City Council President Will Urschel announced during the regular meeting on Thursday, November 14, 2024, that Xenia City Council is entertaining resumes and cover letters from qualified candidates for appointment to the Council vacancies that will be created due to Mayor Sarah Mays’ election to the Greene County Commission and Councilman Levi Dean’s election to the Ohio House of Representatives/District 71, both terms commencing on January 1, 2025. Please be advised that Council will elect, by majority vote, one of the remaining five Councilmembers to serve as Mayor for calendar year 2025. However, Council is accepting applications from candidates who are interested in serving as Councilmembers with terms ending on December 31, 2025.
Per City Charter Article IV – City Council, be advised of the following criteria:
• A vacancy on Council is to be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members.
• Council may appoint anyone who meets the qualifications for candidates for City Council. The qualifications are as follows:
o Only qualified electors of the City who have physically lived in the City for at least two (2) years immediately prior to appointment shall be eligible to hold the office of Councilmember.
o Candidates shall not hold any other elective public office or other office or employment that has been found to be incompatible with the position of Councilmember by the Ohio Attorney General or the Ohio Ethics Commission, except where otherwise authorized by the City Charter.
Prospective candidates should submit the following minimum information:
• Documentation of residency and voter registration, including home address;
• Date(s) of residency;
• Email address, cell phone and/or landline number(s);
• Current employer and position;
• Past and current participation in the public service and private organization memberships, not including those associated with religious affiliation;
• Statement on whether the candidate or candidate’s employer provides services or products to the City or if the candidate is related to any existing City employee either by blood or marriage;
• Personal limitations on ability to attend evening and Saturday meetings*; and
• A statement about why the candidate wishes to be appointed to the City Council.
*Prospective candidates should consider that City Council meets at least twice a month on the second and fourth Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. Council may also conduct Special Meetings at other times as deemed necessary, including an all-day retreat tentatively scheduled for Saturday, January 11, 2025. Further, the appointed Councilmembers may be assigned as Chairs and/or members of Council Standing Committees or as Chairs of City Boards and/or Commissions.
Interested applicants should mail or hand deliver the requested information to City Clerk Michelle Johnson, City Administration Building, 107 E. Main Street, Xenia, Ohio 45385, or send via email to mjohnson@cityofxenia.org. The deadline for submittal is 5 p.m., Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Interviews with selected applicants will be scheduled for Friday, January 3, 2025. Council will make the appointments in open session, and the appointed members are tentatively scheduled to be sworn in at the January 9, 2025, Council meeting.
