OAG 1994-003.

• Case Date: March 17, 1994
• Court: Ohio

Ohio Attorney General Opinions 1994. OAG 1994-003. March 17, 1994OPINION NO. 1994-003The Honorable Michael MillerFranklin County Prosecuting AttorneyHall of Justice 369 South High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 Dear Prosecutor Miller: You have requested an opinion on the following question: "May a board of trustees of a township, which is the object of a potential statutory township-village merger, donate funds to a merger commission, established pursuant to Sections 709.45 and 709.46, Revised Code of Ohio, in order to draw up a statement of conditions for that merger?"

Boards of Township Trustees as Creatures of Statute

It is well settled that, as a creature of statute, a board of township trustees "can exercise only those powers conferred by statute, or such others as are necessarily to be implied from those granted, in order to enable them to perform the duties imposed upon them." Trustees of New London Township v. Miner, 26 Ohio St. 452, 456 (1875). Further, township funds, as public funds, may be disbursed only by clear authority of law. See State ex rel. Smith v. Maharry, 97 Ohio St. 272, 119 N.E. 822 (1918) (syllabus, paragraph one). Thus, in order for a board of township to contribute township funds to a merger commission established in accordance with R.C. 709.45-.46, there must exist a clear grant of statutory authority to make such a contribution.

Merger of Township and Village

The expenditure of funds about which you ask involves the potential merger of a township and a village in accordance with R.C. 709.43-.48. See generally R.C. 709.43 (defining "merger," as used in R.C. 709.43-.48). R.C. 709.45 provides for the filing of a petition with the board of elections proposing, among other things, the merger of the unincorporated area of a township with a municipal corporation. R.C. 709.45 further provides for the election "from each of the component political subdivisions, of five electors who shall constitute the commission to draw up the statement of conditions for merger of the political subdivisions." R.C. 709.46 describes the composition and functions of the merger commission, in part, as follows:

[T]he five candidates from each such political subdivision shall be elected to the commission to formulate the conditions of merging the political subdivisions. The first meeting of such commission

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