ballot.

During Monday night’s meeting of Van Wert City Council, Mayor Ken Markward said by switching to non-partisan races locally, the city would save a few thousand dollars annually by eliminating the need for a partisan primary. He also informed council members that he submitted valid petitions to the Board of Elections to put the issue on the fall ballot.

“We currently elect our township trustees and our school board members with the non-partisan system,” Markward said. “Anyone choosing to run has their name on the November ballot, and there is no primary for either of those positions.”

“This would only affect the 11 elected positions in this room, along with the City Treasurer, who does not typically attend council meetings,” the mayor continued. “These positions are voted on in odd-numbered years. It would not change anything at the county, state or federal levels. Those primaries would still occur in even-numbered years.”

“It also would not take away any other organization’s right to have a May election, if they chose to do so. For example, last year the Van Wert County Council on Aging had an issue on the May ballot. They would still be allowed to do so, along with all the other organizations that are allowed to submit ballot issues, such as the Brumback Library, OSU Extension, Van Wert City Schools, Thomas Edison and Vantage.”

Markward said the November ballot issue will read something like “Shall candidates for election as officers of Van Wert in the county of Van Wert be nominated as candidates by nominating petition and be elected only in a non-partisan election?” Voters will choose “yes” to make a chance or “no” to continue the current partisan elections.

“My motivation for presenting this option to the voters is so they can decide whether or not they would like to take advantage of the opportunity to remove an expense from the budget that we are not required to have,” Markward said.

Council members Jeff Kallas and Andrew Davis voiced support for the proposal, while a couple of residents in attendance said they’re against it.

The mayor brought two other subjects for council members to ponder, include a possible discussion on whether to return the mayor’s job to part time. After numerous discussions, council members changed the job to full time in 1979, and he noted since then, opinions have varied if the change should have been made.

“We are now in the 11th mayoral term since that decision was made and I believe that some of the reasons that justified the change no longer exist,” Markward said. “Without trying to make an exhaustive list, I will simply mention the arrival of email, video meetings and the creation of the Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation (VWAEDC). In the fall of 2018, prior to adopting the salaries for this term, there was a suggestion during the meeting that perhaps it was time to return the mayor’s position to its original part-time status.”

“However, it is my opinion that the matter was never thoroughly discussed,” he added. “Barely ten minutes were spent on the subject, in part because of the approaching deadline for having the ordinance in place, so no change was made at that time.”

Any decision would ultimately be made by council.

Markward’s third suggestion was to have council members consider a pay decrease.

He said one of the previous reasons for pay increases centered around retirement credits through the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. Since 1982, pay for council members has gone from $2,400 to $4.900, which is far below the $8,500 needed to receive a year’s credit from PERS.

“I hope you agree with me that this would not be appropriate for Van Wert,” Markward said. “The point I am trying to make is that the justification for some of the previous pay increases no longer exists, and that council should consider a downward adjustment for the next term.”

It’s not yet know if or when a discussion will be held on Markward’s suggestion.