Mayor Joshua D. Schlicher

Welcome to the webpage of the Office of the Mayor of Marietta. I am honored and excited every day to serve as mayor of my hometown and Ohio’s first city. 2022 in the Marietta Mayor’s Office will be a busy and productive year. Since becoming mayor of our city my senior management staff and I have introduced many new programs and have implemented many plans to change operations into more cost effective, efficient and goal oriented services. Planning and maintenance problems of the past will be addressed with the future in mind as well as taking care of the day to day needs and expectations of our citizens.

We are continuing to spruce up and make improvements to all of our city parks, historic cemeteries, buildings, recreation and gateways into town and downtown district. City services such as police, fire/rescue, water, wastewater, planning/development/engineering, code enforcement and public works all will have updates and continued changes to strive for and deliver on the mission of excellent services. The welcome mat of Marietta will be changed often and kept clean and in good order.

With all of the planned improvements and changes we will never forget our main role in city government; we serve the citizens of our city. To be elected mayor of my hometown has become one of the greatest responsibilities I can experience in my lifetime. I thank you every day for this opportunity to represent you and our city.

Best Regards,
Mayor Josh Schlicher

 
About Mayor Schlicher

Josh Schlicher became the 57th Mayor of the City of Marietta on January 1, 2020. Prior to being elected mayor, he served 6 years as president of Marietta City Council (2014-2019) and was a councilman at large prior to being elected president of council. Prior to his time on council Mayor Schlicher spent 8 years as a member and chairman of the Marietta Traffic Commission. In 2022 Mayor Schlicher entered his 16th year serving the City of Marietta.
Mayor Schlicher has annual plans to update and reorganize city safety and service departments. He has restructured and reassigned the mayor’s office senior management staff structure since taking office. In 2020 he formed the Marietta Public Works Department by combining many small silo departments into a new department with changed leadership, goals, operation plan and more personnel dedicated to an improved mission of proactive city services.
The goals and promise of Mayor Schlicher to the 14,000 citizens and hundreds of thousands of visitors of Marietta is to provide a new image and fresh approach to managing a welcoming and receptive community giving all ages and people of all walks of life an affordable, family-friendly, high quality living with modern amenities and still maintain the historic charm.

In order to deliver that promise SAFETY is of the utmost importance in our city. We are proud to have the only paid and well-staffed fire department in Washington County that just celebrated 125 years of continued service. We have experienced, talented fire/EMS personnel using modern and reliable equipment serving our citizens 24 hours a day at the MFD. We are also proud of our police department that maintains 12 hour shifts of patrolman responsible for police and public safety of 9 square miles of the city. With good training, professional standards, proper equipment and 24-hour dispatching MPD is fully staffed to respond to all calls for service.

SERVICE is also what our citizens depend on and expect. Quality water that meets and exceeds standards is crucial to high quality living. We are currently planning a new reverse osmosis system and treatment plant to process our water. Marietta has been upgrading its wastewater treatment plant into a state of the art facility to meet the demands of users and requirements of the OEPA. Public Works consisting of streets, public facilities, utilities and maintenance continues to have a major overhaul to increase productivity, be cost effective and utilize teamwork and resources. Our new proactive plans will replace the reactive ways of the past. The future establishment of the new planning and development department will help plan for future projects with collaborative efforts with many entities and stakeholders.

The Marietta Mayor’s Office and the Marietta Departments of Public Safety and Service are dedicated to professionalism, developing new and improved methods to deliver city services, excellence and accountability to our citizens.

Mayor Schlicher has a great team of professional, experienced and dedicated individuals who will assist in strategies that support this vision.

Mayor Schlicher’s management staff include:

Administration Senior Management:
Steven A. Wetz, Safety-Service Director
Theresa Taylor, Human Resources Director
Mitch Dimmerling, Budget and Procurement Director
Daniel Everson, Development Director

Mayor's Staff
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Safety Departments Senior Staff
Police Chief Katherine Warden
Fire Chief C.W. Durham III

Service Departments Senior Staff
Chris Hess, Public Works Superintendent
Jeffrey A. Kephart, Water Superintendent
Steven Elliott, Wastewater Superintendent
Kimberly Nohe, Utilities Administrator
Robert C. Heady, P.E., P.S., ENV SP, Engineering
Wayne Rinehart, Code Enforcement Officer
Scott Steinel, IT Manager
Amy Tucker, IT Manager
Jeremy Thomas, IT Administrator


Powers and Duties of the Mayor:

The Mayor is elected by the citizens of Marietta and serves as the chief executive officer overseeing the city’s daily operations. The Mayor is responsible for a wide variety of functions in city government. While some of these functions are the result of tradition and leadership - others are listed directly in state law. These duties are listed in the Ohio Revised Code. Other duties are listed in the city codified ordinances.

• The Mayor enforces all laws of the City. He/she approves and signs all legislative action, as well as other instruments that require his signature under the law.
• The Mayor appoints the Director of Public Safety and Service, the Director of Human Resources, the Director of Budget and Procurement, Mayor’s Administrative Assistant, Director of Public Works, Development Director and the Heads of the sub departments of the Department of Public Safety and Service. The Mayor is also responsible for appointments to city boards and commissions.
• The Mayor serves as the top conservator of peace in the City. The Mayor maintains safe streets by appointing and supervising the city's Director of Public Safety and Service, who works closely with the Police and Fire chiefs to control crime and establish programs that preserve the health, safety and welfare of Marietta residents.
• The Mayor manages the operations of the City. By supervising the conduct of all officers and department supervisors in the City authorized by law, the Mayor along with his senior management staff manages the day-to-day operations and long-term planning strategies of city government.
• The Mayor recommends legislative actions to City Council and provides them with requested information. Through the course of managing the operations of City government, the Mayor is well suited to make recommendations to City Council members as to the best course of action when considering legislation. The Mayor is also responsible for providing Council members with a city budget, revenue sources as well as grant opportunities and any information they request in order to help them make good decisions for the residents of Marietta.
• Working with county and state officials as needed and participates in joint ventures with other government agencies.
• The Mayor acts as the ceremonial head of the city and represents the city at functions and ceremonies.
• The Mayor delivers a "State of the City" address once each year. To inform city residents, businesses, and elected officials of both the city's progress and its future outlook, the Mayor delivers an annual report most commonly in the form of a speech.