Latest news with #MontgomeryCountyBoardofElections
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Recount confirms Huber Heights school levy fails by 3 votes
HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WDTN) — Following May's election, the Huber Heights School levy was too close to call, prompting a recount. On June 5, an official recount took place, confirming the school levy failed by just three votes. School leaders say even though the levy failed, the district should be able to remain consistent with programs they offer students and class sizes for the next school year. Huber Heights school levy fails by three votes: Official results Officials say they are disappointed to have the levy fail by such a narrow margin, and now they must wait to see what they receive from state funding and property taxes to determine the impact. They say these budgets provide them with funding for school resources for students and staff. The budget should be finalized by July. Officials also say that staff reductions are not something they foresee as a result of the levy failing. Superintendent Jason Enix says they are grateful for the support they did receive from voters throughout the campaign. 'But for right now, we are moving forward. Still some unknowns before any final decisions are made going forward into next school year,' said Enix. Montgomery County Board of Elections says the most important thing during the recount was being transparent. 'We did have it live on Facebook, so you can see how transparent and how accurate the recount is and how accurate our Election Day results are,' said Jeff Rezabek, Montgomery County BOE director. Enix says the district must wait to evaluate their budget for the next year before they can determine what cuts, if any could be necessary. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Vandalia residents oppose development, have election spat with city leaders
Jun. 5—Petitions with nearly 600 signatures calling for a referendum vote on a Vandalia housing development have been ruled legally insufficient by the city of Vandalia despite a recommendation to the contrary by the Montgomery County Board of Elections. A group of Vandalia residents earlier this year formed a committee to petition for a public Election Day vote on a 167-home development planned at 7848 S. Brown School Road — a project facilitated by a city council-approved rezoning of the site in March. Using petition forms provided by the city of Vandalia, the resident group collected a total of 797 signatures, 683 of which were initially found to be valid by the Board of Elections in April — in excess of the 547 total votes required to get the issue on the ballot. But the petition forms the city provided contained critical errors, including the omission of mandatory legal statements to which the petition's circulator must agree, as required by Ohio election law. The referendum petition forms used by the committee did not include the full, required circulator's certification against election falsification under the penalty of law, including an attestation that all signers were qualified to sign the petition to the best of the circulator's knowledge. Rather than ruling the petition invalid altogether, the Board of Elections voted to recommend the city of Vandalia give petitioners another 10 days to re-collect signatures on corrected forms. However, the city contends the issue is not simply a signature deficiency, but rather a "legal defect in the petition format," and ruled the petition cannot proceed. 'Fair and common sense' Typically, the Montgomery County Board of Elections is involved in city-based referendum petitions only so far as to provide a courtesy check of signature validity and conduct elections under the cities' respective charters and election law. However, in this case, BOE Director Jeff Rezabek said the city requested the board also review the sufficiency of the petition itself, which ultimately lead to the board's vote to recommend the 10-day extension. Rezabek pushed back on a statement made by the city this week, claiming BOE officials inaccurately suggested the city is required to provide referendum petition forms. "I don't believe anyone said they were required to give out a petition, but rather that if they did, it's only fair and common sense that you would give out one that is correct so that petitioners could trust the city," he said. Vandalia responds Vandalia city officials said this week that petitioners were provided a petition form as a "courtesy," and that it was to serve as a "sample petition" to show what is needed to satisfy the city charter. "The petitioners are not required to get their petition from the city. They are, however, required to format the document in a standard fashion as required by the charter," city spokesman Rich Hopkins said via email Wednesday. "The petition the city provided was to serve as a guideline to format." City officials do not provide legal advice on the preparation or filing of referendums, and the city does not keep up with the latest laws and requirements for referendum petitions from the county or state level, Hopkins said. "Through every part of this referendum process, we have been as transparent and helpful as we could," he said. "We gave (petitioners) a sample petition that met the standards set forth in our charter. We also advised the petitioners both verbally and in writing that they should check with their own legal counsel to make sure the petition complies with any applicable election laws." 'A disappointment' Vandalia resident Jeff Hoagland lives near the South Brown School Road project site and assisted with signature collection for the referendum petition. Hoagland, who serves as president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition, spoke with the Dayton Daily News only in his capacity as a resident of Vandalia. Hoagland said he welcomes housing development in the city, and even on the South Brown School Road property, but he and many others in support of the referendum were in opposition to the project's proposed density and building materials. The property in question is north of Little York Road, south of I-70, and east of the Foxfire subdivision. Project plans call for the construction of 167-single family homes on the 85-acre site. Hoagland said the referendum petition outcome is "a disappointment." "To say that it's on the citizens to make sure that the form they gave to us is correct is very disappointing and is putting it back on the citizens of Vandalia," he said. Hoagland also said he disagrees that the provision of the form is a courtesy, as claimed by the city, citing the Section 9.3 of the city's charter. This section of the city's charter reads: "All petition papers presented to council relating to either initiative or referendum shall be uniform in size and character, and shall be substantially in the same format as provided by the clerk of council." "I know there are things that are up for interpretation, but when I read the phrase, 'provided by the clerk of council,' that isn't a courtesy," Hoagland said. "Everything in this process is really black and white and we followed it to a T."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Unit development ordinance halted after ‘legal insufficiency' issue
Video: Prior coverage announcing the new home of 'Flight Fest.' DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — An ordinance that may have opened the door to unit developments in Vandalia has been halted. Following a special council meeting Monday, June 2, the city announced that a referendum petition made to place Ordinance 25-02 onto November's ballot was denied. The ordinance approved a planned unit development and preliminary development plan as well as a zoning map change for land on 7848 South Brown School Road. It was initially passed by the council on March 3, 2025. The Montgomery County Board of Elections and Vandalia city officials cited 'legal insufficiency,' as the factor behind the new decision. The city received the referendum on April 2. Eight days later, the county's Board of Elections office determined that the referendum met the signature threshold required, with 683 valid signatures declared. On May 2, the owner of the property on South Brown School Road submitted a protest that challenged the validity of the referendum petition. The protest was reviewed and it was subsequently determined that the referendum was formatted incorrectly. 'Specifically, the petition failed to include a mandatory Falsification Notice required by Ohio Revised Code 3501.38(J),' the city said in a press release. The absence of the notice according to the city is how the petition was deemed a 'legal defect.' The city says that this also means that the petition can't be corrected, which had been advised prior, leaving the referendum process concluded. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Election officials share early voting numbers across local counties
Polls for Ohio's May Primary and Special Election open tomorrow. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, over the past week, people have been voting early and turning in their absentee ballots. TRENDING STORIES: 2nd grader accidentally orders 70K lollipops while playing on phone Food pantry closed after car crashes into building 'Murdered right in front of our eyes;' Family of man who died in jail custody calling for charges Voters around the Miami Valley shared why they voted early with News Center 7. 'It's important to me to always vote, and early is convenient for me. I'm retired!' Yellow Springs resident Connie Crockett said. Others commented on the issues that brought them to the polls. 'Mostly the school issues. And I'm not going to be in town on voting day,' Beavercreek resident Dawn Combs said. News Center 7 pulled data that shows they weren't alone in voting early. However, none of the local counties News Center 7's John Bedell asked were above 3% turnout for early voting: Greene County: 2.8% Miami County: 2.78% Montgomery County: 1.3% Warren County 1.2% 'We are expecting probably a lighter turnout than a lot of other elections,' Montgomery County Board of Elections Deputy Director Russ Joseph said. Last week, Montgomery County Board of Elections officials encouraged people to get out and vote. Polls will be open Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
