8.21 Nominations. There shall be no primary elections for nomination to Municipal office. Nominations for Municipal elective officers shall be made by individual petition only as prescribed in Section 8.32, and shall be filed with the Board of Elections of Lake County in accordance with rules and deadlines set by the Board of Elections. The required percentage shall be at least one percent (1%) for Council Member candidates and at least four percent (4%) for Mayoral candidates of the number of electors voting in the last general Municipal election.
(Amended 11-2-21)
8.22 Initiative and Referendum Petitions. The electors shall have the power to propose any legislative measure by initiative petition or to demand repeal of any ordinance by referendum petition with the exception of one appropriating money. Such petition shall comply with the provisions of Section 8.32
, and the required percentage shall be at least ten percent (10%).
Upon certification of such petition to the Council, the Council shall provide for a public hearing and take final action within thirty (30) days after its receipt of such petition.
If the petitioners are not satisfied with the action of the Council, they may file with the Clerk, within ten (10) days after final action by the Council or after the thirty-day period prescribed above if the Council fails to act, a second petition containing the signatures of an additional five percent (5%), requiring that such initiated or referred ordinance be submitted to a vote of the electors.
If conflicting ordinances are approved by the electors at the same election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail.
8.23 Recall. Any person holding elective office in the City who is guilty of malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office, may be removed from office by recall. After an elective officer of the City has served six (6) months of his term, a petition demanding his removal may be filed with the Clerk; such petition shall state facts, in not more than two hundred words, which allege said officer to be guilty of malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office. Such petition shall comply with the provisions of Section 8.32 and the required percentage of electors signing such petition shall be at least twenty percent (20%) of the number of electors voting in the last general Municipal election. If the Clerk shall find the petition and the allegations contained therein legally sufficient, he shall promptly certify his findings to the Council, deliver a copy of each certification to the officer whose removal is sought, and make a record of the delivery.
If such officer shall not resign within five (5) days after the date of delivery, Council shall forthwith call an election as prescribed in Section 8.31, and the Clerk shall comply with the provisions of Section 8.33. At such recall election, this question shall be placed on the ballot: "Shall (officer's name) be allowed to continue as (name of office)?", with provision on the ballot for voting affirmatively or negatively on such question.
If the majority of the votes cast at such election shall be voted affirmatively, such officer shall remain in office.
If a majority of the votes cast shall be voted negatively, such officer shall be considered as removed, his office shall be deemed vacant, and such vacancy shall be filled as provided for in this Charter. The officer removed by such recall election shall not be eligible for appointment to the vacancy thereby created. (Amended 11-2-21)