(A) Power to Recall. The electors of the City shall have the right and power to remove from office by a recall election any officer of the City holding an elective office, but only after that officer has served six (6) months of his or her term. A petition demanding the removal of an elected officer may be filed with the Clerk of Council, who shall note thereon the name and address of the person filing the petition and the date of such filing, and deliver a receipt to that person.
The separate parts of the petition shall be bound together and filed as one (1) document. Each part shall contain the name and office of the person whose removal is sought and a statement in not more than two hundred (200) words of the grounds for removal. The petition shall be signed by at least that number of electors which equals twenty-five percent (25%) of the number of electors voting at the last general municipal election. Within ten (10) days after filing the petition, the Clerk of Council shall determine whether or not it meets the requirements hereof. If the Clerk of Council finds the petition insufficient, he or she promptly shall certify the particulars in which the petition is insufficient, deliver a copy of his or her certificate to the person who filed the petition, and make a record of such delivery. The person who filed the petition shall be allowed a one (1) time period of twenty (20) days after the day on which the delivery of the certificate was made to him or her to make the petition sufficient. If the Clerk of Council finds the petition sufficient, he or she promptly shall certify it to Council, deliver a copy of the petition and his or her certificate to the officer whose removal is sought, and make a record of such delivery if the officer does not resign.
(B) Failure to Resign. If the officer does not resign within five (5) days after the day on which such delivery is made, Council, by ordinance or resolution, shall fix a day for holding a recall election, not less than sixty (60) days nor more than seventy-five (75) days after the date of such delivery. The Clerk of Council shall certify the ordinance or resolution providing for such election to the appropriate election authorities upon receipt from the person filing the petition of a bond, cash, certified check or cashier's check in an amount equal to the cost of such election as reasonably estimated by the Clerk of Council, such security to be retained and used by the City to pay the costs of the recall election if a majority of the votes cast are against the recall of the officer, otherwise to be returned to the person filing the petition upon certification of the results of the election.
(C) Ballot Wording and Eligibility of Appointment. At the recall election, this question shall be placed upon the ballot substantially in the following form or as otherwise permitted by the board of elections: "Shall (naming the officer) be allowed to continue as (naming the office)?", with provisions on the ballot for voting affirmatively or negatively. In the event a majority of the vote is negative, the officer shall be considered as removed, his or her office shall be considered vacant, and the vacancy shall be filled as provided by this Charter, or if this Charter is silent, as Council may decide. The person removed at the recall election shall not be eligible for appointment to the vacancy thereby created.
(D) No Additional Recall. If an officer against whom a recall petition is filed is continued in office by the vote at the recall election, no other recall petition shall be filed against him or her for a period of two (2) years.
(E) Removal by Council. Council may remove the Mayor or a Council member for gross misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office; or for conviction while in office of a crime involving moral turpitude or for any felony conviction; or if adjudicated legally incompetent; or for a violation of his or her oath of office; or for persistent failure to abide by the Rules of Council. However, such removal shall not take place without the concurrence (affirmative vote) of five (5) members of Council, and also not until the accused Mayor or Council member has been notified in writing of the charge against him or her at least ten (10) days in advance of a public hearing upon such charge, and at which time he or she (or his or her counsel should the Mayor or Council member choose to retain counsel) shall be given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence at a public hearing called by Council. An accused member of Council shall not vote on the question of his or her removal. Upon the removal of such officer, the vacancy thereby created in such office shall be filled in the manner provided by this Charter, and the officer so removed shall not be eligible for appointment to fill such vacancy.
(Amended November 8, 2016)