a. 
Initiative. The qualified electors of Penn Hills shall have the power to propose ordinances to the Council by an initiative petition. If the Council fails to adopt the proposed ordinance without any change in substance, the ordinance shall be placed on the ballot at a regular or special election for adoption or rejection by the voters of Penn Hills.
b. 
Referendum. The qualified electors of Penn Hills shall have the power to require the Council to reconsider any adopted 'ordinance. If the Council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, the ordinance shall be placed on the ballot at a regular or special election for adoption or rejection by the qualified electors of Penn Hills.
c. 
Restrictions.
(1) 
All results of ordinances proposed by initiative or repealed by referendum must be in compliance with all County, State and Federal laws.
(2) 
No initiative or referendum petition may be filed that requires any changes in the adopted budget or that requires any changes in taxes, fees, funds, assessments or changes that are levied in the adopted budget to meet required appropriations therein.
(3) 
No initiative and referendum petitions may be filed that deal with the status of employees or officials of the Municipality of Penn Hills except as provided by Article XXII, RECALL.
(Adopted November 6, 1984)
Any fifty (50) qualified electors may begin initiative or referendum proceedings by filing with the Clerk an affidavit stating that they will constitute the petitioners' committee, stating their names and addresses and the address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent. The affidavit shall also include the full text of the proposed ordinance or cite the ordinance sought to be reconsidered. A filing fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be paid by the petitioners' committee to cover expenses to Penn Hills. Promptly after the affidavit of the petitioners' committee is filed, the Clerk shall issue appropriate petition blanks to the committee. The petitioners' committee shall be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form within sixty (60) days after filing the committees' affidavit.
(Adopted November 6, 1984)
a. 
Number of Signatures. Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the total number of qualified electors registered to vote at the last regular Penn Hills election.
b. 
Form and Content. All papers of a petition shall be uniform in size and style and shall be assembled as one instrument for filing. Each signature must be executed in ink or indelible pencil and must be followed by the date of the signature and address of the person signing. The full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered must be contained within or attached to each paper of the petition throughout its circulation.
c. 
Affidavit. Each paper of the petition shall have attached to it, when it is filed, an affidavit of the circulator which states that to the best of his knowledge the persons whose signatures appear on the petition are registered electors of Penn Hills, that their residences are correctly given, that he believes them to be the genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be, and that they signed with full knowledge of the contents of the petition.
d. 
Time for Filing Referendum Petition. Referendum petitions must be filed no later than sixty (60) days after publication of the approved ordinance sought to be reconsidered.
(Adopted November 6, 1984)
a. 
Certification. Within twenty (20) days after the petition is filed, the Clerk shall certify its sufficiency, specifying in exactly which ways, if any, it is deficient, and shall immediately send a copy of the certificate to the petitioners' committee by certified mail. A petition certified insufficient for lack of the required number of valid signatures may be amended once if the petitioners' committee files a notice of intention to amend it with the Clerk within five (5) days after receiving the copy of the certificate and files a supplementary petition upon additional papers within ten (10) days after receiving the copy of the certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with all the requirements of the original petition. Within five (5) days after it is filed, the Clerk shall again certify the sufficiency of the amended petition and promptly send a copy of this certificate to the petitioners' committee by certified mail as in the case of the original petition.
b. 
Council Review. If no certification is received by the petitioners' committee within the specified time, they may request a review by the Council. If a petition has been certified insufficient and the petitioners' committee does not file a notice of intention to amend the petition, or if an amended petition has been certified insufficient, the petitioners' committee may, within two (2) days after receiving the copy of the certificate, file a request that the certificate be reviewed by Council. The Council shall review the certificate at its next meeting after the filing of the request and approve or disapprove it.
c. 
Court Review. A final determination as to the sufficiency of a petition shall be subject to court review. A final determination of insufficiency, even if sustained upon court review, shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
(Adopted November 6, 1984)
When a referendum petition is filed with the Clerk, the ordinances sought to be reconsidered shall be suspended from taking effect. Such suspension shall end when:
a. 
There is a final determination of the insufficiency of the petition; or
b. 
The petitioners' committee withdraws the petition; or
c. 
The Council repeals the ordinance; or
d. 
Upon certification of the election results.
(Adopted November 6, 1984)
a. 
Action by Council. When an initiative or referendum petition has been finally determined sufficient, the Council shall promptly consider the proposed initiative ordinance in the same manner as other ordinances or reconsider the ordinance cited in the referendum petition by voting its repeal. If the Council fails to adopt the proposed initiative ordinance without any change in substance within sixty (60) days or fails to repeal the ordinance cited in the referendum petition within thirty (30) days after the date the petition was finally determined sufficient, it shall submit the proposed or cited ordinance to the electors of Penn Hills.
b. 
Submission to the Electors. The vote of Penn Hills on a proposed or cited ordinance shall be held, at the earliest available election, in accordance with the provisions of the election laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Copies of the proposed or cited ordinance shall be available to the public at least ten (10) days before the scheduled election and at the polls.
c. 
Withdrawal of Petitions. An initiative or referendum petition may be withdrawn at any time prior to the fifteenth (15th) day preceding the day scheduled for a vote in Penn' Hills on the petition. No petition shall be withdrawn except by written request signed by forty (40) members of the petitioners' committee. Upon filing of a withdrawal request the petition shall have no further force or effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated.
(Adopted November 6, 1984)
a. 
Initiative. If a majority of the qualified electors on the question vote in favor of the proposed initiative ordinance, the ordinance shall be considered adopted upon certification of the election results and shall be treated in all respects in the same manner as ordinances of the same kind adopted by the Council. If conflicting ordinances are approved at the same election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
b. 
Referendum. If a majority of the qualified electors on the question vote in favor of repeal of the ordinance cited in the referendum petition, the ordinance shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results.
(Adopted November 6, 1984)