The electors shall have the power to remove from office by recall election any elected officer of the City who has served at least six months of the elected term.
The petition to recall an elected officer shall meet the following requirements:
A. The petition shall be on 8½" by 14" paper, and each page shall be printed on both sides and shall include a Montgomery County Board of Elections Certificate of Validity at the bottom of the second side.
B. The title of the petition shall include the name and office of the person whose removal is sought as well as a statement of not more than two hundred words of the grounds for removal.
C. The title, as described above, shall appear on every page. Pages may be circulated separately, but the separate pages must be bound together and filed as a single instrument.
D. The petition for recall of the Mayor shall be signed by not less than the number of qualified electors of the City equal to thirty percent of the ballots cast in the election of the officer whose removal is sought.
The petition for recall of a Ward Member of Council shall be signed by not less than the number of qualified electors of the Ward equal to thirty percent of the ballots cast in the election of the officer whose removal is sought.
The petition for recall of a Council Member At Large shall be signed by not less than the number of qualified electors of the City equal to fifteen percent of the ballots cast in the election of the officer whose removal is sought.
E. All qualified electors may sign the petition, regardless of whether they voted in the election of the officer whose removal is sought.
F. The signature section of the petition shall be divided into the following four columns in this specific order: printed name, printed address, signature and date.
G. The petition shall include the following warning: "Whoever commits election falsification is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree."
H. The petition shall include the following circulator statement: "I, ________________, declare under penalty of election falsification that I am a qualified elector of the State of Ohio, City of Moraine, and I reside at the address appearing below my signature; that I am the circulator of the foregoing petitions containing _______ signatures; that I witnessed the affixing of signature; that all signers were to the best of my knowledge and belief qualified to sign; and that every signature is to the best of my knowledge and belief the signature of the person whose signature it purports to be.
Prior to circulation, the petition for recall shall be submitted to the Clerk of Council for review. The Clerk of Council shall approve the petition as to form and shall certify that the petition meets the above criteria as to form within two business days of the receipt of said petition. If the Clerk of Council determines the petition does not meet the required criteria as to form, the Clerk shall notify the person who submitted the petition of the specific defects of said petition. The Clerk shall make a record of such determination and notification.
The completed and approved petition for recall shall be filed with the Montgomery County Board of Elections. The Board of Elections shall note thereon the name and address of the person filing the petition and the date of such filing. Within ten business days of the receipt of said petition for recall, the Montgomery County Board of Elections shall certify the number of valid signatures of qualified electors contained on the petition for recall and shall determine if the completed petition meets the requirements of Section 9.3(D). The Board of Elections shall deliver a copy of their certificate to the person who filed the petition for recall and shall make a record of such delivery. If the Board of Elections determines the number of valid signatures of qualified electors on the petition is insufficient, the person who filed the petition shall be allowed a period of twenty days from the date such determination is delivered to make the petition sufficient.
If the Board of Elections shall find the petition contains a sufficient number of valid signatures of qualified electors, they shall promptly so certify to the Council, shall deliver a copy of such certificate to the officer whose removal is sought, and shall make a record of such delivery. If the officer whose removal is sought does not resign within five days of the date said delivery is made, the Clerk of Council shall schedule a recall election. The recall election shall occur not less than ninety (90) days following said five-day period and be scheduled to take place on the same date as the next scheduled primary election in March or May (or as otherwise scheduled pursuant to the laws of the state of Ohio) or general election in November, whichever is the earlier. The following question shall be placed on the ballot at a recall election: "Shall (naming the officer) be removed from (naming the office)?" The ballot shall also contain the provision for voting "Yes" or "No." If the majority of the votes cast is in the negative, the officer shall remain in office and shall not be subject to recall for a period of one (1) year from the date of such recall election. If the majority of the votes cast is in the affirmative, the office shall immediately be deemed vacant. Such vacancy shall be filled as described in Section 3.4 of this Charter, provided that the officer removed by the recall election shall not be eligible for appointment to the vacancy created.
(Amended 11-04-2008; Ord. 4-14-09; 11-06-2018)