Section 5.01. GENERAL VOTER AUTHORITY. The voters of the City shall have the right, in accordance with this Charter, to propose ordinances, to require ordinances to be submitted to a vote, and to recall elected public officials by processes known respectively as the initiative, referendum and recall.
Section 5.02. PETITIONS. An initiative, referendum or recall, shall be initiated by a petition signed by registered voters of the City equal in number to 10 percent of registered voters as of the last City election. Each petition shall be sponsored by a committee of five registered voters whose names and addresses shall appear on the petition. A petition may consist of one or more papers, but each paper circulated separately shall contain at its head or attached to it the statement required by Sections 5.06, 5.07 or 5.08, as the case may be. The signature and street address of each signer shall appear on the petition. Each separate page of the petition shall have appended to it a certificate, verified by oath, that each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. The person making the certificate shall be a resident of the City. Any person whose name appears on a petition may withdraw such name by a statement in writing filed with the city administrator before the city administrator advises the council of the sufficiency of the petition.
(Ord. 13-715, passed 11-26-2013; Ord. 14-724, passed 6-10-2014)
Section 5.03. DETERMINATION OF SUFFICIENCY AND REGULARITY. Immediately upon receipt of the petition, the city administrator shall examine the petition as to its sufficiency and report to the council within 20 days. Upon receiving the report, the council shall determine by resolution the sufficiency and regularity of the petition, setting forth in detail any insufficiency or irregularity. Sufficient means the required number of registered voters have signed the petition and each required signature is authentic. Regular means the petition contains all subject matter upon which a vote of the people is authorized under initiative, referendum or recall procedures of this Charter, or the initiation of Charter amendments by Minnesota statutes. No member of any initiative, referendum, or recall committee, no person circulating a paper for signatures, and no signer of any such paper, or any other person, shall accept or offer any pecuniary or other reward for service rendered in connection with the circulation.
(Ord. 14-724, passed 6-10-2014)
Section 5.05. DISPOSITION OF PETITION. If the council determines that the petition is insufficient or irregular, the city administrator shall deliver a copy of the petition, together with the resolution describing the insufficiency or irregularity, to the sponsoring committee. The committee shall have 30 days in which to file additional signature papers and to correct the petition in all other particulars. If at the end of that period the council finds that the petition is still insufficient or irregular, the petition shall be filed in the office of the city administrator who shall notify the sponsoring committee. The final finding that the petition is insufficient or irregular shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose nor shall it prevent the council from referring the ordinance to the voters at the next regular or special election at its option.
Section 5.06. INITIATIVE.Any ordinance, except an ordinance relating to the budget or capital program, the appropriation of money, the levy of taxes, or the salaries of City officers or employees, may be proposed by a petition which shall state at the head of each page or attached thereto the exact text of the proposed ordinance. If the council passes the proposed ordinance with amendments and a four-fifths (4/5) majority of the sponsoring committee do not disapprove the amended form by a statement filed with the city administrator within 10 days of its passage by the council, the ordinance need not be submitted to the voters. If the council fails to enact the ordinance in acceptable form within 60 days after the final determination of sufficiency and regularity of the petition, the ordinance shall be placed on the ballot at the next election occurring in the City. If no election is to occur within 120 days after the filing of the petition, the council shall call a special election on the ordinance to be held on the earliest date permitted under Minnesota law. If a majority of those voting on the ordinance vote in its favor, it shall become effective 30 days after adoption unless the ordinance specifies a later effective date.
(Ord, 18-781, passed 3-27-2018)
Section 5.07. REFERENDUM. Any ordinance subject to the initiative may be subjected to referendum by a petition which shall state, at the head of each page or on an attached paper, a description of the ordinance. Any ordinance upon which a petition is filed, other than an emergency ordinance, shall be suspended in its operation as soon as the petition is found sufficient and regular. If the ordinance is not thereafter entirely repealed, it shall be placed on the ballot at the next election or at a special election called for that purpose, as the council determines. If a majority of the voters voting thereon favors the ordinance, it shall go into effect immediately or on the date specified in the ordinance; if a majority of the electors voting thereon votes against the ordinance, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results. If a petition is filed against an emergency ordinance, the ordinance shall remain in effect but shall be repealed if a majority of the voters voting on the ordinance vote against it.
Section 5.08. THE RECALL. In the recall petition of any elective officer of the City, the committee shall certify to the city administrator the name of the elective officer whose removal is sought, a statement of the grounds for removal in not more than 250 words, and their intention to petition for the recall of such elective officer. The statement of grounds for removal must allege serious malfeasance or nonfeasance during the term of office in the performance of the duties of the office, or conviction during the term of office of a serious crime. A copy of this certificate shall be attached to each signature paper and no signature paper shall be put into circulation previous to such certification.
Section 5.09. RECALL ELECTION.If the petition or amended petition is found sufficient and regular, the city administrator shall officially notify the person sought to be recalled of the sufficiency and regularity of the petition and of the pending action. The council shall at its next meeting, by resolution, provide for the holding of a special recall election on the earliest date permitted under Minnesota law.
(Ord. 18-781, passed 3-27-2018)