Could Northeast Ohio Cities and Townships Ever Merge?

As far as we know, none of the communities mentioned in this article are currently pursuing a merger. This is a “what if” explainer: how Ohio’s newer, streamlined merger law works and how it could apply to familiar Northeast Ohio neighbors.

When a recent article about municipal consolidation ran in the Nordonia Hills area, it sparked more than 60 reader comments. Most of them looked a lot like “NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” — loud, emphatic opposition to any idea of merging communities or expanding local taxes. For a closer look at how complicated even one cluster of communities can be, see: Nordonia Hills Merger: Could a New City Form?

Against that backdrop, it’s worth asking: what exactly does this new-ish Ohio merger law allow, and how would it work if any Northeast Ohio communities ever decided to use it?

What the New Streamlined Merger Law Actually Does

Ohio has long had ways for local governments to merge, but those older methods were slow and complex, often involving a citizen-elected commission and a lengthy study period.

More recently, the state created a streamlined merger process so that:

• A city or village can merge with another city or village; or
• A city or village can merge with a township,
• As long as they share a border.

The purpose is to reduce duplication, simplify governance and, in some cases, help stabilize finances. But the law is also designed to keep control local.

Here’s how the streamlined process works in broad strokes.

Step 1: Local Officials Start the Conversation

The state does not force a merger. It only provides a framework.

To even begin:

• Each community’s council or board of township trustees must pass a resolution or ordinance proposing a merger.
• That vote must pass by a two-thirds majority in each jurisdiction that wants to participate.

If one council, village, or township board doesn’t want to move forward, the process stops there.

Step 2: A Merger Agreement in 120 Days

If the officials in neighboring communities do approve the initial resolutions, they have 120 days to negotiate a detailed merger agreement. That agreement must spell out, at minimum:

• Which governments are merging
• New boundaries
• The effective date of the merger
• How to handle:
  • Employees and unions
  • Police, fire/EMS and other services
  • Debts, assets, and ongoing contracts
  • Taxes, including possible income tax and levies

Once the terms are negotiated, each council or board votes on the final agreement. This time, approval only requires a simple majority.

If they can’t reach a deal within the 120 days, or if one of the governing bodies rejects the agreement, the proposed merger doesn’t go to voters.

Step 3: Voters in Each Community Have the Final Say

If the agreement is approved by the local governments, the question goes to the ballot in each participating community.

• Voters in every city, village, and township involved must approve the merger by a simple majority.
• If even one community votes no, the merger fails.

This gives each jurisdiction what amounts to a veto through its voters.

Step 4: Transition to a New Government

If voters approve the merger everywhere, the combined community becomes a single political unit on the effective date laid out in the agreement. A transition plan—covering everything from elected officials to zoning maps—guides how the new government takes shape.

If a city or village already has a home-rule charter that says something different about mergers, parts of this process can be overridden by that charter. The specifics can vary from place to place.

What About Township–Township Mergers?

Ohio law separately allows townships to merge with other townships, forming a larger township. That process also uses:

• Resolutions or citizen petitions
• A detailed merger agreement
• Voter approval in each township

This is another tool in the toolbox, especially in suburban or semi-rural areas with multiple small townships.

“What If” Examples in Northeast Ohio

Again, none of the following communities are known to be actively pursuing mergers. These are examples, not proposals. But they’re the kinds of pairings people often mention when talking about consolidation.

Parma and Parma Heights

Parma and Parma Heights are separate cities sharing borders, history and many regional issues. On paper, the ohio streamlined merger law could be used if:

• Both councils approved merger resolutions by two‑thirds votes.
• They negotiated an agreement on:
  • A unified income tax rate
  • Combining two police departments and two fire departments
  • Representation: Would the new city just be “Parma”? What happens to Parma Heights’ identity?

Only after that would voters in both cities get a say — and either city’s “no” vote would end the idea.

In Parma, consolidation is already happening on the school side. The Parma City School District — which serves Parma, Parma Heights and Seven Hills — has approved a multi‑year plan to close and combine buildings, including shutting down Parma Senior High and reconfiguring Valley Forge and Normandy into consolidated secondary campuses. The goal is to cut costs, modernize aging facilities and avoid a projected deficit. It’s a reminder that even when city halls don’t merge, regional pressures can still push their shared institutions to consolidate.

Bedford and Bedford Heights

Bedford and Bedford Heights provide another clear example:

• Two neighboring cities with similar names and linked histories
• Shared concerns about development, business corridors, and infrastructure

Here, a merger conversation—if it ever happened—might revolve around:

• Economic development:

  • Presenting a larger, unified community to businesses and investors
  • Coordinated planning for key corridors and redevelopment sites

• Efficiency and duplication:

  • Could one larger city manage roads, police, fire/EMS, and public works more efficiently than two smaller ones?

But the same bottom-line rule still applies: both councils would need to initiate and approve a plan, and both sets of voters would have to say yes.

Twinsburg and Twinsburg Township

Twinsburg and Twinsburg Township are a classic Northeast Ohio example of a city and a township with intertwined history and geography:

• Different forms of government (city vs. township)
• Shared name and regional identity
• Overlapping perceptions of “who is from Twinsburg”

The streamlined law is designed for exactly this kind of city–township pair. A “what if” Twinsburg/Twinsburg Township merger would need to address:

• Township vs. city governance:

  • Moving from trustees to a mayor–council or city-manager form
  • Deciding how township residents would be represented in a city government

• Zoning and development:

  • Harmonizing township rules with city zoning
  • Coordinating long-term land-use planning

• Public safety and services:

  • Aligning police, fire/EMS and road services under a single structure

As with the other examples, none of this could happen without both local governments and both electorates agreeing on the same plan.

Why the State Encourages (But Does Not Force) Mergers

Supporters of consolidation argue that Ohio has:

• Many small governments and overlapping services, especially in urban and inner-ring suburban counties
• High administrative and infrastructure costs spread across multiple jurisdictions

The streamlined merger law and related policies are part of a broader push to:

• Reduce duplication
• Improve efficiency
• Potentially stabilize or lower long-term costs

At the same time, the law clearly keeps the power with local officials and local voters. The state provides the process and, in some cases, incentives — but not a mandate.

What This Means for Residents and Businesses

For people moving into Northeast Ohio — and even for longtime residents — it’s common to be confused about:

• Who plows the streets
• Who sets zoning rules
• Who provides police and fire/EMS
• Why two communities with almost identical names have completely separate governments

Those questions are part of why merger conversations keep popping up in editorials, forums and neighborhood discussions, even if no formal proposals are on the table.

In the Nordonia area, for example, there has been public confusion for years about the difference between Northfield Center Township and Northfield Village, and how those fit into the broader Nordonia Hills identity. That’s explored more deeply in The Tale of the Two Northfields.

Bottom Line

• Ohio’s streamlined merger law gives neighboring communities — cities, villages and townships — a clearer path to combine if they want to.
• Any merger would require:
  • A two-thirds vote from each local governing body to start
  • A detailed merger agreement
  • Majority approval from voters in every participating community
• Examples like Parma/Parma Heights, Bedford/Bedford Heights, and Twinsburg/Twinsburg Township show the kinds of Northeast Ohio neighbors that could, in theory, use this law — but only if local leaders and residents decide the benefits outweigh the costs.

For now, in Northeast Ohio and across the state, the streamlined law mostly sits in the background: a tool on the shelf, available if communities ever decide they’re ready to pick it up.