Section 1. Any ordinance which may legally be adopted by the Council of the Village of Franklin may be proposed by petition signed by a number of registered electors of the Village of Franklin equal in number to at least ten (10) per cent of the number of registered electors in the Village as certified by the Village Clerk. Such petition shall be addressed to the Council and shall set forth at length the ordinance proposed to be enacted. With each signature attached thereto, there shall be given the street and house number of the residence of the elector so signing, and the date when such signature was attached. The petition may be signed on separate identical forms, but all signed counterparts of the petition shall be filed with the Village Clerk at one (1) and the same time. An affidavit made by a registered elector of the Village shall be attached to each signed counterpart of the petition, which shall state that each signature appearing on the counterpart is the genuine signature of the person of whom it purports to be, and that to the best of affiant's knowledge and belief, the signers whose names are attached thereto are registered electors of the Village of Franklin.
Section 2. Said petition, when signed by the requisite number of registered electors, shall be filed with the Village Clerk. Such Clerk shall attach thereto a certificate, setting forth the name and address of the person or persons filing the said petition in his or her office and the date when said petition was filed. A copy of said petition, exclusive of signature, and of said certificate shall be entered in a record book to be kept for that purpose in the office of the Village Clerk.
Section 3. Within fifteen (15) days from the date of the filing of said petition with the Village Clerk, it shall be the duty of such Clerk to ascertain by comparison of said petition with the registration records of the Village of Franklin, whether or not such petition is signed by the requisite number of registered electors, and following such examination, the Clerk shall attach to said petition his or her certificate showing the result of such examination.
Section 4. If the certificate of the Village Clerk so attached shows the petition to be insufficient, he or she shall within ten (10) days cause notice in writing, setting forth the fact that such petition is found to be insufficient to be served upon at least one (1) of the persons designated in the certificate attached by him or her to said petition as the persons who filed said petition in his or her office. Depositing the said notice in the United States mail, addressed to such person at the address shown on the certificate provided in Section 2 of this chapter, shall be deemed sufficient service. Additional signatures to said petition, properly verified as hereinbefore provided, may be filed with the Village Clerk at any time within twenty (20) days from the date of the service of such notice. The Village Clerk shall attach his or her certificate to such additional typed counterparts of the petition showing the date when the same were filed, and shall cause said certificate to be entered in the record book along with the original record of the petition and certificate. The Village Clerk shall, within five (5) days after filing of such additional signatures, certify to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the additional signatures. If the number of signatures is still shown to be insufficient, or if no additional signatures are so filed, such petition shall be deemed to be of no effect. A new petition for the same purpose, however, may be later filed.
Section 5. When the petition shall be found by the Village Clerk to be sufficient, he or she shall so certify to the Council at its next regular meeting.
Section 6. If such petition shall be signed by the required number of registered electors of the Village, the Council shall, within twenty (20) days after the meeting at which such petition is submitted to it, either:
(1) Pass said ordinance without alteration subject to the referendum provided by this Charter, or
(2) Reject said ordinance and submit the same without alteration to vote of the qualified electors of the Village at the next regular or special election occurring not less than fifty (50) days from the date of such rejection by the Council; provided, however, that the Council may, by a five-sixths (5/6) vote of the Trustees, call a special election for the purpose of submitting such ordinance, the same to be held not less than fifty (50) days after the rejection of such ordinance by the Council.
Section 7. Within thirty (30) days after the publication of any ordinance duly passed by the Council, a petition may be presented to the Council by filing the same with the Village Clerk, protesting against such ordinance continuing in effect. Said petition shall contain the text of such ordinance and shall be signed by registered electors of the Village equal in number to at least ten (10) per cent of the number of registered electors in the Village as certified by the Village Clerk. Said ordinance shall thereupon and thereby be suspended from operation unless the Council shall, by unanimous vote of those present at its first meeting after the filing of said petition, declare that such ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, peace or safety. The Council shall immediately reconsider such ordinance and if the same be not repealed, the Council shall submit the question of its approval or disapproval to a vote of the electors of the Village at the next regular or special election occurring in not less than fifty (50) days; provided, that the Council, by a five-sixths (5/6) vote of its members elect, may call a special election for the purpose of submitting such question, such election to be held in not less than fifty (50) days from the calling thereof. If a majority of the electors voting thereon at such election vote in favor thereof, said ordinance shall be deemed to have been approved and shall be in full force and effect; otherwise it shall be null and void. The procedure in regard to such petition of protest and referendum shall be the same as provided in this chapter for the initiative and referendum on a proposed ordinance with such modification as the nature of the case may require.
Section 8. The Council may, of its own motion, submit to a referendum for adoption or rejection at any regular or special election held in said Village for any proposed ordinance, in the same manner and with the same force and effect as provided in this chapter for submission on petition. No such ordinance shall be submitted, however, at any election to be held less than fifty (50) days from the date of the meeting of the Council at which such ordinance is ordered submitted.
Section 9. If the provisions of two (2) or more proposed ordinances adopted or approved at the same election are inconsistent, then the ordinance receiving the highest affirmative vote shall prevail.
Section 10. Whenever any ordinance is submitted to the voters of the Village at any election, the Council shall cause such ordinance to be published by inserting the same in full at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village or published by posting the same in ten (10) conspicuous places in the Village, such publication to be made not less than ten (10) days before the election.
Section 11. The ballot or ballot labels used when voting upon such ordinance shall be provided in accordance with law, and shall state the nature of the ordinance in terms sufficient to identify it. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the proposed ordinance shall vote in favor thereof, the same shall thereupon become an ordinance of the Village.
Section 12. An ordinance adopted by the electors through initiatory proceedings may not be amended or repealed by the Council for one (1) year after the date of the election at which it was adopted. An ordinance repealed by the electors may not be re-enacted by the Council for one (1) year after the date of the election at which it was repealed.
Section 13. In computing the number of signers to any petition provided for in this chapter, no signature shall be counted which was affixed thereto more than sixty (60) days prior to the filing of such petition with the Village Clerk.