Ohio § 709.46

§ 709.46.

(A) If the question of merging one or more municipal corporations and the unincorporated

area of a township, as provided in section 709.45 of the Revised Code , is disapproved by a majority of those voting on it 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 that section proposing the

same merger for at least three years after the date of that disapproval. If the question of merging is approved by a majority of those voting on it in each

political subdivision proposed to be merged and in the municipal corporation with

which merger is proposed, the five candidates from each of those political subdivisions

shall be elected to the commission to formulate the conditions of merging the political

subdivisions.  The first meeting of the commission shall be held in the chamber of the legislative

authority of the municipal corporation that has the smallest population or, in the

case of a merger of the unincorporated area of a township and one or more municipal

corporations, in the office of the board of township trustees, at nine a.m. on the

tenth day after the certification of the election by the last of the respective boards

of elections to make that certification, unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or

holiday, in which case the first meeting shall be held on the next day thereafter

which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. The clerk of the municipal legislative authority or the fiscal officer of the board

of township trustees in whose chamber or office the first meeting of the commission

is held shall serve as temporary chairperson until permanent officers are elected.  The commission shall elect its own permanent officers and shall proceed to meet

as often as necessary to formulate conditions for merger that are satisfactory to

a majority of the members of the commission from each political subdivision. (B) In case of a vacancy on the commission, the vacancy shall be filled by an appointee

of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation, or the board of township

trustees of the township, that the prior commissioner represented.  The person appointed to fill the vacancy shall be an elector of that political subdivision

and, if the person is representing a township, shall reside in the unincorporated

area of that township. (C) The costs of the commission shall be divided among the participating political subdivisions

in proportion to the population that each participating political subdivision bears

to the total population of the territory proposed to be merged.  For these purposes, a township's population shall be based solely upon the population

of the unincorporated area of the township proposed to be merged.  It shall be a proper public purpose for a municipal corporation or township to expend

general fund moneys for these payments. (D) All meetings of the commission shall be subject to the requirements of section 121.22 of the Revised Code .