Voters in Fairlawn face a full plate of complicated ballot issues, including two proposed ordinances and three proposed charter amendments. The ordinances would tighten further already updated regulations on rental housing approved by the City Council last year. The charter changes would fundamentally alter the way the city is governed by imposing term limits on the mayor and members of the City Council and changing the law director from an appointed to an elected position. All are ill-advised.
Backed by the Fairlawn Neighborhood Homeowners Association, the ordinances on rental properties (Issues 13 and 14) would result in mandatory annual inspections, an approach rejected by the City Council last year. The ordinances were intended for last year’s ballot, but didn’t make it due to late filing. Two other issues, aimed at repealing what the council passed on rental housing, did make it to the ballot last fall, but were defeated. Now the homeowners association is back, seeking to enact ordinances that would establish a framework for and impose mandatory inspections.
Mayor Bill Roth and his administration, including the law director, rightly oppose Issues 13 and 14 because they would push the city into a dangerous legal position by violating constitutional protections against warrantless searches. As matters stand, inspections can be triggered when a tenant complains or if the city believes there are code violations, an adequate remedy and one that balances the city’s interests in protecting neighborhoods with the rights of property owners. Such decisions are best left to the city administration and elected representatives, not a narrow citizens group.
In the wake of the battle over rental housing, a freshman member of the City Council, Joe Simonetti, backed by the homeowners association, gathered signatures to place the three charter issues on the ballot after other members of the council rejected them.
Simonetti’s charter changes on term limits, Issues 15 and 16, would limit the mayor and members of the council to three four-year terms, not including their current time in office. Once again, that would be overkill. A majority of the current council members have served five or fewer years, indicating a healthy turnover that brings in new blood but preserves institutional memory.
While Fairlawn is not a large city, it sometimes faces difficult issues. Having experienced members is an asset. It is also important not to limit artificially the will of voters who wish to re-elect incumbents. Fairlawn voters can look to the Statehouse to see the damaging effects of term limits on the legislature, where members serve eight consecutive years.
Issue 17, making the law director an elected position, would needlessly inject a political agenda into an office that should be far removed from such pressure. Issue 17 appears to be little more than an effort to retaliate against the former law director, Ed Riegler, for his rejection of mandatory inspections of rental housing.
To see a summary of the Beacon Journal recommendations for the Nov. 8 election, go to http://www.ohio.com/editorial/endorsements.