Frank Miller
The newly expanded Columbus City Council held its first meeting Tuesday evening, selecting leadership roles on the first council meeting since the city officially moved to “second-class” status.
The nine-member council selected District 4 councilmen Frank Miller to be city council president and District 5 councilman Kent Anderson to serve as vice president.
Miller just started his fourth term on the council, while Anderson is a newcomer who was elected for the first time this past November. Both are Republicans, who currently hold a 5-4 majority on the council.
The city council was recently expanded from seven to nine seats after the city decided to adopt second-class status. There are currently six city council districts and three at-large seats, compared to five districts and two at-large seats previously.
Under second-class status, city council meetings will operate slightly differently than before, officials said. Previously, the mayor would run city council meetings and set the agenda.
Now, the city council president will run the meetings and work to set the agenda with the mayor’s office. If the president is not present, the vice president would lead the meeting.
Miller told The Republic last week that he his excited about the move to second-class status.
“I’m excited for the opportunity that (second-class status) is going to afford the council,” Miller said. “There is going to be enough change there to make it exciting, and we don’t know how it’s all going to actually play out at the point.”
The city council recently hired its own attorney largely due to the change to second-class status.
Last month, the Columbus Board of Public Works approved a one-year, $60,000 contract with Columbus attorney Jeff Rocker to serve as the city council’s attorney.
The board of works is required to sign off on city contracts, officials said.
Rocker attended Tuesday’s city council meeting.
“We just don’t know what Class 2 (status) brings to the table, so we just wanted to be prepared,” Miller said of the decision to hire an attorney for the council.
