What does a YES vote on Franklin County Issue 22 mean?

Gahanna's charter would no longer list city departments, while keeping the Director of Finance's charter duties, with related organizational changes.

What does a NO vote on Franklin County Issue 22 mean?

The charter would keep its current list of city departments.

Would any City department be eliminated?

The amendment itself does not abolish a department; it removes the separate Charter sections for each one and lists departments the City "shall include." The Mayor's existing power to create, merge or abolish departments under Section 5.02 is unchanged.

What stays in the Charter about the Finance Director?

The Director of Finance, appointed by the Mayor, remains the City's chief financial officer, exercising duties required by Ohio law, the Charter and City ordinances and reporting on City finances when the Mayor or Council asks.

How many votes does Franklin County Issue 22 need to pass?

A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.

Should I vote yes or no on Franklin County Issue 22?

SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.

The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.

Franklin County Issue 22 — Gahanna – Proposed Charter Amendment

Last updated Sat, Nov 7, 4:07 PM ET

Ballot measure · November 3, 2026 · Gahanna voters

What it does: Gahanna – Proposed Charter Amendment — Shall Article V, Administrative Departments, be amended to remove department listings, preserving the Charter duties of the Director of Finance, and making related organizational changes?
A YES vote means: Gahanna's charter would no longer list city departments, while keeping the Director of Finance's charter duties, with related organizational changes.
A NO vote means: The charter would keep its current list of city departments.
Needed to pass: A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
Left–right lean: Not a left–right issue: a procedural or local question that liberals and conservatives don't typically split on (AI read of the official ballot summary).

The YES and NO lines are SpectrumVote's plain-language reading of the official text above; the official text is what you vote on.

Official text: source

Explained

Today

Article V of Gahanna's Charter lists the City's administrative departments: Finance; Public Service and Engineering; Parks and Recreation; Human Resources; Planning and Development; Emergency Management; Technology; Court Services; and Public Safety, plus others created by ordinance.
Sections 5.04 to 5.11 give each listed department a section naming its director and duties. Section 5.02 separately lets the Mayor create, abolish, merge or combine departments (except one headed by an elected official).
Section 5.13 says the Chief of Police and police officers and personnel are appointed by the Director of Public Safety "subject only to applicable Civil Service provisions of this Charter."

If it passes

Section 5.01 would say the City's departments "shall include" Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Court Services, Public Service, Engineering, Planning, Parks and Recreation, Economic Development, Public Safety and Emergency Management, with other departments created under Section 5.02.
Sections 5.04 to 5.11 (the separate department sections) would be repealed. The Director of Finance's duties as chief financial officer would be kept, moved into Section 5.02.
Section 5.02 would add that all department directors are selected on the basis of expertise and administrative qualifications. The Mayor's power to reorganize departments would stay.
In Section 5.13, the words "subject only to applicable Civil Service provisions of this Charter" would be removed.

Who would notice

Gahanna's Mayor and City department directors, and the organization of City services. It has no tax effect.

How it got here

Recommended by the 2026 Charter Review Commission, which said it resolves a conflict between the Mayor's reorganization authority (added in 2021, in Section 5.02) and the fixed department list in Sections 5.04-5.11, and removes the Civil Service reference in the police section because the police chief is an unclassified employee. Council placed it on the ballot by Resolution RES-0030-2026, passed July 20, 2026.

Written by SpectrumVote from 3 linked sources (1, 2, 3). Arguments are each side's own, not ours; the official text is what you vote on.

Background

Gahanna's charter currently lists the City's administrative departments by name (Finance, Public Service and Engineering, Parks and Recreation, Human Resources, Planning and Development, Emergency Management, Technology, Court Services and Public Safety), with a separate section for each in Sections 5.04 through 5.11.

According to the reasoning column in Exhibit A of Resolution RES-0030-2026, the change is meant to resolve a conflict between the Mayor's 2021 authority to reorganize departments (Section 5.02) and that fixed list, by removing the list from the Charter while keeping the language on the Director of Finance; it also drops a reference to Civil Service provisions in the Division of Police section because the position is unclassified.

The amendment was recommended by the 2026 Charter Review Commission, whose chair transmitted its recommendations to Council on June 30, 2026 as one of ten proposed charter amendments.

City Council adopted the resolution 7–0 on July 20, 2026 (Bowers, Jones, McGregor, Padova, Renner, Schnetzer and Weaver all voting yes).

Put on the ballot by Gahanna City Council, 7–0, July 20, 2026 (Resolution RES-0030-2026), on recommendation of the 2026 Charter Review Commission.

From official source 1, official source 2, official source 3, official source 4.

See your members of Congress and every race and measure on your ballot in Franklin County, from your address. Your address stays in your browser.Look up my races

Next elections here

Columbus election 2027 · November 2, 2027: Mayor, City Auditor and City Council Districts 2, 5, 6, 8 and 9
2028 presidential election · Who has filed so far, from FEC filings

Also on Franklin County ballots

All Franklin County races and measures →

Quick answers

What does a YES vote on Franklin County Issue 22 mean?: Gahanna's charter would no longer list city departments, while keeping the Director of Finance's charter duties, with related organizational changes.
What does a NO vote on Franklin County Issue 22 mean?: The charter would keep its current list of city departments.
Would any City department be eliminated?: The amendment itself does not abolish a department; it removes the separate Charter sections for each one and lists departments the City "shall include." The Mayor's existing power to create, merge or abolish departments under Section 5.02 is unchanged.
What stays in the Charter about the Finance Director?: The Director of Finance, appointed by the Mayor, remains the City's chief financial officer, exercising duties required by Ohio law, the Charter and City ordinances and reporting on City finances when the Mayor or Council asks.
How many votes does Franklin County Issue 22 need to pass?: A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
Should I vote yes or no on Franklin County Issue 22?: SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.
When is the vote?: The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.

Not sure how to decide? Read our nonpartisan guide to the Franklin County ballot.

See something wrong on this page? Report a problem · Corrections