[0:00] Good evening. Welcome to Lebanon City

[0:01] Council, December 2nd, 2025. Mr. Burke,

[0:04] please call roll. Mayor Messer here.

[0:06] >> Vice Mayor Norris here.

[0:08] >> Mr. Sers

[0:09] >> here.

[0:10] >> Mrs. Harper

[0:11] >> here.

[0:11] >> Mr. Lamera

[0:12] >> here.

[0:13] >> Mrs. Edgars

[0:13] >> here.

[0:14] >> Mr. Cook

[0:14] >> here.

[0:18] To you.

[0:20] >> I pledge allegiance.

[0:24] I aliance to the flag of the United

[0:27] States of America and to the republic

[0:30] for which it stands. One nation under

[0:33] God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:36] justice for all.

[0:43] » Okay. So, hi, my name is Mark. I'm a

[0:46] city attorney. We're here this evening

[0:49] uh to uh swear in council and have an

[0:54] organizational meeting where council um

[0:57] elects the mayor and vice mayor. So

[1:00] according to the charter of the city of

[1:02] Lebanon section 2.04 04 the beginning of a of a term of office

[1:08] for a council person. Um the term of

[1:11] office of council members shall begin on

[1:14] the first Monday in December following

[1:16] the regular municipal elections to be

[1:18] held on the first Tuesday after the

[1:20] first Monday in November in the odd

[1:23] number of years. Um some of you may not

[1:25] be familiar with drafting charters but

[1:28] they try to make it as opaque and

[1:30] confusing as you possibly can. Okay, I

[1:33] don't really

[1:34] give you very clear direction. It's a

[1:36] lot of mumbo jumbo, but um basically the

[1:40] council term started yesterday. And uh

[1:43] so council um uh following each

[1:46] municipal election, council shall meet

[1:48] within 5 days after the beginning of the

[1:50] term of office of the newly elected

[1:52] members of council for the purpose of

[1:53] organizing. Uh at such meeting the newly

[1:56] elected members of council shall take

[1:58] the oath of office and council shall

[2:00] proceed to elect a mayor and vice mayor

[2:03] and transact such other business as may

[2:05] come before it. Uh thereafter regular

[2:08] meetings shall be held as prescribed in

[2:10] the council rules but not less

[2:12] frequently than twice each month. All

[2:14] meetings of council shall be open to the

[2:16] public except that council may by

[2:18] majority vote of all members present

[2:20] enter into exe executive session uh only

[2:23] for those purposes uh permitted by the

[2:25] general laws of the state of Ohio and a

[2:27] majority of the members shall constitute

[2:29] a quorum at all meetings. So again, a

[2:31] lot of mumbo jumbo, but it basically

[2:33] means we're here to swear in new council

[2:34] members and to um elect a mayor and a

[2:39] vice mayor. um there is very little

[2:42] guidance and I'm sure if there was

[2:44] guidance it would be um confusing and

[2:46] awkwardly worded uh but there isn't any.

[2:49] So the way that we have proceeded

[2:52] customarily has been to begin um with an

[2:56] oath and uh I'll have council members

[2:59] sign two copies of the oath um which

[3:02] will be notorized by me. One of those

[3:05] will go in your personnel file and um

[3:08] one of them you can have if you want it

[3:10] sort of into your copy. I can I can I

[3:12] can accommodate that. But um they're

[3:14] just kind of on plain paper. Um, a lot

[3:18] of times in the past we've skipped when

[3:20] people have been reelected to council,

[3:22] but um, Council Member Edgars pointed

[3:25] out that it might be nice to have people

[3:27] um, come and uh, participate uh, family

[3:31] members and and fans and so forth. Um,

[3:34] so we're sort of starting a new

[3:35] tradition which I think I'm I'm for it.

[3:38] I'm very think it's very nice and I'm

[3:41] trying to, you know, somewhat organized

[3:43] over there. Um so uh if it's okay with

[3:46] you, mayor, we'll proceed in

[3:48] alphabetical order. Uh I'll take uh

[3:51] we'll state the oath down at the um the

[3:53] podium and then we'll go sign. Okay. So

[3:56] proceeding um alphabetically um I think

[4:00] uh Mr. H will be the first. Great

[4:04] person.

[4:10] So

[4:18] this

[4:21] I'm going to go ahead and give you

[4:31] not as organized you thought

[4:34] [laughter]

[4:38] have.

[4:44] Okay, here we go.

[4:47] I'm going to have to No, that's Oh,

[4:50] shoot. I see what I did.

[4:52] I'm going to have to do this. I'll redo

[4:55] this later. Okay,

[5:02] for those of you who are here and

[5:04] watching at home, this is harder than it

[5:06] looks. I swear guy. [laughter] I know I

[5:09] look like a bumbling bowing oath. I'm

[5:11] not going to say I'm not generally

[5:12] bowing, but this really is tougher

[5:16] than it looks. [snorts]

[5:22] All written out of 15 firefighters.

[5:26] >> I know. I know. I'm always sympathetic.

[5:30] >> Okay, if you um would uh raise your

[5:32] right hand, Mr. Co and repeat after me.

[5:35] I'm Michael Cop. I Michael Coat

[5:37] >> solemnly swear

[5:39] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[5:40] the United States

[5:41] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[5:43] the United States

[5:44] >> and the State of Ohio

[5:45] >> in the state of Ohio

[5:46] >> and will obey the laws thereof

[5:48] >> and I will obey the laws thereof

[5:50] >> and that I will

[5:51] >> in all respects

[5:53] >> uphold and enforce

[5:56] >> the provisions of the charter

[5:59] >> and ordinances of this city

[6:00] >> and ordinance of this city

[6:02] >> and will faithfully discharge

[6:05] >> the duties duties of the position of

[6:06] council member

[6:07] >> the duties of the position of council

[6:09] member

[6:09] >> upon which I'm about to enter.

[6:12] >> Congratulations, sir.

[6:13] >> Thank you.

[6:15] [applause]

[6:25] Mr. glamorous.

[6:44] [clears throat]

[6:45] My name's right. That's good.

[6:48] >> Now, what kind of city attorney would I

[6:50] be if I misspelled a council member's

[6:52] name? Well,

[6:53] >> there's a there's a lot of letters

[6:54] there. I I mean it could be a a typo

[6:56] could be but I you know that's like

[6:59] that's an inexcusable in my opinion.

[7:02] Okay. I can screw up everything else but

[7:04] I got the got to get the names right.

[7:07] Raise your right hand and repeat after

[7:08] me. I, Brad Lamro,

[7:09] >> I, Brad Lamaro,

[7:10] >> solemnly swear

[7:12] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[7:14] the United States

[7:15] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[7:17] the United States

[7:18] >> and of the State of Ohio

[7:20] >> and will obey the laws thereof

[7:22] >> and and will obey the laws thereof

[7:23] >> and that I will

[7:25] >> in all respects

[7:27] >> uphold and enforce

[7:29] >> the provisions of the charter

[7:32] >> and ordinances of this city

[7:34] >> and the ordinances of this city. I will

[7:36] faithfully discharge

[7:37] >> I will faithfully discharge

[7:38] >> the duties of the position of council

[7:40] member

[7:40] >> the duties of the position of council

[7:42] member

[7:43] >> upon which I'm about to enter.

[7:46] >> Congratulations sir.

[7:48] [applause]

[7:54] Mr. Norris,

[7:57] come on down. What the hell is that?

[8:05] » I'd run out. I was ready to triple the

[8:07] fall.

[8:08] >> No one want to fall. I think you do that

[8:11] coverage.

[8:14] » If you'd raise your right hand, please

[8:16] sir, and repeat after me. I Scott Norris

[8:18] >> I Scott Norris

[8:19] >> solemnly swear

[8:21] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[8:23] the United States

[8:24] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[8:25] the United States

[8:26] >> and of the State of Ohio

[8:29] >> I will obey the laws thereof

[8:30] >> and I will obey the laws thereof

[8:32] >> and that I will

[8:33] >> in all respects

[8:35] >> uphold and enforce

[8:37] >> the provisions of the charter

[8:40] >> and ordinances of this city

[8:43] >> I will faithfully discharge

[8:44] >> and will faithfully discharge

[8:46] >> the duties of of the position of council

[8:47] member

[8:48] >> the duties of the position of council

[8:50] member

[8:50] >> upon which I am about to enter

[8:51] >> upon which I'm about to enter.

[8:53] >> Congratulations

[8:55] [applause]

[9:04] Mr. Sellers,

[9:22] you have a lot of fans here, Mr.

[9:24] >> I do.

[9:26] That's good.

[9:28] If you would raise your right hand and

[9:29] repeat after me, please. I, Matt

[9:31] Sellers,

[9:32] >> I, Matt Sellers,

[9:33] >> solemnly swear

[9:34] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[9:36] the United States

[9:37] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[9:38] the United States

[9:40] >> and of the State of Ohio

[9:42] >> and will obey the laws thereof

[9:45] >> and that I will

[9:47] >> in all respects

[9:48] >> uphold and enforce

[9:51] >> the provisions of the charter

[9:53] >> and ordinances of this city

[9:56] >> and will faithfully discharge

[9:59] >> the duties of the position of council

[10:01] member

[10:01] >> the duties of the position of council

[10:03] member

[10:03] >> upon which I'm about to enter.

[10:06] >> Congratulations sir. [applause]

[10:17] Now that all the council people have

[10:20] been sworn

[10:24] we proceed to elect a mayor and vice

[10:27] mayor. Again, there's really no guidance

[10:30] in the uh charter as to specifically how

[10:34] that happens.

[10:35] So, historically, what we've done is

[10:38] there's been a motion to open

[10:40] nominations in a second. Nominations are

[10:43] then open and anybody can nominate

[10:47] anybody from the floor. [snorts] Uh

[10:49] after nominations are closed, if there

[10:52] are more than one council person who is

[10:57] has been nominated, we would hold a

[10:59] vote.

[11:01] Uh we've done that different ways. We've

[11:03] done it by hand vote. We've also done it

[11:05] by secret ballot before.

[11:08] >> [clears throat]

[11:08] >> Um,

[11:10] historically there haven't often been

[11:13] more than one person nominated for for

[11:16] these positions, but it's happened and

[11:20] um that's how we would proceed. So the

[11:23] uh a motion and a second u for to open

[11:26] nominations for vice mayor uh

[11:29] nominations, then a a motion and a

[11:31] second to close. Um, and we can do that

[11:34] by consent because laws doesn't require

[11:38] you to take a roll call vote. So, if

[11:40] there are no objections to both motions,

[11:43] [snorts] um, we either uh proceed to um,

[11:48] uh, swear in a vice mayor or hold an

[11:52] election for the vice mayor. Uh, same

[11:54] procedure um, with mayor. So, if that's

[11:58] agreeable to everybody, that's how um,

[12:00] we would proceed.

[12:03] Okay.

[12:04] >> Do you need a do you need a motion?

[12:06] >> No. Okay. We can just do that by

[12:08] consent. So, the first thing I need is a

[12:10] motion to open nominations

[12:13] for vice mayor. Do I have a Do I Do I

[12:17] have a second?

[12:17] >> Second.

[12:18] >> Okay. So, nominations are now open. Are

[12:21] there any nominations from the floor?

[12:23] >> I'd like to nominate Scott Norris.

[12:24] >> Second. Okay. So, there's a motion and a

[12:27] second to nominate Scott Norris. Any

[12:29] other nominations?

[12:32] Seeing none, do I have a motion to close

[12:35] nominations?

[12:36] >> Second.

[12:37] >> Okay. So, I have a motion in a second.

[12:39] Um, any objection to closing

[12:41] nominations? Seeing none, and seeing

[12:44] that Mr. Norris is the only person

[12:46] nominated. Um, it would appear that Mr.

[12:49] Norris has been uh elected to be the

[12:53] vice mayor. So sir, if you step down

[12:55] here

[13:03] and we're going to actually have to fill

[13:04] in your name here because I didn't know

[13:05] that you were going to be

[13:07] >> I had a hunch, [laughter]

[13:10] >> but I So if you raise your uh right hand

[13:14] and repeat after me, sir. I Scott Norris

[13:16] >> I Scott Norris

[13:17] >> solemnly swear

[13:19] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[13:20] the United States

[13:21] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[13:23] the United States

[13:24] >> and of the state of Ohio [snorts]

[13:25] >> and of the state of Ohio

[13:27] >> and will obey the laws thereof

[13:30] >> and that I will

[13:32] >> in all respects

[13:34] >> uphold and enforce

[13:37] >> the provisions of the charter

[13:40] >> and ordinances of this city

[13:43] >> and will faithfully discharge

[13:46] >> the position of vice mayor

[13:51] >> I'm sorry I should have said the duties

[13:53] of the position of vice mayor

[13:55] >> the duties of the position of vice mayor

[13:57] >> upon which I am about to enter

[13:58] >> upon which I'm about to enter

[14:00] >> congratulations vice mayor [applause]

[14:07] » does he give a speech at all he may have

[14:10] don't give him a Recognize [laughter]

[14:17] the real strange behind Scott.

[14:20] [laughter]

[14:22] » I call her my avatar. [laughter]

[14:29] » If I called my wife my avatar, I'd get

[14:30] pained in the head [laughter]

[14:32] asleep probably.

[14:35] I'm just saying [laughter]

[14:38] have a lot of patience. You're going to

[14:40] be commended for that.

[14:44] » So, we can proceed um to elect a mayor

[14:46] by the the same method. Do I have a

[14:50] motion nominate open nominations for

[14:52] mayor?

[14:53] >> I nominate Mark Me. Sorry.

[14:55] >> Okay. So, there's a motion to open

[14:56] nominations.

[14:58] >> Any objection to opening nominations?

[15:03] >> Now you Now,

[15:04] >> now I will nominate Mark. I haven't I

[15:07] haven't changed my mind.

[15:09] >> [laughter]

[15:10] >> that.

[15:11] >> Are there any other nominations?

[15:15] >> Seeing none, is there a motion to close

[15:16] nominations?

[15:19] >> Uh, no objections. Congratulations, Mr.

[15:22] Messer.

[15:24] >> As a fiscal conservative, I'm liking

[15:26] this because we don't have to print.

[15:29] [clears throat]

[15:31] Save the taxpayer a couple nickels.

[15:32] >> There we go.

[15:33] >> Always a good night, right?

[15:35] >> If you'd raise your hand, sir, and

[15:36] repeat after me. I'm Mark Messer. I

[15:38] Marker

[15:39] >> solemnly swear

[15:40] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[15:42] the United States

[15:43] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[15:44] the United States

[15:45] >> and of the State of Ohio

[15:47] >> and will obey the laws thereof

[15:50] >> and that I will

[15:51] >> in all respects

[15:53] >> uphold and enforce

[15:55] >> the provisions of the charter

[15:56] >> provisions of the charter

[15:57] >> and ordinances of this city

[15:58] >> and the ordinances of this city

[16:00] >> and will faithfully discharge

[16:01] >> I will faithfully discharge

[16:02] >> the duties of the position of mayor

[16:05] >> upon which I'm about to enter

[16:07] >> upon which which I'm about to enter.

[16:08] >> Congratulations.

[16:09] >> Thanks, SIR. [applause]

[16:15] » AGAIN, I have some paperwork um for you

[16:18] all to sign um while we're having our

[16:21] special meeting downstairs. And at this

[16:23] point, I would turn that back over the

[16:25] meeting back over to our newly elected

[16:29] um highly experienced mayor.

[16:33] >> Congratulations.

[16:34] >> Thank you very much. So nervous.

[16:37] >> [laughter]

[16:38] [clears throat]

[16:39] >> So, I could uh if you'd like to open up

[16:41] to any council comments at this point,

[16:44] we can. I know we have that again at the

[16:46] meeting, but you'd like to address

[16:49] anything.

[16:50] >> How were the crews today? I mean, it

[16:51] kind of spot on. Uh

[16:57] » yeah, I mean, it it came down heavy

[17:00] about 3:00 a.m., but um they were out

[17:02] there. So, you know, focused on the

[17:04] primary roads initially and then kind of

[17:05] got back into the subdivisions later and

[17:07] cleaned it up. So, they did a good job.

[17:09] >> From my perspective, they did great.

[17:14] Uh, I'd just [clears throat] like to

[17:15] thank everyone uh for the support. I

[17:17] look forward to working with you all.

[17:20] Congratulations, Vice Mayor Norris. Be

[17:22] uh great to work with you again for the

[17:24] next two years. Um, congratulations on

[17:27] your your victory. [snorts]

[17:29] Uh and uh I think the the city will be

[17:32] moving in a very fine direction uh due

[17:35] to the uh people voting you guys back

[17:37] in.

[17:39] So we can adjourn to the

[17:43] boardroom if uh if that's how you would

[17:45] like this to go.

[17:47] >> Yeah, we just need a motion to close the

[17:48] organizational meeting.

[17:51] >> Motion second.

[17:54] >> B, please call the role.

[17:55] >> Mayor Messer,

[17:56] >> yes.

[17:56] >> Vice Mayor Norris,

[17:58] >> yes. Mr. Sers,

[17:59] >> yes.

[18:00] >> Mrs. Harper,

[18:01] >> yes.

[18:01] >> Mr. Lamura,

[18:02] >> yes.

[18:03] >> Mrs. Zaggers,

[18:04] >> yes.

[18:04] >> Mr. Co,

[18:05] >> yes.

[18:11] » Oh, yeah.

[18:13] >> Thank you.

Lebanon Council Organizational Meeting 12/2/25

Transcript