Tallmadge council begins overhaul of rules; debate centers on member mail budgets and meeting schedule

The Tallmadge City Council opened a broad first reading Thursday on proposed revisions to its rules of council (Ordinance 20 25-69). The working group that produced the draft recommended multiple changes; council members used the first-reading discussion to seek further edits on several points.

Key debates: one of the most contested items was proposed new Rule 37, which would allow each council member a modest budget for written constituent communications. Opponents said using city funds for individual mailings risks politicization and abuse; supporters argued the city already provides email, phone and other communications tools and a small mail allowance is reasonable. At one point Councilmember Donald Pavlik moved to strike Rule 37; he later recalled that motion after discussion. Members conducted an informal straw poll and gave direction to the law department to draft language that would require any city-funded written communications to come from council as a whole and be approved by a majority rather than sent by individual members on city funds.

Other proposals: Councilmember Pavlik suggested creating an agenda line item labeled “Matters Referred” to track requests council makes of administration; the council’s working group agreed this could be useful and asked staff to consider placement in the agenda flow. Council members also discussed shifting regular council-meeting times from 7 p.m. on Thursdays to 6 p.m., with several members expressing support for a 6 p.m. start; members asked the law director to draft language that preserves needed deadlines for administration and clerk processing and to propose an effective date (one suggestion was Jan. 1, 2026) to avoid disrupting the remainder of the year’s schedule.

Working-group composition and clerk vacancy: council discussed specifying bipartisan representation and requiring the council president to be on any working group formed to facilitate hiring a clerk of council. Members indicated a preference that a working group include the president of council plus bipartisan representation; they asked staff to return with proposed language.

Why it matters: rules of council shape transparency, how residents receive information from council, and the timetable for legislation and committee review. Changes to meeting times affect public access and staff timelines for producing agendas and supporting documents.

Next steps: Law Director Melanie Raber will draft revised language reflecting the straw-poll guidance (requiring council-funded communications to be approved by council as a whole, adding a “matters referred” option, and proposing meeting-time implementation language). The ordinance remains at first reading and will return for additional readings and formal votes.