(A) If merger conditions agreed upon by a merger commission of a township and one or more municipal corporations are disapproved by a majority of those voting on them in the township or a municipal corporation proposed to be merged or in the municipal corporation with which merger is proposed, no further petitions shall be filed under section 709.45 of the Revised Code proposing the merger of any of the territory within that proposed merger for at least three years after the date of that disapproval.

If merger conditions are approved by a majority of those voting on them in each political subdivision proposed to be merged and in the municipal corporation with which merger is proposed, the merger is effective on the first day of January of the year following the certification of the results of the election by the board of elections with which the petition is required to be filed, unless the conditions specify a different date, in which case the date specified is the effective date of merger. On and after the effective date, the territory of each political subdivision proposed to be merged is annexed to and included in the territory and corporate boundaries of the municipal corporation with which the merger is proposed. The form of government, ordinances, resolutions, and other rules of the municipal corporation with which merger is proposed apply throughout the newly included territories to the extent they are not in conflict with the conditions approved by the electors. The charter, if any, of the municipal corporation with which merger is proposed applies throughout the newly included territories. The corporate existence and the offices of the municipal corporations or of the township proposed to be merged terminate on that date.

(B) The municipal corporation with which merger is proposed succeeds to the following interests of each political subdivision proposed to be merged in:

(1) All moneys, taxes, and special assessments, whether the moneys, taxes, or special assessments are in the treasury or in the process of collection;

(2) All property and interests in property, whether real or personal;

(3) All rights and interests in contracts or in securities, bonds, notes, or other instruments;

(4) All accounts receivable and rights of action;

(5) All other matters not included in divisions (B)(1) to (4) of this section.

(C) On and after the merger's effective date, the municipal corporation with which merger is proposed is liable for all outstanding franchises, contracts, debts, and other legal claims, actions, and obligations of the political subdivisions proposed to be merged.

(D) When a merger proposal includes the unincorporated area of a township, the board of county commissioners of the county in which the unincorporated area is located and the legislative authority of the municipal corporation with which merger is proposed shall negotiate an agreement requiring the county to continue providing within the unincorporated area for a determined period of time after the merger's effective date the county services it was providing within the unincorporated area on the day prior to the merger's effective date. During the negotiation process, each of the following shall occur:

(1) Before the merger's effective date, the board of county commissioners and the legislative authority of the municipal corporation shall each create a proposed transition plan that addresses, among other potential issues for agreement between the county and the municipal corporation, the following:

(a) The period of time the county will continue to provide the county services to the unincorporated area and the date upon which the municipal corporation will succeed to the county's responsibility of providing those services;

(b) Payment by the municipal corporation to the county for the continued provision of the county services to the unincorporated area during that period of time.

(2) On the merger's effective date, the board of county commissioners and the legislative authority of the municipal corporation shall exchange their proposed transition plans.

(3) Within thirty days after the merger's effective date, the board of county commissioners and the legislative authority of the municipal corporation shall meet to discuss the proposed transition plans and the creation of a compromise transition plan that addresses, among other potential issues for agreement between the county and municipal corporation, the issues listed in division (D)(1) of this section.

(4) Within sixty days after the date of the meeting between the board of county commissioners and the legislative authority of the municipal corporation under division (D)(3) of this section, the board and the legislative authority shall agree upon a compromise transition plan.

Effective Date: 09-29-1994; 04-07-2005 .