Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 09-16-08 workshop agenda — reading text

47 Section 6. 04. Initiative, Citizen Referendum, and Recall. a) Alternative I — Provisions Provided by State Law. The powers of initiative, citizen referendum, and recall are hereby reserved to the electors of the city. Alternative II - General Authority for Initiative, Citizen Referendum, and Recall. 1) Initiative. The registered voters of the city shall have power to propose ordinances to the council and, if the council fails to adopt an ordinance so proposed without any change in substance, to adopt or reject it at a city election, but such power shall not extend to the budget or capital program or any ordinance relating to appropriation of money, levy of taxes or salaries of city officers or employees. 2) Citizen Referendum. The registered voters of the city shall have power to ordinance and, if the require reconsideration by the council of any adopted council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, to approve or reject it at a city election, but such power shall not extend to the budget or capital program or any emergency ordinance or ordinance relating to appropriation of money or levy of taxes. 3) Recall. The registered voters of the city shall have power to recall elected officials of the city, but no recall petition shall be filed against any official within six months after the official takes office, nor, in case of a member subjected to a recall election and not removed, until at least six months after the election. b) Commencement of Proceeding; Petitioners' Committee; Any five Affidavit. registered voters may commence initiative, citizen referendum, or recall 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, 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, citing the ordinance sought to be reconsidered, or stating the name and title of the officer sought to be recalled accompanied by a statement, not to exceed 200 words, of the reasons for the recall. Grounds for recall should relate to and affect the administration of the official' s office, and be of a substantial nature directly affecting the rights and interests of the public. Promptly after receipt of a recall petition, the clerk shall serve, personally or by certified mail, a copy of the affidavit on the elected officer sought to be recalled. Within 10 days of service of the the elected officer sought to be recalled may file a statement with the city clerk, affidavit, not to exceed 200 words, in response. Promptly after the affidavit of the petitioners' committee is filed, and the response, if any, of the elected official sought to be recalled is filed, the clerk shall issue the appropriate petition blanks to the petitioners' committee. c) Petitions. 1) Number of Signatures. Initiative and citizen referendum petitions must be signed by registered voters of the city equal in number to at least [ 5 to 10] percent of the total number of registered voters to vote at the last regular election. Recall petitions must be signed by registered voters of the city equal in number to at least [ 10 to 20] percent of the total number of registered voters to vote at the last regular election. 2) Form and Content. All papers of a petition shall be uniform in size and style and shall be assembled as one instrument for filing. Each signature shall be executed in ink or indelible pencil and shall be followed by the address of the person signing. Initiative and citizen referendum petitions shall contain or have attached thereto throughout their circulation the full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered. Recall petitions shall contain the name and title of the official sought to be recalled, the statement of grounds for the recall, and the response of the official sought to be recalled, if any. If no response was filed, the petition shall so state. 3) Affidavit of Circulator. Each paper of a petition shall have attached to it when filed an affidavit executed by the person circulating it stating that he or she personally circulated the paper, the number of signatures thereon, that all the signatures were affixed in his or her presence, that he or she 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. 4) Time for Filing Referendum and Recall Petitions. Referendum petitions must be filed within 30 days after adoption by the council of the ordinance sought to be reconsidered. Recall petitions must be filed within [ 40 to 160] days of the filing of the petitioners' affidavit initiating the recall procedure. d) Procedure after Filing. 1) Certificate of Clerk; Amendment. Within twenty days after the petition is filed, the city clerk shall complete a certificate as to its sufficiency, specifying, if it is insufficient, 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 for lack of the required number of valid signatures may be amended once if the petitioners' committee files a notice of intention to amend it with the clerk within two days after receiving the copy of his or her certificate and files a supplementary petition upon additional papers within ten days after receiving the copy of such certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with the requirements of paragraphs ( 2) and ( 3) of § 6. 04( c), and within five days after it is filed the 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 suf- ficient, or if a petition or amended petition is certified insufficient and the peti- tioners' committee does not elect to amend or request council review under paragraph (2) of this subsection within the time required, the clerk shall prompt- ly present his or her certificate to the council and the certificate shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition. 2) Council Review. If a petition has been certified insufficient and the petition- ers committee does not file notice of intention to amend it or if an amended petition has been certified insufficient, the committee may, within two 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 determi- nation shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition. A council member who is the subject of a recall petition shall not be eligible to act in the determination of sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. 3) 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 suttained upon court review, shall not prejudice the filing of a new peti- tion for the same purpose. e) Referendum Petitions; Suspension of Effect of Ordinance. When a referendum peti- tion is filed with the city clerk, the ordinance sought to be reconsidered shall be suspended from taking effect. Such suspension shall terminate when: i) There is a final determination of insufficiency of the petition, or ii) The petitioners' committee withdraws the petition, or iii) The council repeals the ordinance, or iv) Thirty days have elapsed after a vote of the city on the ordinance. f) Action on Petitions. 1) Action by Council. When an initiative or referendum petition has been finally determined sufficient, the council shall promptly consider the proposed initiative ordinance in the manner provided in Article II or reconsider the referred ordinance by voting its repeal. If the council fails to adopt a proposed initiative ordinance without any change in substance within sixty days or fails to repeal the referred ordinance within thirty days after the date the petition was finally determined sufficient, it shall submit the proposed or referred ordinance to the voters of the city. The council shall promptly order a recall 50  election to occur within [ 30 to 90] days of the date the recall petition was finally determined sufficient. 2) Submission to Voters of Proposed or Referred Ordinances. The vote of the city on a proposed or referred ordinance shall be held not less than 30 days and not later than one year from the date of the final council vote thereon. If no regular city election is to be held within the period prescribed in this subsection, the council shall provide for a special election; otherwise, the vote shall be held at the same time as such regular election, except that the council may in its discretion provide for a special election at an earlier date within the prescribed period. Copies of the proposed or referred ordinance shall be made available at the polls. 3) Withdrawal of Petitions. An initiative, referendum, or recall petition may be withdrawn at any time prior to the fifteenth day preceding the day scheduled for a vote of the city by filing with the city clerk a request for withdrawal signed by at least two -thirds of the petitioners' committee. Upon the filing of such request the petition shall have no further force or effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated. g) Results of Election. 1) Initiative. If a majority of the registered voters voting on a proposed initiative ordinance vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of the election results and shall be treated in all respects in the same manner as ordinances of the same kind by the council. If adopted conflicting ordinances are approved at the same election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict. 2) Referendum. If a majority of the