If you’ve ever thought, “City Hall feels messy,” or “I don’t trust what I’m hearing,” or “Why does everything take forever?” — this amendment is designed to fix exactly that.

It does three big things:

1. Splits one overloaded job into two focused jobs

2. Changes incentives from “do less” to “do more.”

3. Protects the City’s lawyers from political firing so they can investigate wrongdoing — even if it involves the Mayor.

Let’s walk through it in plain English.

One person doing everything is a recipe for burnout, backup, and excuses.

Right now, Sheffield Lake basically has one main legal officer doing two totally different kinds of work:

• Civil/legal operations work
  (ordinances, contracts, council legislation, city structure, lawsuits, ethics guidance)

• Criminal/prosecution work
  (Mayor’s Court cases, traffic and criminal prosecution, enforcement, court prep)

Those are two full skill sets. Two different workloads. Two different worlds.

Trying to cram them into one person’s job means:

• deadlines get missed

• work piles up

• important issues fall through the cracks

• and residents get the “Sorry, we’re busy” routine

This amendment fixes that by creating:

✅ A part-time Law Director

Focused on:

• ordinances/resolutions

• contracts

• internal city legality

• advising the Council and the public

✅ A full-time Assistant Law Director–Prosecutor

Focused on:

• crimes and Mayor’s Court

• prosecution

• public safety enforcement

Translation:
Instead of one person juggling chainsaws, you get two specialists doing their jobs well.

The money incentives change from “work less” to “work more.”

Here’s the common-sense problem with the current setup:

Right now:

• One person makes about $105,000

• Whether they work 10 hours a week or 50…
  They get paid the same.

That’s not a reward for performance.
That’s a reward for survival.

And what happens when pay stays the same no matter what?

The incentive is to do just enough to avoid complaints.

That’s how government drifts into laziness.

Under the amendment:

Two people get paid by formula (tied to state legislator base pay), plus performance bonuses up to 10% if both leadership branches agree they earned it.

So instead of:

• “I already get paid, so why rush?”

You get:

• “If I do my job well and produce results, I’m recognized.”

Translation:
We pay for output, not excuses.

Independence matters more than people realize.

Let’s be blunt:

A city lawyer who can be fired by the Mayor cannot fully police the Mayor.

That’s not about personalities.
That’s about human nature.

If your boss can fire you for saying “no,” you’re unlikely to say “no.”

And that creates a massive blind spot:

• What if a city official is doing something illegal?

• What if a whistleblower comes forward?

• What if a corruption complaint is real?

A Law Director who depends on the Mayor for their job has a built-in conflict.

This amendment fixes that by:

• letting the Mayor hire (executive function)

• removing Mayoral firing power

• giving case-selection power solely to the Law Director

• and allowing Council to direct cases only by a 2/3rds vote

That protects:

• truth-telling

• proper prosecution

• and legal decision-making based on law, not politics

Translation:
The people’s lawyers work for the people — not for politicians or bureaucrats.

This helps reduce corruption, grapevine politics, and “secret City Hall power.”

When legal authority is vague and overloaded, two unhealthy things happen:

1. The grapevine becomes the real government
   People stop trusting the system and start trusting rumors.

2. Corruption becomes harder to detect
   Because the legal watchdog isn’t independent, or isn’t available, or is buried in too much work.

This amendment is designed to stop that.

Clear duties + independent lawyers = fewer shady backroom outcomes.

And that’s how you build trust.

Residents start believing decisions are real, legal, and consistent — not personal, political, or hidden.

Quick comparison (super simple)

Current System

✅ one person
❌ overloaded
❌ slow
❌ hard to measure
❌ full pay even for minimal work
❌ Mayor can pressure or replace easily
❌ weak anti-corruption protection

New System

✅ two focused professionals
✅ jobs clearly split
✅ measurable hours and duties
✅ bonuses reward effort
✅ independent from Mayoral retaliation
✅ Council oversight and supermajority control
✅ strong anti-corruption design

The Financials

Base (Ohio House member): ≈ $72,000

Law Director pay

0.6 × 72,000
= $43,200/year

Max bonus (10%):
0.10 × 43,200 = $4,320

So Law Director range: $43,200 → $47,520

Assistant Law Director–Prosecutor pay

1.3 × 72,000
= $93,600/year

Max bonus (10%):
0.10 × 93,600 = $9,360

So Assistant range: $93,600 → $102,960

Total cost compared to the current system

Proposed system (no bonuses)

Law Director $43,200

• Assistant $93,600
  = $136,800/year

Proposed system (max bonuses)

$136,800 + ($4,320 + $9,360)
= $150,480/year

Current system

One Law Director doing everything ≈ $105,000/year

Difference

• New base total vs current:
  $136,800 − $105,000 = +$31,800/year

• New max total (with bonuses) vs current:
  $150,480 − $105,000 = +$45,480/year

What this means in plain terms

The proposal to spend about $32k to $46k more per year for:

• two specialized legal professionals instead of one overloaded one,

• measurable hour requirements,

• performance bonuses tied to results, and

• real independence from mayoral retaliation.

And because the numbers are formula-based, they’ll rise/fall automatically with the state’s legislator base pay each year.

Bottom line

This amendment is about common sense:

• Split the workload so things actually get done.

• Pay in a way that rewards results.

• Protect the city’s lawyers so they can enforce the law — even when that’s uncomfortable.

• Cut down corruption and rumor-government by restoring clarity and trust.

It’s not about politics.
It’s about making the legal system work the way it should:

Fair, independent, accountable, and focused on results.