Blanchester council mulls codification/online services

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BLANCHESTER — Village officials are looking at the possibly of codifying their ordinances.

At Thursday’s Blanchester Village Council meeting, Rich Frommeyer, a codification consultant from American Legal Publishing, spoke to officials about the benefits of their services.

“We do a full range of codification,” said Frommeyer. “We do the basic (codification), which a lot of small municipalities get, all the way up to recodification. We update codes online. We do meeting minutes.”

He added they have over 800 clients which includes cities such as New York City and Los Angeles.

“We update state law on a yearly basis. So, when your ordinances are codified … on a yearly basis one of our staff attorneys will go through and check if there’s a state law that has affected the code, we’ll go ahead and make that change,” he said.

He added they would give the municipality an adoptive ordinance with those changes.

“Most municipalities want to stay current with state law. There’s some out there that aren’t and that could get you into some trouble,” he said.

Other services they provide include hosting ordinances, meeting minutes, and attorney opinions online.

“Our Code Library has advanced-search features that make finding what you need easy,” Frommeyer’s presentation stated.

He added that having them easier to search would be beneficial for citizens and village officials. They also would be able to keep it up-to-date; a local official would need to send a copy of a recently passed ordinance and American Legal Publishing would update their system.

The quote Frommeyer provided for the village totaled $21,495. The village would receive five new code of ordinances books, online code, and the village code on a flash drive.

Village officials see value in the services but the concern mostly came from how they would pay for it.

Councilmember Josh Parks said he is in favor of the services and the funds could out of the general fund. Councilmember Reilly Hopkins suggested they discuss this further to know where the money comes from.

Hopkins and Mayor John Carman feel they should talk with other village officials about it as well.

“I think we all wanted to hear what (Frommeyer) had to say, but at the same time, I don’t we want to just throw a check and not have further discussions,” said Carman.

No official decision was made by council.

Also during council:

• Council approved an ordinance establishing a new fund for purchasing vehicles, equipment, and technology updates for the Blanchester Police Department. According to the ordinance, the village was awarded grant monies by the Clinton County Foundation through the Legacy Fund.

Blanchester Fiscal Officer Tammy May told the News Journal they’re anticipating receiving the funds but don’t know they exact amount they’re getting. The village applied for $100,000. but the amount they’ll receive is not yet known.

Blanchester Mayor John Carman and the village council discuss possiblity of codifying the ordinances.
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2022/07/web1_DSC_0550.jpgBlanchester Mayor John Carman and the village council discuss possiblity of codifying the ordinances. John Hamilton | News Journal

Rich Frommeyer, a codification consultant of American Legal Publishing Corporation, talks to Blanchester about the services they provide.
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2022/07/web1_DSC_0554-1.jpgRich Frommeyer, a codification consultant of American Legal Publishing Corporation, talks to Blanchester about the services they provide. John Hamilton | News Journal

By John Hamilton

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Reach John Hamilton at 937-382-2574

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