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Annexation law shows no reason for change

There never has been a consensus among people in these parts about the need for a change in Ohio's annexation law.

Through the years what has been heard have been:

1) people involved in or interested in township government calling for changes to make it more difficult to annex property into a city, and,

2) people involved in or interested in city government lobbying against such changes.

Most of that was during a period in which any hint of an annexation involving Tiffin turned into a legal battle.

Now, Seneca County, Tiffin and the townships around the city have made an agreement that takes the fury out of the process. If property owners want to be annexed, they can be.

Locally, that erases any need for a change in the law.

It also brings into question why the changes are needed anyplace else in the state. If an agreement that solves local problems can be written here, one could be developed for any other locality.

The bill in question would give county commissioners the authority to decide on annexations based on their perception of the impact on surrounding land. That would be a prescription for turning annexation attempts into political footballs.

The commissioners have been limited through the years to deciding if the proper procedures for annexation have been followed. There seems to be no good reason for changing that.