Every single one of the nine charter amendments on Orange Village ballots passed on Tuesday, each clearing at least 62 percent approval and most topping 83 percent. Turnout was strong too, with 71.4 percent of eligible voters in the village casting ballots, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Mayor Judson Kline credited plain-language explainers posted on the village website and sent through its electronic newsletter for helping residents make sense of a dense slate of charter language. “We put together some information to simplify and clarify what the issues were, so voters were better able to understand them and support them,” Kline said, as reported by cleveland.com. He added that the amendments were “mainly language cleanup and housekeeping,” and that their passage would keep the village “moving forward positively.”
The measures, listed as Issues 77 through 85, emerged from a Charter Review Commission appointed by Village Council in January and chaired by Scott Lewis. The ten-member panel met seven times between February and mid-May before recommending the full slate of changes, which Council then voted in July to place before voters.
Which Amendments Won by the Widest Margins
Issue 77, which swaps the charter's old reference to “State Militia” with “Ohio National Guard” in the list of positions a council member may hold, posted the strongest showing at 86.9 percent (1,529 votes) to 13.1 percent (230 votes). Issue 82 was close behind at 86.7 percent (1,563 votes) to 13.3 percent (262 votes); it lets council appoint special legal counsel by ordinance, set that counsel's pay, and do so without a mayoral veto. The village's charter-changes document spells out the exact language: council “shall exercise this authority by the passage of an ordinance appointing special counsel and establishing the pay for such counsel and the Mayor shall not have the authority to veto such legislation.”
Issue 85 drew 84.9 percent support (1,479 votes to 264 votes) and shortens the charter review cycle from every eight years to every six, with recommendations now due to council by June 1 and the panel empowered to request special counsel or other professional help with council approval. Issue 84, which removes expired language about older temporary levies while preserving the existing 3.7-mill permanent levy adopted in 2018, passed 84.7 percent to 15.3 percent. Issue 78, allowing a council member to be considered for removal after three unauthorized absences from regular meetings within any consecutive 12-month period, won 85.6 percent support.
Treasurer Oversight and the Closest Vote
Issue 79 passed with 83.6 percent approval, replacing automatic loss of office for a council member who becomes unqualified with removal procedures that follow federal and state due process requirements; it also allows the mayor to hold public employment outside the village unless the charter prohibits it. Issue 81, approved 76 percent to 24 percent, makes the treasurer head of the finance department and has the mayor appoint that position subject to confirmation by four council members. Issue 80, permitting the mayor to authorize a designee or mechanical device to sign village documents while recognizing that collective bargaining agreements limit the mayor's personnel authority, cleared with 64.8 percent.
Issue 83 had the toughest road of the nine, squeaking by with 62.4 percent (1,100 votes) to 37.6 percent (662 votes) — the least support of any measure on the ballot. It sets the Architectural Board of Review's quorum at four members, including at least one architect, and allows architect members to serve as paid village consultants at the mayor's direction.
Kline's Next Target: Village Hall and a New Fire Station
Kline said he was also pleased by the passage of Issue 8, the Orange Schools' 5-mill operating levy, and by the outcome of countywide issues on the same ballot. He described Tuesday's robust turnout as a chance to take the public's temperature. “It was a great opportunity to hear issues residents have and get them addressed, and I'm working on some of those already,” he said.
Looking ahead, Kline identified advancing the village's long-discussed Village Hall renovation and new fire-station construction as his next major objective, with the project intended to better facilitate village services and departments. His goal, per the same cleveland.com report, is to have council place a bond issue funding the project on a future May ballot. That timeline traces back to June, when Kline recommended shifting the bond question from a November vote to May 2027, saying the extra runway would help “get the community aligned behind it” without competing against the school levy for voter attention in the same election.
Council has not finalized how that financing will move forward. Earlier this year, members tabled an ordinance that would have authorized special counsel to advise the village on financing capital projects, according to citizenportal.ai, as council members sought more details on a proposed bond in the range of $17.9 million to $18 million for new police, fire and village facilities.
