ARTICLE X INITIATIVE, REFERENDUM, AND RECALL

§ 10.01 INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM.

   (A)   Ordinances and resolutions may be proposed by initiative petition and adopted by election and ordinances and resolutions adopted by Council shall be subject to referendum as provided by the Constitution and Laws of Ohio, except:

      (1)   Initiative and referendum petitions shall be filed with the Clerk of Council who shall within twenty (20) days of the filing date of the petition, deliver to the Board of Elections for certification of the text. Upon receipt of the certification from the Board of Elections, the Clerk of Council shall promptly notify the Council and the petitioner.

      (2)   Ordinances and resolutions initiated by petition or subjected to referendum shall be submitted to the electors for approval or rejection at the next general or primary election occurring subsequent to ninety (90) days after certification of the text of the ordinance or resolution to the Board of Elections, unless Council, by a majority vote of its members, submits such ordinances or resolutions for approval or rejection at a special election.

   (B)   Upon receipt of a written notice of intention to circulate initiative or referendum petitions by any person, the Director of Law shall provide copies of applicable state statutes referred to in Division (A) of this section to the person filing the notice within three days after receipt of the notice.  The Director of Law shall not be required to give advice to the person filing the notice concerning the provisions of this Charter or the statutes relating to initiative or referendum.  This Division is declared to be directory only and not mandatory, and the filing of a notice, as authorized under this Division, is not a prerequisite to the filing of initiative or referendum petitions.

(Revision approved by the voters 11-3-92)

§ 10.02 RECALL.

   (A)   The electors shall have the power to remove any elected official of the municipality from office by a recall election in the manner provided in this section.

   (B)   If the elected official shall have served six (6) months of a term, a petition demanding removal 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 filing; and shall deliver to the person a receipt, and attach a copy of the receipt to said petition. The petition may be circulated in separate parts, but the separate parts shall be bound together and filed as one (1) instrument.  Each part shall contain the name and office of the person whose removal is sought and a statement of the grounds for removal.  The petition shall be signed by at least that number of electors which equals fifteen (15) per cent in number of the electors voting at the last preceding regular municipal election.

   (C)   Within twenty (20) days after the filing date on a petition, the Clerk of Council shall determine whether or not the petition meets the requirements of this section.  If the Clerk of Council shall find the petition insufficient, he shall promptly certify the particulars in which the petition is defective, deliver a copy of the certificate to the person who filed the petition, and make a record of the delivery.  The person who filed the petition shall be allowed a period of ten (10) days after the day on which the delivery was made, in which to make the petition  sufficient.  If the Clerk of Council finds the petition sufficient, he shall promptly certify its sufficiency to Council, deliver a copy of the certificate to the person whose removal is sought, and make a record of that delivery.

   (D)   If the person whose removal is sought does not resign within five (5) days after the day on which delivery has been made, Council shall thereupon fix a day for holding a recall election, not less than seventy- five (75) days nor more than ninety (90) days after the date of delivery, and shall cause notice of the recall election to be published on the same day of each week, for two (2) consecutive weeks, in a newspaper determined by Council to be of general circulation in the municipality.  At a recall election, this question shall be placed upon the ballot:  "Shall (naming the person whose removal is sought) be allowed to continue as (naming the position held)?", with provision on the ballot for voting affirmatively or negatively.  In the event a majority of the vote is negative, the person shall be considered as removed and the office shall be deemed vacant.  The person removed at the recall election shall not be eligible for appointment to the vacancy.  If the person is not removed at the recall election, no further recall petitions shall be filed against such person for a period of one (1) year following the election.

   (E)   A removal by recall election shall not bar the person removed from becoming a candidate for office in future elections.

   (F)   If, at any such recall election, the incumbent whose removal is sought is not recalled, the incumbent shall be repaid the incumbent's actual and legitimate expenses for such election from the treasury of the municipal corporation, but such sum shall not exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000).

ARTICLE XI GENERAL PROVISIONS

§ 11.01 PERSONAL FINANCIAL INTEREST.

   Any municipal officer or employee or member of any Board or Commission who has a financial interest, direct or indirect, or by reason of ownership of stock in any corporation, in any contract with the municipality or in the sale of land, material, supplies, or services to the municipality, or to a contractor supplying the municipality, shall make known that interest and shall refrain from voting upon or otherwise participating in his or her capacity as a municipal officer or employee in the making of such sale or in the making or performance of such contract.  Any municipal officer or employee who willfully conceals such a substantial financial interest or willfully violates the requirements of this section shall be subject to the procedures for forfeiture of office under § 4.08 (C).  Any municipal officer or employee declared in violation of this prohibition of the Charter, and removed from office under § 4.08 (C) shall not be eligible to hold further office or employment in the municipal government for a five (5) year period.  Violation of this section with the knowledge expressed or implied of the person or corporation contracting with or making a sale to the muncipality shall render the contract or sale voidable by the Municipal Manager or the Municipal Council.

§ 11.02 PROHIBITIONS AND PENALTIES.

   (A)   PROHIBITIONS:

      (1)   No person shall be appointed to or removed from or in any way favored or discriminated against with respect to any municipal position or appointive municipal administrative office because of race, sex, or political or religious opinions or affiliations.

      (2)   No person shall willfully make any false statement, certificate, rating, or report with regard to any test, certification, or appointment under the personnel provisions of this Charter or the rules and regulations made thereunder, or in any manner commit or attempt to commit any fraud preventing the impartial execution of such provisions, rules, and regulations.

      (3)   No person who seeks appointment or promotion with respect to any municipal position or appointive municipal administrative office shall directly or indirectly give, render, or pay any money, service, or other valuable thing to any person for or in connection with this test, appointment, proposed appointment, promotion, or proposed promotion.

   (B)   PENALTIES:  Any person who by himself or herself or with others shall willfully violate any of the provisions of § 11.02 (A) (1), (2), and (3) shall be subject to such penalties as shall be prescribed by previous ordinance or resolution of Council.  The Municipal Manager, upon advice and counsel of the Director of Law, shall order prosecution within the appropriate court of violators.  Any person convicted under this section shall be ineligible for a period of five (5) years thereafter to hold any municipal office or position; and, if an officer or employee of the Municipality, he or she shall immediately forfeit his or her office or position through action by the Municipal Manager.

§ 11.03 CHARTER AMENDMENT.

   This Charter may be amended as provided by and under the Constitution and Laws of the State of Ohio.