No legislative ordinance, order or resolve passed by the City
Council shall take effect until 10 days after its passage except that
the City Council may, by a two-thirds yea and nay vote of its members,
pass emergency ordinances, orders or resolves to take effect at the
time indicated therein, but such emergency ordinances, orders or resolves
shall contain a section in which the emergency is set forth and defined.
An emergency shall include only such measures as may be determined
by the City Council to be immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety.
The submission to the vote of the people of any proposed legislative
ordinance, order or resolve, or of any legislative ordinance, order
or resolve enacted by the City Council, which has not yet taken effect,
may be accomplished by presenting a petition therefor to the City
Council. The form of such petitions, the number of signatures required
thereon, the procedure for circulating and presenting such petitions
and the manner of voting thereon, shall be prescribed by the City
Council by ordinance.
All ordinances adopted by the City Council for this purpose shall comply with Article 4, Part 3, Section 21 of the Maine Constitution; Title 21-A M.R.S.A. Section 903 - A; and Title 30A, MRSA Sections 2104, 2504 and 2528 (5), as hereafter amended; and with all other applicable provisions of law. No such ordinance or amendment thereto shall take effect unless ratified by the voters of the City of Bangor at the regular or special election next following adoption of such ordinance or ordinance amendment by the City Council. The right of initiative or referendum provided herein shall not apply to ordinances, orders or resolves providing for the appropriation of money, the municipal budget, the levy of taxes, or the wages or hours of City Employees.
Whenever there has been originated as aforesaid a petition for
the reference to the people of any such ordinance, resolve or order
passed by the City Council, and the required number of valid signatures
has been obtained thereon for its presentation to the City Council,
the same shall be suspended from going into operation until it has
been submitted to a vote of the people and has received the affirmative
vote of a majority of the voters voting on said question.
If a majority of the voters voting on a proposed ordinance,
order or resolve or a referred ordinance, order or resolve, shall
vote in favor thereof, such ordinance, order or resolve shall take
effect 5 days after the declaration of the official canvass of the
return of said election.
No ordinance, order or resolve proposed by petition and adopted
by vote of the electors shall be subject to amendment or repeal by
the City Council for a period of 3 years from the date of enactment
without ratification by the voters.
City Council shall, by ordinance, make such further regulations
as shall be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Article.
