City Charter

Wooster is a charter city. This means that it has adopted a model of home-rule government in accordance with the home-rule provisions found at Article XVIII of Ohio’s Constitution. Wooster’s Charter was originally adopted by the city’s electors on May 2, 1972.

The charter outlines the form of our municipal government. Its ten sections-called Articles-describe the form of government (Mayor-Administrator-Council); the powers and duties of the City Council; the powers and duties of the Mayor; the organization of the administrative branch; the civil service; taxation and finance; qualifications for office and elections to office; the organization of Wooster Community Hospital; and various general provisions, including the open meetings requirement and the decennial (every 10 years) charter review process.

With regard to the charter review process, every 10 years, the City Council appoints a panel of citizens to review the Charter and recommend proposed changes. Their recommendations are presented to the City Council, which then votes to place them on the ballot, at which point all city electors may vote to approve or disapprove the proposed amendments. In the past, charter review commissions have been appointed in 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010.

The current commission was appointed in February 2020. It held numerous public meetings to review the Charter and hear from citizens who wanted to offer testimony or suggestions for potential amendments. As a result of those meetings and their deliberations, the commission prepared a preliminary draft of proposed amendments to the Charter. City Council has approved those recommendations and passed Ordinance 2020-20. The citizens passed all amendments by popular vote on the November 3, 2020 ballot.