Any five (5) Ellisville registered voters may commence initiative,
referendum or recall proceedings by filing with the City Clerk an
affidavit stating that they will constitute the petitioners'
committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing
it in proper form, stating their names and addresses and specifying
the one address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent,
and setting out the complete text of either the proposed initiative
ordinance or the existing ordinance to be reconsidered or the name
and City office of the official to be recalled.
Not less than three (3) or more than ten (10) days after the
affidavit of the petitioners' committee is filed, the City Clerk
shall issue the appropriate petition blanks to the petitioners'
committee. At such time the City Clerk shall also furnish the committee
in writing the total number of persons registered to vote at the last
regular City election.
When a referendum petition is timely filed with the City Clerk,
the ordinance to be reconsidered shall be suspended from taking effect.
Such suspension shall terminate when:
(1) There is a final determination of insufficiency of the petition,
or
(2) The petitioners' committee withdraws the petition, or
(3) The Council repeals the ordinance, or
(4) The election results sustaining the ordinance have been certified.
When a recall petition has been certified to the Council as
sufficient by the City Clerk, the Council shall at its next meeting
after receipt of such certification fix a date for holding the election.
The election shall be held at the next available regular or special
election date for which timely notice has been given.
An initiative, referendum or recall petition may be withdrawn
at any time prior to the certification date established by the election
authority of the City by filing with the City Clerk a request for
withdrawal signed by at least four (4) members of the petitioners'
committee. Upon the filing of such request, the petition shall have
no further force or effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated.