In the upcoming November elections, Heath voters will be asked if they want to change how they receive public notices from local governments, and will weigh extending the city’s planning commission’s deadline to submit recommendations to council from 30 days to 60 days.
Where should the city publish public notices?
Currently, the city’s charter requires public notices to be published “in a newspaper within the Municipality at least fifteen days before the date of such public hearing.” The proposed change to section 4.13 of the Charter would allow Heath officials to publish such notices elsewhere.
Other municipalities in Licking County, like Newark and St. Albans Township, voted in earlier elections this year to move public notices to their local government websites and social media.
In 2023, the Ohio legislature amended Section 731.21 of the Ohio Revised Code to allow local governments to publish public notices “on the website and social media account of the municipal corporation” as an alternative to publication in the local newspaper or on a statewide public-notice website operated by the Ohio News Media Association.
Heath Mayor Mark Johns said this year the city has spent $12,654 on advertising public meetings and other local ordinances in newspapers, such as the Newark Advocate. If the charter passes, the city would continue to buy ad space until the charter amendment goes into effect in January 2027. In 2025, the city spent $16,846 on advertising.
“We just want to be able to utilize the avenues allowed for under state law, which our current charter does not allow for us to utilize all of those various avenues,” Johns said. “So that’s, I believe, the primary argument why city council chose to approve putting this charter amendment language on the ballot.”
Engagement from newspaper ads has dwindled, Johns said, especially from job postings. If Heath buys ad space to hire a police officer, he said, the number of resumes they receive is much lower than if they advertise with digital notices.
The specific language on the November ballot poses this question to Heath voters: “Shall applicable sections of the Charter of the City of Heath be amended to allow municipal ordinances, resolutions, statements, orders, proclamations, notices, and reports to be published in accordance with Ohio Revised Code section 731.21 and to strike an unconstitutional provision in section 4.13 of the Charter?”
As of now, Johns said, the city is waiting to see if the charter amendment passes before pursuing different options for where to publish public meetings.
Should deadlines for the Heath Planning Commission be extended?
The Planning Commission in Heath, which meets on the fourth Thursday of the month, is in charge of reviewing rezoning requests and submitting recommendations to City Council on the adoption of a rezoning ordinance.
Currently, the commission has 30 days to send recommendations on rezoning ordinances to the Clerk of Council.
The new charter amendment, if approved, will extend the 30 day deadline to 60 days.
“The gist of it is the 30 days doesn’t give us enough time,” said Heath City Council president Tim Kelley. “It’s more of a procedural thing than anything.”
Johns said that the 30-day deadline could be logistically very challenging to meet.
“It in no way, shape or form eliminates the need for the planning commission to make a recommendation,” Johns said. “It’s just helping to ensure that there isn’t a potential time crunch that could occur.”
He said there may be months where, for a variety of reasons, the planning commission cannot meet on their regular day. He does not want to set up a situation where the correct process is not followed for rezoning ordinances, simply because of time constraints.
“It’s to simply extend that time period to plan for any foreseen or unforeseen circumstances that could cause the planning commission to not be able to return a recommendation on a rezoning within 30 days,” Johns said.
Johns said there were no negative repercussions he could think of that would result from this change and he hopes the public will support the amendment.
“This charter amendment is just simply trying to head off what could be a potential problem, and another 30 days for the planning commission to provide its recommendation to council on a rezoning is not earthshattering,” Mayor Johns said.
Tyler K. Thompson and Ella Diehl write for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.
Thompson is one of two Kirtley Mather Fellows at The Reporting Project. The fellowship in memory of Kirtley Mather, Denison Class of 1909, provides students with opportunities to engage in service for the common good.