The Board shall receive all petitions addressed to them and take such action as they deem necessary and advisable.
The Board shall hold a public hearing and act with respect to every petition which is addressed to them which is signed by at least fifty electors. Action on the petition shall be taken not later than 3 months after the petition is filed with the Board. The Board shall notify the petitioners at least 48 hours before the hearing by advertising in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township.
A. 
General Authority - Initiative. All qualified electors of the Township shall have the power to propose ordinances to the Board in accordance with the provisions of this Charter. If the Board fails to adopt said ordinance without change in substance, the electors shall have the right to adopt or reject these ordinances at a municipal election. This power shall not extend to the budget, capital program, appropriation of money, levy of taxes or salaries of Township officials or employees.
B. 
General Authority - Referendum. All qualified electors of the Township shall have the power to require reconsideration by the Board in accordance with the provisions of this Charter, of any adopted ordinance not related to the budget, capital program, appropriation of money, levy of taxes and emergency measures and to approve or reject it at a municipal election if the Board fails to repeal said ordinance.
C. 
Petitioner's Committee - Affidavit. Any five qualified electors of the Township may commence initiative or referendum by filing with the Township Office an affidavit outlining committee membership, circulation procedures, committee addresses and the full text of the proposed new ordinance or the ordinance to be reconsidered. The Township shall issue the proper petition blanks to the committee.
D. 
Petition.
1. 
All initiative and referendum petitions shall be signed by at least 15% of the qualified electors registered to vote at the last Township election.
2. 
The petition form and content shall be uniform and suitable for filing.
3. 
Each signature shall be in ink and shall be accompanied by the signer's address and date.
4. 
The petition shall contain the full text of the proposed ordinance or the ordinance to be reconsidered.
5. 
On the back of each page of the petition there shall be an attached affidavit executed by the circulator verifying the authenticity of the signers.
6. 
Referendum petitions must be filed within 30 days following the adoption by the Board of the ordinance sought to be reconsidered.
E. 
Procedures.
1. 
The Township Office shall verify the accuracy and sufficiency of the petition within 30 days after filing, specifying if improper the particulars, and returning a copy of the certificate to the petition committee for corrective action. The petition committee shall file for a supplementary petition within 2 days of the receipt of the certificate and return the completed supplementary petition to the Township Office within 10 days. If within 5 days of the receipt of the supplementary petition, the amended petition is improper or insufficient, the petitioners' committee shall file for an additional supplementary petition or request council review. If neither action is taken within 10 days, the Township Office shall file the certificate with the Board and the certificate will constitute the final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.
2. 
Board Review. If the petition is certified insufficient and the petitioner does not file for amendment or if the amended petition is judged insufficient, the committee may, within 2 days after receiving the certificate, file a request with the Board for review. The Board shall review the certificate at its next meeting and rule on the sufficiency. The Board ruling will then constitute the final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition pending court review.
3. 
Court Review. The final determination of the insufficiency of the petition shall be subject to court review. Any such appeal to the Court of Common Pleas for review must be filed within 10 days after final determination by the Board. A final determination of the Court of insufficiency does not prejudice in any manner the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
F. 
Referendum Petitions - Suspension of Ordinance. When a referendum petition is filed with the Township, the ordinance sought to be reconsidered shall be suspended from taking effect. The suspension shall terminate when:
1. 
There is a final determination of insufficiency.
2. 
The petitioner's committee withdraws the petition.
3. 
The Board repeals the ordinance.
4. 
Thirty days have elapsed after the vote of the Board on the ordinance.
G. 
Action on Petition.
1. 
Action by the Board. When the initiative or referendum petition has been judged sufficient the Board shall promptly consider the proposed initiative ordinance in a manner outlined by this Charter or reconsider the referred ordinance by repealing it. If the Board fails to adopt the initiative ordinance within 60 days, or repeal the referred ordinance within 30 days after the date the petition was judged sufficient, it shall submit the proposed or referred ordinance to the voters of the Township.
2. 
The vote of the Township electors on a proposed or referred ordinance shall be held at the next following primary, municipal or general election occurring not less than 60 days, nor more than 6 months, from the date of the final Board action.
3. 
An initiative or referendum petition may be withdrawn by four members of the petition committee at any time prior to the fifteenth day after the petition was judged sufficient.
H. 
Election Results.
1. 
Initiative. If a majority of qualified electors favor the proposed initiative ordinance, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of the election results. If conflicting ordinances are approved at the same election, the one receiving the larger number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of the conflict.
2. 
Referendum. If a majority of qualified electors reject a referred ordinance, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results.
(As amended by Ord. 367, 7/26/1988, § 1(R, S & T); by Ord. 818, 8/4/2003; and by Res. 2004-25, 7/6/2004)
Any person holding a Township elected office whether by election, succession or appointment to fill a vacancy shall be subject to removal from office at a recall election in accordance with the provisions outlined in this Charter.
A. 
Recall Procedure. The recall of an incumbent of an elective office shall be initiated by a petition signed by 30% of the electors of the Township as determined by the number of registered electors who were registered at the most recent general election. The recall petition must name both the office and official against whom it is directed. Each elector signing the recall petition must in addition to his/her signature include his/her occupation, residence, election precinct and date of signing. Signature may be on separate sheets but the form and content must be uniform and suitable for filing. On the back of each sheet an affidavit must be included by the circulator verifying the authenticity of the signers, their awareness of the contents of the petition and that the other information is correct. The recall petition shall be submitted to the cognizant board of elections of the Township by the recall committee. Signatures and date more than 60 days prior to submission to the board of elections shall be invalid. Upon receipt by the board of elections, the petition shall be made available for public inspection. The board of elections shall pass on the validity of the petition. The decision of the election board shall be subject to review upon appeal to the Court of Common Pleas. Any such appeal must be filed within 10 days after the decision of the election board.
B. 
Notice to Incumbent. Upon verifying the validity and sufficiency of the petition, the election board shall notify the incumbent named of this fact. Upon receipt of such notice, the incumbent may resign thereby terminating the recall proceedings.
C. 
Recall Elections. If the incumbent does not resign within 10 days after receiving notice of the filing of the petition, a recall election shall be arranged. If a regular election is to occur not less than 30 days or more than 90 days after the 10 days grace period, the recall question shall be placed before the electors at this time. Otherwise a special recall election shall be arranged by the election board not earlier than 30 days or more than 90 days following the 10 days grace period. If the incumbent resigns in the intervening period, the election shall not be held. The question presented to the voters at a recall election shall read as follows:
"Shall (name of incumbent) be recalled and removed from the office of (name of office)?"
Proper provision shall be made for the elector to vote "yes" or "no" on the question. If a majority of registered electors who vote at a recall election vote "yes," the incumbent shall be recalled and removed from office. If a majority vote "no," the incumbent shall remain in office. If the result is in the affirmative, the official date of removal and vacancy shall correspond to the date of the certification of the election unless postponed by the court.
(As amended by Ord. 367, 7/26/1988, § 1M; and by Res. 2004-25, 7/6/2004)
No recall petition shall be filed against any incumbent of an elective office within the first year or the last nine months of the term of that person's office or within nine months after an unsuccessful recall election against that person. Any officer re-elected to a successive term shall be subject to recall also during the first year of such term.
(As amended by Res. 2004-25, 7/6/2004)