[Ord. No. 3773 §§1 — 2 Proposition F, 1-9-2008]
Any member of the Council may be removed at any time by the voters qualified to vote for his successor. The procedure to effect the removal of such Councilman shall be as follows:
A petition requesting the removal of an incumbent Councilman shall be filed with the City Clerk. The petition shall be signed by registered voters entitled to vote for a successor of the incumbent equal in number to at least thirty percent (30%) of the total number of registered voters so qualified to vote at the last regular municipal election for such office.
The signatures to recall petition need not be appended to one (1) paper, but all papers comprising the petition shall be uniform in character, shall state the name of the Councilman whose recall is sought, shall contain a general statement of the grounds for removal, and shall contain the signed statement of the circulator thereof that each signature appended thereto was made in his presence and is the genuine signature of the person it purports to be. Each signer to the petition shall state his address opposite his signature.
Within fifteen (15) days after a recall petition is filed, the City Clerk shall determine whether each paper of the petition complies with the requirements heretofore prescribed and whether the petition is signed by a significant number of registered voters. After completing his examination of the petition, the City Clerk shall certify the results thereof to the Council at its next regular meeting. If he finds the petition to be insufficient, he shall set forth in his certificate the particulars in which it is defective and he shall at once notify the person filing the petition of his findings.
If a recall petition is certified to be insufficiently signed or otherwise defective, supplemental papers conforming to the requirements of the original petition may be filed within twenty (20) days after the notice of insufficiency has been sent by the City Clerk. The City Clerk shall, within ten (10) days after such supplementary papers are filed make an examination thereof and certify his findings to the next regular meeting of the Council. If the petition is still found insufficient, no further supplement shall be allowed, but a new petition for the same purpose may be filed.
When a recall petition has been certified to the Council as sufficient by the City Clerk, the Council shall fix a date for holding the election, not less than thirty (30) days nor more than forty-five (45) days thereafter. Publication and notice thereof shall be given and the election shall be conducted, the returns canvassed and the results declared in all respects as are other City elections. A recall proceeding shall at once be discontinued if the office of the Councilman whose recall is in question becomes vacant.
The ballot in a recall election shall be in the following form:
SHALL __________(name)__________ BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE?
YES
□
NO
□
Voters in favor of the recall place a cross (X) in the square opposite the word "YES"
Voters opposed to the recall place a cross (X) in the square opposite the word "NO"
If voting machines are used, the ballot shall be prepared in a form so as to give the voter an opportunity to vote substantially as set forth above.
If the majority of the electors voting in such recall election shall vote in favor of the recall, the office in question shall become vacant immediately. Any Councilman who has been recalled shall be ineligible to serve in the City Government in any capacity at any time during the remainder of the term for which he was originally elected.
[Ord. No. 3773 §§1 — 2 Proposition H, 1-9-2008]
The organizer or person representing the citizens seeking the recall of a Councilman shall pay a filing fee upon presenting the petition to the City in the amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00).