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OTA Constitution

Adopted June 28, 1928, the Ohio Township Association Constitution continues to be the primary governing document for the association, providing the backbone for many of the tasks carried out by the staff and board of directors today.

Since its inception, the OTA Constitution has been amended in 1965, 1971, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1991, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2015, and 2022. Many of the same guiding ideas and principles that were originally penned in 1928 are still used today. Below is the latest OTA Constitution, last amended on January 27, 2022.

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The Constitution of the Ohio Township Association

ARTICLE I - Name

The name of this organization shall be “The Ohio Township Association.”

ARTICLE II - Membership 

All township trustees and fiscal officers in Ohio shall be eligible for ACTIVE membership in this Association. All township employees, township boards and township commission members shall be eligible for AFFILIATE membership. Former trustees and fiscal officers, other elected officials, businesses, sponsors, advertisers, and any other person so invited by a county association, shall be eligible for ASSOCIATE membership. Upon recommendation of the Board of Directors, the membership of the Association may elect, at an annual meeting, a person to HONORARY LIFE membership.

ARTICLE III - Principles 

Local self-government is a vital principle of free institutions. This principle is recognized in the case of municipalities by giving Ohio cities the right to frame and amend their own charters. The people living in rural communities are likewise entitled to control their own local affairs. This can only be done by electing officials who are directly responsible to the voters, and by entrusting to them the control of township affairs. Township officials are neighborhood officials and, hence, are more directly responsible to the voters than any other officials can possibly be.

ARTICLE IV - Purposes 

The purposes of this Association shall be:

  1. To secure and preserve for the unincorporated areas of the state the benefits of local self-government through Home Rule administered by the township.
  2. To protect the township against any attempt to abolish it as a governmental unit.
  3. To resist any effort at further centralization of governmental powers by depriving the township of any rights, duties or privileges which it now possesses.
  4. To secure, through friendly intercourse, a better acquaintance among township officials.
  5. To promote a better knowledge of the rights and duties of township officials, and by comparison of experiences and interchange of ideas, to arrive at the best way to discharge those duties.
  6. To secure from the General Assembly legislation which will enable township government to function more efficiently.
  7. To secure for the approximately 40,000 miles of township roads in Ohio an equitable share of gasoline tax and other road revenue, such revenue to be expended on township roads by township officials.
ARTICLE V - Election of Officers 
  1. The officers of this Association shall consist of the President, First Vice President, Second Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer and shall come from four different counties not currently represented by the Board of Directors. They shall be elected at the annual meeting of the Association in the even-numbered years for a term of two years.
  2. There shall also be an Executive Director who shall be chosen by the Board of Directors and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. The Board may enter into a contract with the Executive Director, but such contract shall not be for a period of more than two years. The Executive Director shall not have to be a township trustee or fiscal officer.
  3. Nominations for elective officers shall be presented to a Nominating Committee which shall be appointed by the President on or before the first day of August of the year preceding the election. The committees shall consist of five members from five different counties. The Nominating Committee shall present its reports to the State Association Secretary-Treasurer on or before the first of December, and the Secretary-Treasurer shall, within 10 business days, notify by mail the President of each County Association of the names and addresses of the nominees. Additional nominations for any office may be made by petition signed by not less than 100 members of the State Association holding township office in not less than eight counties. Such petitions shall be filed with the Secretary-Treasurer of the State Association not less than 30 days before the annual convention. Election shall be by written ballot, voting machines or other similar method except if only one candidate for a position is presented then the vote may be by acclamation. No person may be a candidate for more than one of the four elective state offices at any one election. A majority of those voting for the office shall be required for election. In case no nominee receives a majority, then there shall be held a run-off election before the convention adjourns of the two nominees receiving the highest vote.
  4. No one shall be eligible for election to office or membership on the Board of Directors of the Association unless at the time of election they are an ACTIVE member serving as a township trustee or fiscal officer, and any officer or member of the Board of Directors who, for any reason, ceases to be a township trustee or fiscal officer shall terminate their position as officer or member of the Board of Directors as of the date they terminate holding office as a township trustee or fiscal officer.
  5. No elective officer, other than a member of the Board of Directors, shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office, except if appointed to fill a vacancy. No person who has served as President of the Association shall be eligible to hold any office, including that as a member of the Board of Directors, in the Association for a period of two years immediately following the completion of their term of office, except that they may serve two consecutive terms as President as provided above. A person who is serving as President, First Vice President, Second Vice President or Secretary-Treasurer of the Association and runs unsuccessfully for the office of President, First Vice President, Second Vice President or Secretary-Treasurer of the Association is ineligible to run for election to the Board of Directors of the Association at the annual meeting in which they ran unsuccessfully.
ARTICLE VI - Duties of Officers
  1. Each officer shall discharge the duties usually incident to the office.
  2. The President shall preside at all regular and called meetings of the Association. The President, First Vice President, Second Vice President or Secretary-Treasurer of the Association are ex-officio members of all committees and the Board of Directors, except Nominating Committees.
  3. In the event of a vacancy in the office of President, the First Vice President shall succeed thereto for the unexpired term. The Second Vice President shall, whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of First Vice President, succeed to that office for the unexpired term. The Secretary-Treasurer shall, whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of the Second Vice President, succeed to that office for the unexpired term.
  4. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Secretary-Treasurer, the Board of Directors shall select a successor from the current Board of Directors for the unexpired term.
  5. The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep minutes of meetings, supervise the handling of receipts and send out notices as provided by this Constitution.
  6. The Executive Director shall be responsible for the operation of the State Association office, promotional activities, membership, lobbying, records, publicity and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors. The Executive Director shall pay out funds of the Association only as ordered by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE VII - Committees 

To assist the officers in carrying out the aims and purposes of the Association, there shall be a Board of Directors, an Executive Committee and an Auditing Committee.

ARTICLE VIII - Board of Directors
  1. There shall be a Board of Directors of 16 members from 16 different counties elected by the Executive Committee. Members shall serve a term of four years In case of a tie vote, the winner shall be determined by lot. Vacancies shall be filled by the Executive Committee for the unexpired terms. Any ACTIVE member of the State Association, other than the President, First Vice President, Second Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer may be elected a member of the Board of Directors. The President, Vice Presidents and Secretary-Treasurer of the State Association shall be ex-officio members of the Board of Directors, with full voting rights, and shall hold the same offices on the Board they hold in the State Association.
  2. The Board of Directors shall be charged with the management of the Association. It shall adopt an annual budget, authorize all expenditures of Association funds and the employment of personnel to administer the affairs of the Association.
  3. It shall be the duty of the Board of Directors to serve as the Legislative Committee of the State Association. The Board shall handle all proposals for legislation affecting township interest, and all such proposals shall be referred to the Board for investigation, consideration and sponsorship.
ARTICLE IX - Executive Committee

Members of the Executive Committee shall be especially charged with the task of securing new members, enlisting the support of township and county officials, members of the legislature and other citizens in their respective communities. The Executive Committee shall elect the members of the Board of Directors at the annual meeting following the election of officers. Nominations shall be presented at said meeting by the Nominating Committee, consisting of five members of the Executive Committee, which shall be appointed by the President on or before the first day of August of the year preceding the election. The Nominating Committee shall present its report to the Secretary-Treasurer not later than the first day of December, and the Secretary-Treasurer shall, within 10 days, notify by mail the Executive Committeeman of each County Association of the names and addresses of the nominees. Only one person per county may be included in the report by the Nominating Committee to the Secretary-Treasurer. Additional nominations may be made from the floor, provided that the person to be nominated from the floor has appeared before the Nominating Committee for Directors; and provided further the person to be nominated from the floor has submitted, not later than the start of the Executive Committee meeting at which the election will occur, a petition to the Secretary-Treasurer containing the signatures of not less than five members of the Executive Committee. Election shall be by written ballot, voting machines or other similar method except if only one candidate for a position is presented then the vote may be by acclamation. The members of this committee shall be chosen in part by election and in part by appointment, as follows:

  1. Each County Township Association, at a local meeting held immediately before the annual meeting of the State Association, shall be entitled to elect one ACTIVE member to represent the County Association on the Executive Committee. If a duly elected Executive Committeeman is absent from any meeting of the Executive Committee, other officers present from such absentee’s County Association in the order of President, Vice President and Secretary shall be eligible to serve as Executive Committeeman from such county as long as the officer is an ACTIVE member of the County Association.
  2. In the case of counties where none of the County Association’s elected officers are able to attend an Executive Committee meeting, the County Association’s President may appoint in writing one of the County Association’s ACTIVE members to represent said county on the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE X - Auditing Committee
  1. 1. There shall be an Auditing Committee of three ACTIVE members of the Association appointed by the President.
  2. It shall be the duty of the Auditing Committee to examine the books of the State Association, and make an annual report of the same to the Board of Directors for approval. The Executive Director shall report Board approval of the audit to the Association at the annual convention.
ARTICLE XI - Meetings

The annual meeting of this Association shall be held in the first quarter of the calendar year at such place as is selected by the Executive Committee. Special meetings of the Association may be called by the President at such times as are approved by the Board of Directors. The Executive Committee shall meet during each convention of the State Association and on call of the President, provided however, that the Secretary-Treasurer shall call a meeting of said Committee at any time upon the written request of 25 members of said Committee. The Board of Directors shall meet quarterly and on call of the President, provided however, that the Secretary-Treasurer shall call a meeting of said Board upon the written request of seven members of said Board.

ARTICLE XII - Agenda

The agenda for the annual meeting shall be set by the Officers and Board of Directors in consultation with the Executive Director.

ARTICLE XIII - Dues

All membership dues in the Association shall be fixed by the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE XIV - Amendments

This Constitution may be amended at any annual meeting by a majority vote of the members present and voting. Proposals to amend this Constitution may only be initiated by a County Association or by the Board of Directors. Any proposed amendment must be filed with the Secretary-Treasurer at least 90 days before such meeting. Not less than 60 days before such meeting, the Secretary-Treasurer shall forward a copy of same to each County Association for consideration.