The mayor of Delaware, Ohio is Carolyn Kay Riggle, who has held the position since November 2013 after being chosen by her fellow city council members.1City of Delaware. Meet City Council Delaware operates under a council-manager charter, so the mayor here is a legislative and ceremonial leader who presides over council rather than a chief executive running city departments.2City of Delaware, Ohio. City Charter Government Marks 70th Year
Who Carolyn Kay Riggle Is
Riggle has served on the Delaware City Council since November 2003 and has been mayor since November 2013. She holds one of the council’s three at-large seats, which is a requirement for the mayoralty under the city charter. Her current council term runs through November 2029.1City of Delaware. Meet City Council
How Delaware Picks Its Mayor
Voters in Delaware do not elect the mayor directly. The seven-member city council chooses the mayor from among its own at-large members at a biennial organizational meeting held after each municipal election. The selected member serves a two-year leadership term layered on top of a regular four-year council seat.1City of Delaware. Meet City Council
The charter requires at least four of seven votes to select a mayor. If council cannot agree that day, it must reconvene no later than 7:30 p.m. the following day. If no one has been chosen by 9:00 p.m. on the second day, the mayor is selected by lot under the same rules used to fill a council vacancy.3City of Delaware. Delaware City Charter – Section 42
Only at-large council members are eligible to serve as mayor or vice-mayor. The four ward representatives cannot be chosen for either role, which narrows the pool of potential mayors to just three seats.1City of Delaware. Meet City Council
What the Mayor Actually Does
The mayor presides over council meetings, keeps order during public debate, represents the city at official functions and legal proceedings, and signs ordinances and resolutions once council passes them.
On the legislative side, the mayor casts a full vote on every matter before council, with the same weight as any other member. There is no veto power. The mayor sits as first among equals rather than as a separate branch of authority, so budgets, ordinances, and policy direction all come from the seven-member council as a body.
What the Mayor Does Not Do
Day-to-day executive authority in Delaware belongs to the city manager, not the mayor. The manager is appointed by council, serves as chief executive officer, and oversees operations including police, fire, the municipal airport, and water and wastewater utilities. The manager reports to council and can be removed by council vote.4City of Delaware. City Manager A resident who needs a pothole filled or a permit processed is dealing with the manager’s organization; a resident pushing for a zoning change or a policy shift is dealing with council and its mayor.5City of Delaware, OH. Council Introduces New City Manager
Delaware also has no mayor’s court. Ohio law grants mayor’s court jurisdiction only to municipalities that are not the site of a municipal court,6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Section 1905.01 and Delaware runs its own municipal court. Traffic and ordinance cases go through the Delaware Municipal Court rather than the mayor’s office.
If the Mayor’s Seat Becomes Vacant
If the mayor’s office becomes vacant, the vice-mayor automatically steps up and serves as mayor for the remainder of the unexpired term. If the vice-mayor’s seat then opens, council selects a replacement using the same process it uses to choose a mayor: a vote among at-large members requiring at least four votes to confirm.7City of Delaware. Delaware City Charter – Section 44
Mayor’s Pay
The mayor’s job in Delaware is compensated as part-time legislative work. Under the most recent publicly reported pay adjustment, effective January 1, 2020, the mayor’s annual salary was set at $11,500 and each council member’s salary at $10,000. Those figures may have been adjusted since. The modest level is consistent with a council-manager system, where the professional city manager carries the administrative workload and the mayor’s duties center on presiding over council and representing the city.