[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such ordinance be either repealed or submitted to a vote of the people.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.