CHAPTER VI
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
Section 6.1 General Authority.
a. INITIATIVE. The registered electors of the City shall have power to propose in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter any ordinance to the Council except an ordinance pertaining to the City budget, capital program, appropriation of funds, levy of the valorem taxes, salaries of City employees or officers or zoning. In the event Council fails to adopt said proposed ordinance in substance, the said proposed ordinance shall be submitted to the registered electors at a City election for their acceptance or rejection.
b. REFERENDUM. The registered electors of the City shall have power to require reconsideration by the Council of any ordinance and, if the Council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, the registered electors of the City shall have the power to require a City election for approval or rejection of the referred ordinance in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, provided that such power shall not extend to referring any ordinance pertaining to the City budget, capital program, appropriations of funds, levy of ad valorem taxes, calling a special election, zoning, or authorizing the issuance of local improvement district bonds payable primarily from special assessments, levying special assessments, ordinances for meeting the contractual obligations of the City, or ordinances containing a declaration that passage was for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety or welfare.
Section 6.2 Commencement of Proceedings — Petitioners’ Committee.
Any five (5) registered electors may commence initiative or referendum proceedings by filing with the City Clerk an affidavit stating they will constitute the petitioners’ committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form with the City Clerk, stating their names and addresses and specifying the address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent, and setting out in full the proposed initiative ordinance or citing the ordinance sought to be reconsidered.
Section 6.3 Petitions.
a. NUMBER OF SIGNATURES. Initiative petitions must be signed by registered electors of the City equal in number to at least fifteen per cent (15 pct.) of the total number of votes cast at the last regular municipal election. Referendum petitions must be signed by registered electors of the City equal in number to at least fifteen per cent (15 pct.) of the total number of votes cast at the last regular municipal election. All signatures on the petitions shall be obtained within thirty (30) days before the date of filing the petition with the City Clerk.
b. FORM AND CONTENT. Any such petition shall be addressed to the City Council. All pages of a petition shall be uniform in size and style and shall be assembled as one instrument for filing. Each signature shall be followed by the address of the person signing and the date of signing. Petitions shall contain or have attached thereto throughout their circulation the full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered. No petition shall propose to initiate more than one (1) ordinance, and no petition shall propose to refer more than one (1) ordinance.
c. AFFIDAVIT OF CIRCULATOR. Each page of a petition shall have attached to it, when filed, an affidavit executed by the circulator thereof stating that he personally circulated the petition, the number of signatures thereon, that all the signatures were affixed in his presence, that he believes them to be the genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be, and that each signer had an opportunity before signing, to read the full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered.
d. TIME FOR FILING REFERENDUM PETITIONS. Referendum petitions shall be void unless filed with the City Clerk within thirty (30) days after final adoption by the Council of the ordinance to be reconsidered.
Section 6.4 Procedure After Filing.
a. CERTIFICATE OF CLERK: AMENDMENT OF PETITION. Within ten (10) days after the petition is filed, the City Clerk shall complete a certificate as to its sufficiency, specifying, if it is sufficient, the particulars wherein it is defective and shall promptly send a copy of the certificate to the petitioners’ committee by registered mail. A petition certified insufficient may be amended once if the petitioners’ committee files a supplemental petition upon additional forms with the City Clerk within ten (10) days after receiving the copy of the City Clerk’s certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with the requirements of Section 6.3, subsections b. and c. and within five (5) days after it is filed, the City Clerk shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition as amended, and promptly send a copy of such certificate to the petitioners’ committee by registered mail as in the case of an original petition. If a petition or amended petition is certified sufficient, or if a petition or amended petition is certified insufficient and the petitioners’ committee does not elect to amend or request Council review under Section 6.4, subsection b., within the time required, the Clerk shall promptly present his certificate to the Council and the certificate shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.
b. COUNCIL REVIEW. If a petition has been certified insufficient, the petitioners’ committee may, within two (2) days after receiving the copy of such certificate, file a request that it be reviewed by the Council. The Council shall review the certificate at its next meeting following the filing of such request and approve or disapprove it, and the Council’s determination shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.
c. COURT REVIEW; NEW PETITION. A final determination as to the sufficiency of a petition shall be subject to Court review. A final determination of insufficiency, even if sustained upon Court review, shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose, including a referendum petition, provided that in the case of a referendum petition, the same was originally filed in compliance with Section 6.3, subsection d. of this Charter, and it is filed within thirty (30) days after the final determination of insufficiency.
Section 6.5 Referendum Petitions — Suspension of Effect of Ordinance.
a. The presentation to the Council by the Clerk of a valid and sufficient referendum petition containing a number of signatures of the registered electors of the City equal to fifteen per cent (15 pct.) of the total number of votes cast at the last regular municipal election, which signatures were obtained within thirty (30) days before the date of filing the petition with the Clerk, shall automatically suspend the operation of the ordinance or part thereof in question, pending repeal by the Council or final determination by the registered electors.
b. Such suspension shall terminate when:
(1) The petitioners’ committee withdraw the petition; or,
(2) The Council repeals the ordinance; or
(3) Ten (10) days have elapsed after a vote of the registered electors in favor of the ordinance.
Section 6.6 Action on Petitions.
a. ACTION BY COUNCIL. Upon the presentation to the Council of valid and sufficient initiative or referendum petition as provided herein, the Council shall, within thirty (30) days, either:
(1) Adopt the ordinance as submitted by an initiative petition without any change in substance; or
(2) Adopt the ordinance in part as submitted by an initiative petition and submit the remainder of the proposed ordinance provided for in the petition to the registered electors; or (3) Submit the entire proposal provided for in the petition to registered electors without change in substance; or
(4) Repeal the ordinance referred to by the referendum petition; or
(5) Repeal the ordinance referred to in the referendum petition in part and refer the remaining portion of the ordinance to a vote of the registered electors.
b. SUBMISSION TO VOTERS.
(1) Should the Council desire to submit a proposal to the registered electors, it shall be submitted at the next municipal election held in the City for any purpose or, in the discretion of the Council, at a special municipal election called for that specific purpose.
(2) In the event no municipal election is to be held in the City for any other purpose within one hundred fifty (150) days from the date of the petition is presented to the Council, and the Council does not enact all of a proposed ordinance in substance, or repeal all of a referred ordinance, then the Council shall call a special municipal election to be held in not less than thirty (30) days and not later than ninety (90) days from the date of the final Council vote on the petition.
(3) Not more than one (1) special election under this Chapter. shall be held in any twelve (12) months.
(4) The result of all municipal elections held under the provisions of this Section shall be determined by a majority vote of the electors voting thereon.
c. WITHDRAWAL OF PETITION. An initiative or referendum petition may be withdrawn at any time prior to the twentieth (20th) day preceding the day scheduled for a vote of the registered electors by filing with the City Clerk a request for withdrawal signed by all members of the petitioners’ committee. Upon filing of such request the petition shall have no further force or effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated.
Section 6.7 Submission of Ordinance by Council.
The Council on its own motion, shall have the power to submit at a regular or special election any proposed ordinance or question to a vote of the people in a manner as it is in this Chapter provided.
Section 6.8 Number of Issues Submitted.
Any number of proposed initiative ordinances or proposed repeal of referred ordinances may be considered at the same election.
Section 6.9 Results of Election.
a. INITIATIVE. If a majority of the electors voting on a proposed initiative ordinance vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of the election results. If conflicting ordinances are approved at the same election, the one (1) receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
b. REFERENDUM. If a majority of the electors voting on a referred ordinance vote against the ordinance, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results.
c. An ordinance adopted by the electorate may not be amended or repealed for a period of at least twelve (12) months after the date of the election at which it was adopted, and an ordinance repealed by the electorate may not be reenacted for a period of at least twelve (12) months after the date of the election at which it was repealed; provided; however, that any ordinance may be adopted, amended or repealed at any time by appropriate referendum or initiative procedure in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Charter, or if submitted to the electorate by the Council on its own motion.
Section 6.10 Additional Rules and Regulations.
The Council may make such additional rules and regulations not inconsistent with this Charter as are deemed necessary to implement this Chapter.