The future of two villages in Clermont County is uncertain.
Residents in both New Richmond and Batavia have spent the summer circulating petitions to place a measure dissolving their village governments on the November ballot.
In New Richmond, much of the backlash against the village council stems from its efforts to construct four roundabouts along U.S. 52. Petitioners submitted signatures to the council on July 14.
Under Ohio law, its councilors have 30 days to review the petition, which would give the New Richmond Council until Aug. 13. The councilors have not commented publicly on the petition, and it is unclear whether the signatures will make it into the hands of the Clermont County Board of Elections before an Aug. 5 deadline for all local petitions.
In Batavia, residents who have signed the petition to dissolve their village cite councilors’ approval of multiple tax-abated developments.
Leader William Albright, who is not a resident of the village, posted a video of himself submitting the signatures to the county board of elections on Monday — after the Village of Batavia took no action during its 30-day period.
The board must declare by Aug. 17 whether either effort makes it onto November’s ballot.
If dissolution goes forward, how does the process work?
If voters decide to dissolve and the election results are certified — usually after about two weeks — the village, its offices and laws cease to exist, according to an Ohio Legislative Service Commission brief.
In 2019, Ohio Township Fiscal Officer Bill Gilpin was employed by the Village of Amelia when its residents voted to dissolve.
“When that phone call came from the Board of Elections that the vote was certified, it was like being at a funeral,” Gilpin said. “The maintenance guys turned in their keys. The police officers took their vests off, took their belts off, and they were all former employees at that moment.”
In 2024, Ohio lawmakers passed legislation aiming to clarify the village dissolution process.
Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, co-sponsored House Bill 101. She said the law was informed by Amelia’s dissolution.
“There was no clarity on who made the decisions. Was it the outgoing mayor or the incoming mayor?” Schmidt said, adding that the transition was further complicated because Amelia was divided between two townships.
“We decided to have a process that has more clarity to it, so that when you dissolve, you will know who's going to unravel the ball of yarn.”
Schmidt’s legislation created a transition supervisory board: an interim group made up of the county auditor, recorder, one commissioner and a non-voting township trustee that’s responsible for resolving village debt, settling legal claims and selling village property.
“The township now is going to get land they didn't expect. There may be debts that are accrued that the township cannot be responsible for,” Scmidt said. “That's got to be unraveled.”
When the board decides the process is complete, the state auditor would be responsible for officially closing the village books and dissolving the board.
Who would take over governance?
If dissolution makes it onto New Richmond’s ballot — and voters approve the measure — Ohio Township, the smallest in Clermont County, would govern the residents.
If Batavia voters dissolve their village, they would become Batavia Township residents.
It’s a familiar situation for Batavia Township. In 2019, it took on many of Amelia’s residents after voters dissolved their government.
“I remember hearing, ‘This is going to be the worst thing ever,’ — Chicken Little, the sky is falling,” said Batavia Township Administrator Karen Swartz. “There were obviously changes in the communities, but you know, it wasn't as bad as some people thought it was going to be.”
In the case of Amelia, Swartz said her township worked with residents to preserve the village’s identities and traditions, such as the annual Christmas parade.
“The village of Amelia is still there. People still call it Amelia,” Swartz said. “It's still an area, and it's still a place. It's just, you're no longer going to have a form of government in that area that identifies itself as Amelia.”
What happens to my utilities and city services?
The law stipulates utilities such as water, trash and sewer must remain uninterrupted.
Gilpin said that means the township and “leftover village employees” would run the village’s utilities until they can be transferred.
“Somebody's got to run the water plant, somebody's got to run the sewer plant until such a time is that it’s transferred over to another utility operator — which in this case is likely Clermont County,” Gilpin said.
Though villages typically maintain their own roads, townships divide the responsibility with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the county. Responsibilities like street plowing and paving would then fall to those entities.
What about my 911 calls?
Residents would also still be able to call for police — though the calls will go to a different place.
Unlike villages that have their own police departments, both Ohio and Batavia townships are serviced by the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office.
Batavia Township contracts with the department for extra deputies, while Ohio Township does not.
“They wouldn't have a local department like they're used to, unless a revenue stream was found and approved for that,” Gilpin said of New Richmond residents.
In New Richmond, fire service wouldn’t cease: Ohio Township currently contracts with Pierce Township to service the area. However, the village’s fire chief has expressed concern about response times increasing, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
In Batavia Township, the future of fire services should the village dissolve is more unclear because a joint fire district — funded by a levy the township cannot access — serves both the village and township.
“We're working through some of those issues and problems that could arise because of the fire department dissolving,” Swartz said, adding that a levy on November’s ballot would need to pass to address fire service funding should village voters opt for dissolution.
What differences will I notice?
It depends. Swartz and Gilpin both said the village dissolution process allows the township to honor existing agreements, such as permits to build a pool or deck, so long as fees are paid.
“Anything in place before that [dissolution] would be grandfathered, but any new zoning permit application would have to adhere to the township zoning code,” Gilpin said.
And certain services that are commonplace in a village don’t exist in townships.
“When you are a village, under the Ohio Revised Code, you have many more opportunities to set your own destiny,” Schmidt said. “When you are an unincorporated area like a township, you have less ability to chart your own destiny.”
For example, in the Village of Batavia, residents are accustomed to having their yard waste picked up monthly — a service Swartz said they would not see in a township.
“The township is much much larger, and it's just not feasible for us to provide a service where we would drive around to a neighborhood,” Swartz said.
After Amelia dissolved, Gilpin said Batavia Township eventually decided to take down some streetlights, too, in areas where light was deemed unnecessary.
“It went dark, and then the subdivisions had to agree to create a lighting district and put it on their tax bill to pay that,” Gilpin said. “The only streetlights we have in a township is on a township road.”
How will my taxes change?
If their villages dissolve, residents of Batavia and New Richmond would not stop paying the village earnings tax right away.
A provision of the law allows the receiving township to continue collecting tax revenue until the dissolved village’s debt is paid off — and both New Richmond and Batavia have debt, Gilpin and Swartz said.
Schmidt said this process played out in Amelia in 2019, where residents paid the income tax for more than a year after dissolution.
“Who controls the debt? Well, actually, that would be the former residents of Amelia because neither township can absorb a debt they weren't responsible for creating,” Schmidt said.
Debt can also be paid through the sale of the dissolved village’s real and personal property.
In Batavia Township, Swartz said the village transplants should also expect to pay the township’s road levy, which is not currently on their monthly bill.
The township would honor planned developments, Swartz said, although she said it is unclear whether their tax incentives, such as the abatements in Batavia, would remain.
These are the questions Swartz said her township is attempting to answer.
“We're planning for the dissolution, and you know, if the voters in the village vote not to dissolve, that's okay with us as well, too,” Swartz said. “We're just preparing.”
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