CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Chillicothe City Council authorized the mayor to pursue a state housing rehabilitation partnership with Ross County and adopted a series of funding measures for transit, court staffing and equipment at its June 8 session, according to meeting minutes.
Council passed a resolution allowing the mayor to enter into a partnership agreement with the Ross County Commissioners for the application and administration of the 2026 Community Housing Impact and Preservation program, a state-administered fund that helps repair and improve housing for low- and moderate-income residents. The partnership is contingent on the program receiving funding. The measure passed with an emergency clause, meaning it took effect immediately.
Council also adopted an updated Federal Transit Administration Title VI program for the Chillicothe Transit System, a civil rights compliance plan required to keep receiving federal transit dollars, and appropriated $10,200 to cover the city’s participation in the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s 2026 Local Government Internship Program.
Members approved, under an emergency clause, $15,000 to replace a fuel dispenser station at Chillicothe Transit. Council also waived its standard three-reading rule and passed, with an emergency clause, an ordinance amending the position of chief community control officer for the Chillicothe Municipal Court’s probation department.
Several other funding items remain in progress. Council gave second readings to measures that would appropriate $254,212.65 to a capital reserve fund for refuse and recycling, adopt text amendments to the city’s Unified Development Code, and spend $10,500 to install GPS vehicle tracking systems in service department and parks and recreation vehicles. A measure to appropriate $47,728.44 from the Downtown Redevelopment District Fund No. 4 to repay property taxes previously allocated for tax years 2022 through 2024 also received a second reading. All were held over to the next meeting.
Council gave first readings to an ordinance reallocating $1,168,997.85 from completed sewer fund projects to the city’s sewer cash account, an ordinance appropriating $31,750 for completed traffic signal upgrades at Paint and Fifth streets and at Bridge Street and Seney Road, and a resolution adopting the city’s tax budget for the 2027 calendar year. City Auditor Angie Spetnagel told council the tax budget must be passed by July 15, the release said.
The parks and recreation committee met before the meeting to discuss goose management, and the utilities and city services committees also held pre-meeting sessions on pending legislation, according to committee reports.
Council additionally received notice of two liquor permit transfers: one from Ambers Drive-Thru Ohio LLC to Ambers Drive-Thru, and another from 5D Investments LLC to Jeeya LLC.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Chillicothe City Council meeting minutes.
