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.
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:
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"Shall (name of incumbent) be recalled and removed from the
office of (name of office)?"
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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.
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(As amended by Ord. 367, 7/26/1988, § 1M; and by Res.
2004-25, 7/6/2004)
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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)