Proposed amendments to this Charter may be submitted to the electors of the City by a two-thirds vote of the members of Council, and upon petition signed by voters equal in number to ten (10) percentum of the total vote cast at the last preceding regular Municipal election of the City, setting forth any such proposed amendment, prepared and filed with the Council, through its Clerk in the manner and form prescribed in this Charter for the preparation and filing with the Clerk of an initiative petition for an ordinance, such proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the City by the Council. When ten (10) days and two regular meetings of the Council have passed after the filing of a petition fulfilling the requirements of this section, then the Council shall forthwith provide by ordinance for the submission to the electors of the proposed amendment to this Charter. The ordinance providing for the submission of any such proposed amendments shall require that such proposed amendment be submitted to the electors at a primary or general election on the day designated by State law and said ordinance shall be passed not less than sixty (60) days prior to the day on which said election is to be held, except that such proposed amendment may be submitted to the electors at a special election when authorized by two-thirds vote of the Council. Such special election shall be held not less than sixty (60) days nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days after the passage of the ordinance providing for the submission of the proposed amendment. The Clerk of the Council shall transmit to the election authorities prescribed by general law a duly authenticated copy of such ordinance forthwith upon its passage. The Clerk of the Council shall give notice of such proposed amendments to the Charter in one of the following ways as may be determined by the Council of the City of Lima, Ohio:
Not less than thirty days prior to the election at which the amendment is to be submitted to the electors, the Clerk of the Municipality shall mail a copy of the proposed Charter amendment to each elector whose name appears upon the poll of registration books of the last regular or general election held therein.
The full text of the proposed Charter amendment shall be published once a week for not less than two consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the Municipal corporation, with the first publication being at least fifteen days prior to the election at which the amendment is to be submitted to the electors. If no newspaper is published in the Municipal corporation, then such publication shall be made in a newspaper of general circulation with the Municipal corporation.
If such proposed amendment is approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon it shall become a part of the Charter of the City at the time fixed in the amendment; and if no time is fixed therein, then it shall become a part of the Charter upon its approval by the electors. Proposed amendments to this Charter may be submitted to the electors by ballot title, which shall be clear, concise statements, without argument, descriptive of the substance of such proposed amendments. If conflicting proposed amendments to this Charter shall be approved at the same election, the one receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall be the amendment to the Charter.
(Amended 11-2-71)