(a) Ordinances and resolutions may be proposed by initiative petition and adopted by election. Ordinances and resolutions adopted by Council shall be subject to referendum as provided by the Constitution and laws of Ohio, except as deviated from by this Charter as follows:
(1) Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by not less than ten percent (10%) of the number of persons voting in the City in the preceding gubernatorial election;
(2) Initiative and referendum petitions shall be filed with the Office of the Clerk of Council for review of sufficiency including the number, but not the validity, of signatures as indicated in (a)(1) above.
(b) When an initiative petition which meets the requirements of this Charter is properly filed with the Office of the Clerk of Council, the Clerk shall, within ten (10) days, transmit a certified copy of the text of the proposed ordinance or other measure, together with the petition, to the Board of Elections.
(c) When a referendum petition which meets the requirements of this Charter, signed as in (a)(1) above, is properly filed with the Office of the Clerk within fifteen (15) days after any ordinance or other measure is passed by the legislative authority, ordering such ordinance or measure to be submitted to the electors of the City for their approval or rejection, the Clerk, within ten (10) days, shall transmit the petition and a certified copy of the text of the proposed ordinance or other measure to the Board of Elections.
(d) The Board shall examine all signatures on initiative and referendum petitions to determine the number of qualified electors of the City who signed the petition. The Board shall return the petition to the Clerk within ten (10) days after receiving it, together with a statement attesting to the number of such electors who signed the petition. If the petition contains the required number of valid signatures, the Clerk shall forthwith certify the sufficiency and validity of the petition to the Board of Elections.
(e) The Board shall submit the ordinance or measure to the electors of the City, for their approval or rejection, at the next succeeding general election, occurring subsequent to seventy-five (75) days after the Clerk certifies the sufficiency and validity of the petition to the Board of Elections, unless Council, by a majority vote of its members, submits such ordinance or measure for approval or rejection at a special election.
(Amended Nov. 3, 1998; Nov. 7, 2006)