(A) A petition may be filed with the board of elections proposing that one or more municipal corporations be merged with another municipal corporation, or that the unincorporated area of a township be merged with one or more municipal corporations, as provided by section 709.44 of the Revised Code. The petition may be presented in separate petition papers. Each petition paper shall contain, in concise language, the purpose of the petition and the names of not less than five electors of each affected municipal corporation, or the names of not less than five electors of the unincorporated area of the township and the names of not less than five electors of each affected municipal corporation, to be nominated to serve as commissioners. The petition shall be governed by the rules of section 3501.38 of the Revised Code. The petition shall contain signatures of electors of each municipal corporation or of each municipal corporation and the unincorporated area of the township proposed to be merged and signatures of electors of the municipal corporation with which merger is proposed, numbering not less than ten per cent of the number of electors residing in each such political subdivision who voted for the office of governor at the most recent general election for that office.

(B) The petition shall be filed with the board of elections of the county in which the largest portion of the population of the municipal corporation with which merger is proposed resides. The board of elections shall cause the validity of all signatures to be ascertained and, in doing so, may require the assistance of boards of elections of other counties as the case requires. If the petition is sufficient, the board of elections of the county in which the petition is required to be filed shall submit the question: "Shall a commission be chosen to draw up a statement of conditions for merger of the political subdivisions of ........., ..........., and ...........?" for the approval or rejection of the electors of each political subdivision proposed to be merged and the electors of the municipal corporation to which merger is proposed at the next general election, in any year, occurring subsequent to the period ending ninety days after the filing of the petition with the board. Provision shall be made on the ballot for the election, from each of the component political subdivisions, of five electors who shall constitute the commission to draw up the statement of conditions for merger of the political subdivisions. If any of the political subdivisions for which merger is proposed are located wholly or partially in a county other than the one in which the petition is required to be filed, the board of elections of the county in which the petition is filed shall, if the petition is found to be sufficient, certify the sufficiency of the petition and the statement of the issue to be voted on to the boards of elections of those other counties; the boards of elections of those other counties shall submit the question of merging and the names of candidates to be elected to the commission to draw up the statement of conditions for merger, for the approval or rejection of the electors in the portions of those political subdivisions within their respective counties; and, upon the holding of the election, the boards of elections of those other counties shall certify the election results to the board of elections of the county in which the petition is required to be filed.

(C) In addition to the filing of the petition with the board of elections as provided in division (B) of this section, a copy of the petition shall be filed with the legislative authority of each affected municipal corporation and, if applicable, the board of township trustees of the affected township. At a public meeting scheduled not less than thirty days before the date of the election at which the question of merging goes before the electors, each of those legislative authorities and, if applicable, the board of township trustees shall state and explain their position on the proposed merger.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.29, HB 48, §1, eff. 7/2/2010.

Effective Date: 08-22-1995; 04-07-2005