[Ord. No. 95-3 §2, 1-17-1995; passed in election 4-4-1995]
The voters of the City shall have power to propose ordinances to the Council and, if the Council fails to adopt an ordinance so proposed without change in substance, to adopt or reject it at a City election, provided that such power shall not extend to the budget or capital program or any ordinance relating to appropriation of money or levy of taxes or changing the master zoning ordinance. Any initiated ordinance may be submitted to the Council by petition signed by at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the voters as shown by the registration records at the time of the last regular City election.
[Ord. No. 95-3 §2, 1-17-1995; passed in election 4-4-1995]
The voters of the City shall have power to require reconsideration by the Council of any adopted ordinance and, if the Council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, to approve or reject it at an election, provided that such power shall not extend to the budget or capital program or any emergency ordinance or ordinance relating to appropriation of money or levy of taxes or the zoning ordinances of the City. Within fifteen (15) days after the date on which the Council has adopted an ordinance which is subject to referendum, a petition, signed by at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the voters as shown by the registration records at the time of the last regular City election, must be filed with the City Clerk, requesting that such ordinance be either repealed or submitted to a vote of the people.
[Ord. No. 95-3 §2, 1-17-1995; passed in election 4-4-1995]
Any member of the City Council may be removed from office through a recall election. A petition requesting the removal of an incumbent shall be signed by at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the registered voters as shown by the registration records at the time of the last regular City election.
[Referendum of 11-5-1991]
Any five (5) voters may commence initiative, referendum or recall proceedings by filing with the City Clerk an affidavit stating 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 person and address to whom all notices to the committee are to be sent, and setting out in full the proposed initiative ordinance reciting the ordinance sought to be reconsidered, or Council member to be removed.
Promptly after the affidavit of the petitioners' committee is filed, the Clerk shall issue the appropriate petition blanks to the petitioners' committee.
Petitioners have sixty (60) days from the date of the filing of the affidavit to return the petitions to the Clerk. If the petitions are not returned within sixty (60) days of the filing of the affidavit, then that petition shall be void. If the last day falls on a weekend or holiday, then the petition must be filed on the first (1st) business day following said weekend or holiday.
All papers comprising an initiative, referendum or recall petition shall be assembled and filed with the City Clerk as one (1) instrument. Every initiative petition shall contain the full text of the measure proposed; every referendum petition shall contain the full title of the ordinance referred; and every recall petition shall contain a general statement of the grounds for removal.
Signers of the petition shall identify their places of residence by street and number, or by any other description sufficient to identify their residences. The signatures to any petition need not all be appended to one (1) paper. In addition, there shall be attached to each such paper a signed statement of the circulator thereof, stating the number of signers of such paper, that each signature appended thereto was made in the circulator's presence and is the genuine signature of the person it purports to be, and that each signer is believed to be a registered voter of the City.
Within ten (10) days after a petition is filed, the City Clerk shall determine whether each paper of the petition has a proper statement of the circulator and whether the petition is signed by fewer persons than the number certified; the signatures shall be accepted unless void on other grounds. After completing the examination of the petition, the City Clerk shall certify the result thereof to the Council not later than its next regular meeting. If certified that the petition is insufficient, the Clerk shall set forth in a certificate the particulars in which it is defective, and shall at once mail a copy of the certificate to the person designated by the petitioners' committee to receive notices.
An initiative, referendum or recall petition may be amended at any time within ten (10) days after the notification of insufficiency has been mailed by the City Clerk, by filing a supplementary petition executed as provided in the case of an original petition. The City Clerk shall, within five (5) days after such an amended petition is filed, make examination thereof and if it is then found to be sufficient shall so certify to the Council at its next regular meeting. If the petition be still insufficient, the Clerk shall file a certificate to that effect and no further action shall be had on such insufficient petition. The finding of the insufficiency of a petition shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
[Ord. No. 95-3 §2, 1-17-1995; passed in election 4-4-1995]
When an initiative petition has been certified to the Council as sufficient by the City Clerk, the Council shall proceed at once to consider the proposed ordinance. If the ordinance proposed by the initiative has not been finally adopted within thirty (30) days after certification, the Council shall call a special election to be held at the next available election date, unless a general election is to be held within such period. At such special or general City election, such proposed ordinance shall be submitted without alteration to the vote of the voters of the City. The enacting clause of such proposed ordinance shall be: "BE IT ORDAINED BY THE PEOPLE OF NEOSHO, MISSOURI."
[Ord. No. 95-3 §2, 1-17-1995; passed in election 4-4-1995]
When a referendum petition has been certified to the Council as sufficient by the City Clerk, the ordinance specified in the petition shall be suspended unless and until approved by the voters as hereinafter provided. The Council shall proceed at once to reconsider the referred ordinance. If the ordinance specified in any referred petition shall not be finally repealed within thirty (30) days after such certification, the Council shall call a special election to be held at the next available election date, unless the regular City election is to be held within such period. At such a special or regular election, such ordinance shall be submitted without alteration to the voters upon the question: "SHALL THE ORDINANCE SPECIFIED IN THE REFERENDUM PETITION BE APPROVED?"
An initiative, referendum or recall petition may be withdrawn any time prior to the fifteenth (15th) day preceding the day scheduled for the election by filing with the Clerk a request for withdrawal signed by at least three (3) 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.
[Ord. No. 330-2008 §1, 5-6-2008; passed in election 4-8-2008]
Ordinances submitted to the voters in accordance with the initiative and referendum provisions of this Charter shall be submitted by ballot title which shall be prepared by the City Attorney. The ballot title may be different from the legal title of any such initiated or referred ordinance and shall be a clear, concise statement, without argument or prejudice, descriptive of the substance of such ordinance. The ballot used in voting upon any such ordinance shall have below the ballot title the following proposition, one above the other, in the order indicated: "FOR THE ORDINANCE" and "AGAINST THE ORDINANCE." Any number of initiated or referred ordinances may be voted on at the same election and may be submitted on the same ballot.
If a majority of those voting on an initiated ordinance shall vote in favor thereof, it shall thereupon become an ordinance of the City. No such ordinance shall be amended or repealed by the Council for at least six (6) months, and for the next twelve (12) months thereafter only by unanimous vote. If a majority of those voting on a referred ordinance shall vote against the ordinance, it shall thereupon be repealed. If conflicting ordinances are approved by the voters at the same election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail. No election under the initiative or referendum procedure shall be set aside because of any defect in the petition.
[Ord. No. 95-3 §2, 1-17-1995; passed in election 4-4-1995]
When a recall petition has been certified to the Council as sufficient by the City Clerk, the Council shall hold an election at the next available election date, except that no Council member shall be subject to recall within six (6) months of induction into office, nor during the last six (6) months of the term. If such office becomes vacant prior to the election, said election shall be cancelled, and the vacancy shall be filled as provided in Section 2.08 of this Charter.
[Ord. No. 330-2008 §1, 5-6-2008; passed in election 4-8-2008]
The ballot shall be in the following form or in such form as approved by the Newton County election official as prescribed by Missouri State law.
SHALL _________(name) Council member _______ BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE?
 
 
 
_____
YES
_____
NO
If a majority of those voting in a recall election shall vote in favor of the recall, then a vacancy shall exist, regardless of any defect in the recall petition. Such vacancy shall be filled as provided in this Charter. If a majority of those voting in such an election shall vote against the recall, the officer in question shall continue in office. Any such person who has been recalled shall be ineligible to serve the City in any capacity during the remainder of the term for which elected. A Council member retained in office upon any recall election shall not again be subject to recall during that term of office.
Under provisions of this Article, initiative or referendum petitions having the same general subject or the same general import of a measure once defeated by the voters, shall not again be circulated until a lapse of one (1) year from the date of the election when first submitted.
Notice of initiative, referendum and recall elections shall be given, the elections conducted, the returns canvassed and the results declared in all respects as are other City elections.