Brecksville Charter Amendments

The Brecksville Charter Review Issues on the November 2013 ballot are primarily administrative changes related to simplifying day-to-day government management functions.

Brecksville Charter Issues #9, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16 should receive a YES vote.

But there are two other proposals up for vote that could be costly and have a far-reaching impact should they pass. It is critical that the residents of Brecksville clearly understand these two Charter Issues before they vote:

BALLOT ISSUE #10: MANDATORY REFERRAL
(Changes major zoning decisions from voter-approved to Council-approved.)

This amendment takes the decision-making away from the residents of Brecksville and puts those decisions into the hands of City Council for major zoning issues. The commission’s reasoning is that it will speed decision-making to improve business competitiveness. But some very large parcels of property in the city may be available for development soon. Should such an important decision with such a major impact on residents be put into the hands of just seven people? Or should that decision be left to all?

BALLOT ISSUE #13: DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY
(Authorizes the Mayor to create a position of Director of Public Safety.)

The city has a Mayor plus two safety service department heads in a Police Chief and a Fire Chief, all of whom are paid six-figure salaries. This proposal would create a new position (likely with its own six-figure salary) to add an administrator in between, so that the Police Chief and Fire Chief would report to a Director of Public Safety, who would in turn report to the Mayor. The City of Brecksville has 13,500 residents. Do its citizens really need to pay yet another six-figure salary to manage these two relatively small departments?

VOTE NO ON BRECKSVILLE CHARTER AMENDMENT ISSUE #10 AND ISSUE #13!