NELSONVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) — Between the lawsuits, infighting, demotions and ballot initiatives, it’s easy to forget Nelsonville is home to just 4,500 residents. The Appalachian city is pioneering a new course for Ohio municipalities — or at least, it’s trying to.
In November, citizen-led ballot initiative Issue 23 passed with 70% of the vote, making Nelsonville the first Ohio city to abolish its charter. Now, city officials say the turmoil continues as they try to set up the incoming system of government within the limits of its still-active charter.
Nelsonville adapted its current city charter on Jan. 1, 1995, with citizens voting to be governed by their own set of laws under an elected city council and an appointed city manager. On Jan. 1, 2026, the city will revert back to its precharter government. This will create a statutory government, or a city government that defaults to Ohio’s standard municipal system of governance.
Nelsonville Law Director Jonathan Robe said his job is to help the current city council and the city’s new Advisory Committee on the Implementation of Issue 23 figure out how to set up the government legally. It’s no small feat; Nelsonville’s current government is operating under the charter, which does not give city council powers over some aspects of a statutory government.
One big concern is salaries. Nelsonville’s charter doesn’t have an elected mayor or law director, with Robe serving in an appointed role. This means Robe believes there is no clear legal way to set those salaries until the new government takes the helm.
State law also says city officers’ salaries cannot be increased or diminished during their term, so the incoming government wouldn’t be able to implement those salaries until 2030, when their initial terms would expire. Under this interpretation, the mayor and law director would work on a $0 salary for four years. However, a 20th century Ohio court case determined changes in compensation can be made if no fixed salary has been created for the office when officials take the role.
“Until and unless the legislature has acted to create a salary, it can not be said to have
increased, diminished or changed a salary which is nonexistent,” the decision in Derhammer v. Medina County Board of Commissioners reads.
Robe said another possibility would be reverting to the salaries that were in place when Nelsonville first adopted the charter, but these would not be able to be adjusted for inflation. He said in 1994, the law director was paid around $25,000 per year. According to the Ohio Checkbook, Robe received $66,141 in 2024.
“That’s still not a sufficient salary to be able to attract good legal representation,” Robe said.
As an elected position, the law director must also live in the city to run for office, making Robe, an Athens resident, ineligible. According to the Ohio Supreme Court’s attorney directory, there are four active attorneys in Nelsonville. Of those four eligible possible law directors, one works as an Athens City Prosecutor and another is the president of Hocking College.
If none of those few lawyers runs for the role, the new mayor would be allowed to appoint a temporary acting law director, but Robe said they would still face the salary problem. According to the Athens County Common Pleas Court, Nelsonville has been involved in 23 lawsuits in the last five years, so the role’s high workload is unlikely to attract free labor.
Another complication is the ability to create wards, which Robe said will be required for a statutory government. The Ohio League of Women Voters has intervened with this hurdle, helping to draw up proposed ward maps this year with community feedback.
“Proposed ward maps can be drawn up over the summer through a public and transparent process via a series of townhalls and be ready to present to the new Council in January 2026 for adoption,” Robe said. “For this, the city is grateful to the League for offering assistance.”
Nelsonville residents will have the chance to vote on a possible solution in May’s special election. City council placed an ordinance on the ballot to replace Issue 23 and offer guidance for salaries and wards. This ordinance faced a brief lawsuit, which was withdrawn when the Nelsonville resident behind it thought the issue would fail.
Nelsonville had hoped to get clarity from the Ohio Supreme Court on how to proceed with repealing the charter, but the court declined the case in late February.
The city can now look to the May primary election, where only four residents have put forth their names for elected office. Nelsonville’s primary will see two councilmember candidates, one mayoral candidate and one candidate for city auditor. City law director and treasurer have no applicants, nor do any of the five remaining council seats, so Nelsonville’s new government may have to start small.