Public information · prepared by a Madeira resident, not city hall
Madeira Charter Update:
What’s on Your Ballot November 3
The proposed charter amendment, explained plainly, in the time it takes to read this page.
What you’re voting on
Madeira’s charter is the 1959 document that sets the rules for how our city government works. Beginning in 2024, Council’s Law and Safety Committee reviewed it section by section. The result is one ballot question, placed on the ballot by Ordinance No. 26‑05. A majority “yes” adopts every change. A majority “no” leaves the charter exactly as it reads today.
Also in the amendment: it lengthens special‑meeting notice from 24 to 48 hours and allows email delivery, writes the charter in plain language, lets Council cover an extended Manager absence, replaces the appointed Treasurer office with a Finance Director function, lets Council and the Manager set the contract threshold each year, updates the Planning Commission’s duties, and cleans up outdated legal language.
What doesn’t change: nothing changes about your taxes, the Council‑Manager form of government, terms and term limits, the three readings of ordinances, the Depot’s protection, your rights of initiative, referendum, and recall, or open records and meetings.
Proposed Charter Amendment
City of Madeira“A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage. The proposed amendment would amend Articles II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XVI, and XVII of the Charter of the City of Madeira and make related drafting changes throughout the Charter…”
The five certified items, word for word, are at madeiraexplained.com
Shall the proposed charter amendment be adopted?
Yes
No
This vote does not decide what happens to the downtown buildings. It decides whether the community is allowed to have a full, public conversation about the best use of this corner.
In the city’s 2023 survey, 89% of residents said more dining and entertainment would bring them downtown more often. (Madeira Comprehensive Plan, 2023, page 24)
Railroad Depot · 7701 Railroad Ave.
Protected · nothing changes
Built in 1866 and listed on the National Register in 2022, it sits partly on railroad property. It is protected before and after this vote, and no one has proposed changing it.
Muchmore House · 7010 Miami Ave.
Not eligible for the National Register
The Ohio Historic Preservation Office (2015) and a preservation consultant (2021) found it not eligible for the National Register.
Hosbrook House · 7014 Miami Ave.
Not eligible for the National Register
Both reviews reached the same finding here. The house has sat vacant since 2023, and a 2025 assessment calls the interior poor and substandard for business use.
Four options, and what the charter allows
| A. Sell as‑is at the best price, with the historic restrictions attached. | Allowed |
| B. Remove the designation so the land can be sold or developed, including new construction. | Requires charter change |
| C. Offer the houses to someone who would move and preserve them elsewhere in Madeira. | Requires charter change |
| D. Remove the designation for major redesign, such as linking the two houses or adding on. | Requires charter change |
Three of the four paths are closed today. The current charter says the buildings “are to be preserved, protected, and left standing on the same ground.” The amendment doesn’t pick a path. It lets the city and residents weigh all four in public.
Read it yourself
The full explanation, the charter redline, the certified ballot question, the 2025 assessment, and Cleo Hosbrook’s 1989 letter, with links to every source: madeiraexplained.com. Or start at madeiracity.com and the Hamilton County Board of Elections, votehamiltoncountyohio.gov.
I’m Logan Junger. I live here, I serve on City Council, I voted to put this amendment on your ballot, and I paid for this flier myself. Questions or corrections: ljunger@gmail.com.