Local Community Group Explores 'Council/Manager' Form of City Government

Dustin Pearce

On May 12th, 2025, the Wilmington Charter City Steering Committee held their 2nd quarter public workshop at the Murphy Theatre to gather community feedback on the idea of Wilmington becoming a Charter City with a Council/Manager form of government.

Background (Statutory vs. Charter)

The City of Wilmington is currently a Statutory City, governed by the default statutes of the Ohio Revised Code, which outlines the structure and powers of municipalities. This is unlike a Charter City, which has its own governing document. Nearby Charter Cities include Lebanon, Loveland, Tipp City, Miamisburg, and Xenia. In fact, "68% of Ohio cities with the same population as Wilmington are a Charter City", stated Dustin Pearce, the public workshop's facilitator.

Currently, Wilmington is legislated by seven city council members (plus a president) and then administered by a mayor, all elected. A charter would allow Wilmington to adopt a 'Council/Manager' form of local government, where the mayor’s role would shift from administrative to legislative, as the president over city council meetings. The legislative body's terms would extend from two years to four years, allowing them time to focus on efficiency rather than reelection. Together, these voter elected officials would hire and fire a full-time experienced city manager to oversee daily operations and key department heads, such as the chief of police, street maintenance superintendent, and transit director.

A short video from the City of Westerville, Ohio, was played to give a history of Ohio's first Charter City and explain Council/Manager government. In the video, Michael Heyeck, a Westerville Councilman, compared a Charter City to a business, where city council is like a board of directors and the city manager is the CEO. He stated, "The CEO ensures continuity… The board can change, but if you have the CEO—that continuity—assures a long-term view of the city, not looking at the next election or the next council meeting... When you're building roads that last decades, when you're looking at economic development employers that we hope will be here for decades, it's much better to have that long view—and a city manager really ensures that continuity."

Workshop 1 (Benefits & Concerns)

At the workshop, residents discussed benefits and concerns of a Charter City. Some noted that a Council/Manager form of local government could provide "stability," "continuity," "consistency," and a "long-term vision." They wrote that the charter could be "tailored for us," lead to "more immediate accountability," "better business relationships," "experienced staff," and help with "long-term grants". Finally, residents noted that it would allow the city to have "home rule rather than state rule," and "not be so disruptive when mayors change."

In regards to concerns, some participants worried about possible changes happening too quickly and wondered about the salary of a city manager. Some questioned how a Charter City would provide "more consistency", "tax benefits", "easier grant processes", and "more experienced leaders". One resident in attendance, Jason Stoops, responded to concerns by explaining Wilmington's current government: "We put a traffic light up. That's not free. We take the traffic light down. That's not free. We do these ten-year studies, but then we abandon the ten-year studies four years in... We have so many long-term city plans that nobody has followed through with because every administration goes back and forth." Pearce added that the City of Loveland's city manager attended a previous workshop and stated that he "brings in more grant money per year than his salary", and pointed to a recent grant funded parking lot in their downtown.

Workshop 2 (Community Benefits)

Residents wrote that more experience and consistent leadership could help address community issues ("crime" and "housing"), honor local heritage ("agriculture," "Quaker," and "small city atmosphere with big city amenities"), strategically highlight points of pride ("Wilmington College", "Air Park", and "Murphy Theatre"), and make dreams a reality ("parking" and "community rec center").

Workshop 3 (Comparing Charters)

Residents analyzed Lebanon’s and Loveland’s charters, noting similarities in their structures. Then, residents broke into groups to compare and contrast the two charters' sections on their city council and city manager to gather ideas on what to possibly include in Wilmington's charter. One resident noted that it would be helpful to craft a preliminary charter so that voters know what they would be voting on.

Steering Committee (Update)

The Wilmington Charter City Steering Committee is currently seeking to fill their 15 member leadership committee by their next meeting on August 12, 2025 that will be from 7pm to 8pm at The Murphy Theatre. The steering committee is seeking interested key community stakeholders who represent Education, Housing, Agriculture, Senior Services, Legal, Veterans, Large Employers, Next Generation, and Politics (Conservative). Current members includes Michael Allbright (Democrat), Bruce Saunders (Recreation), Jason Vaughan (Downtown), John Wirmel (Faith), and Sydney Murtland (Homelessness).

Learn more and view recordings of past meetings at wilmingtoncharter.com.