Any elected Town official shall be subject to recall and removal from office by the qualified voters of the Town on grounds of incompetency, misconduct, or malfeasance in office.
Before the question of recall of such officer shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the Town, a petition demanding such question to be submitted shall first be filed with the person performing the duties of Town Secretary, which said petition shall be signed by qualified voters of the Town equal in number to at least thirty percent (30%) of the number of votes cast at the municipal election of the Town in which the officer was elected or thirty percent (30%) of the number of votes cast at the last municipal regular election if the officer to be recalled was appointed to fill a vacancy in accordance with this Charter. Each signer of such recall petition shall personally sign his name thereto in ink or indelible pencil, and shall write after his name his place of residence, giving name of street and number, or place of residence, and shall also write thereon the day, the month and year his signature was affixed.
The recall petition mentioned above must be addressed to the Council of the Town of Northlake, must be distinctly and specifically point out the ground or grounds upon which such petition for removal is predicated, and, if there be more than one (1) ground, such as for incompetency, misconduct, or malfeasance in office, shall specifically state each ground with such certainty as to give the office sought to be removed notice of the matters and things with which they are charged. Each signer of such recall petition shall provide all requisite information as required by the Texas Election Code, as amended, and this Charter. The signature shall be verified by oath in the following form:
“State of Texas)
County of Denton)
I, __________, being first duly sworn, on oath depose and say that I am one of the signers of the above petition, and that the statements made therein are true, and that each signature appearing thereto was made in my presence on the day and date it purports to have been made, and I solemnly swear that the same is the genuine signature of the person it purports to be.
Sworn and subscribed before me this _____ day of __________, 2_____.
Notary Public in and for the State of Texas.”
The petition may consist of one (1) or more copies, or subscription lists, circulated separately, and the signatures thereon may be upon the paper or papers containing the form of petition or upon other papers attached thereto. Verifications provided for in the preceding section 9.03 of this Chapter may be made by one (1) or more petitioners; and the several parts of copies of the petition may be filed separately and by different persons; but no signatures to such petition shall remain effective or be counted which were placed thereon more than thirty (30) days prior to the filing of such petition or petitions with the person performing the duties of Town Secretary on the same day, and the said Secretary shall immediately notify, in writing, the officer sought to be removed, by mailing such notice to their Town address.
The officer whose removal is sought may, within 5 days after such recall petition has been presented to the Town Council, request that a public hearing be held to permit the officer to present the facts pertinent to the charges specified in the recall petition. In this event, the Council shall order such public hearing to be held not less than five (5) days nor more than fifteen (15) days after receiving such request for a public hearing.
If an officer whose removal is sought does not resign, then it shall become the duty of the Council to order an election to be held on the first uniform election date that permits the compliance with the requirements of law.
Ballots used at recall elections shall conform to the following requirements:
(1) 
With respect to each person whose removal is sought, the question shall be submitted:
“Shall (name of person) be removed from the office of (name of office) by recall?”
(2) 
Immediately below each such question there shall be printed the following words, one above the other, in the order indicated:
“YES”
“NO”
If the majority of the votes cast at a recall election shall be “NO,” that is against the recall of the person named on the ballot, the officer shall continue in office for the remainder of their unexpired term, subject to recall as before. If a majority of the votes cast at such election be “YES,” that is for the recall of the person named on the ballot, the officer shall, regardless of any technical defects in the recall petition, be deemed removed from office and the vacancy be filled as vacancies in the Council are filled, as provided in this Charter.
No recall petition shall be filed against any officer of the Town within 3 months after the officer’s election, nor within 3 months after an election for such officer’s recall. Nothing herein shall prevent impeachment of an officer of the Town nor removal for other causes as provided herein.
The registered voters of the Town, in addition to the method of legislation herein before provided, shall have the power of direct legislation by initiative and referendum.
(1) 
Initiative:
The qualified voters of the Town shall have power to propose ordinances to the Council, and, if the Council fails to adopt an ordinance so proposed without any change in substance, to adopt or reject it at a Town election, provided that such power shall not extend to the budget or capital program or any ordinance relating to zoning, appropriation of money, levy of taxes, issuance of bonds and notes, borrowing of money, salaries or duties of Town officers or employees, or matters related to administration of municipal employees, annexation, or municipal boundary adjustments, or in any instance where a court of proper jurisdiction determines that the initiated ordinance has been removed from the field of initiative. Such initiative power may be used to enact a new ordinance, or to repeal or to amend sections of any existing ordinances.
(2) 
Referendum:
The qualified voters of the Town 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 a Town election provided that such power shall not extend to the budget or capital program or any ordinance relating to zoning, appropriation of money, levy of taxes, issuance of bonds and notes, borrowing of money, salaries or duties of Town officers or employees, or matters related to administration of municipal employees, annexation, or municipal boundary adjustments, or in any instance where a court of proper jurisdiction determines that the referred ordinance has been removed from the field of referendum.
(a) 
Any ten (10) qualified voters may commence initiative or referendum proceedings by filing with the Town Secretary 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 address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent, and setting out in full the proposed initiative ordinance or citing the ordinance sought to be reconsidered. The Petitioners’ Committee shall designate one contact person for communications with the Town and to receive all notices.
(b) 
Promptly after the affidavit of the Petitioners’ Committee is filed the Town Secretary shall verify that the applicants are qualified voters, and if they are, shall issue the appropriate petition blanks to the Petitioners’ Committee.
(a) 
Number of Signatures:
Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by qualified voters of the Town equal in number to at least five (5) percent, or 250, whichever is greater, of the total number of current qualified voters registered to vote on the date the affidavit of the Petitioners’ Committee is filed with the Town Secretary.
(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. The form and content of a petition shall meet the requirements set forth in the Election Code. Petitions shall contain or have attached thereto throughout their circulation the full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered.
(c) 
Time for Filing Petitions:
Initiative and Referendum petitions must be filed within sixty (60) days after issuance of the appropriate petition blanks to the Petitioners’ Committee. All petitions shall be filed with the Town Secretary.
(a) 
Review by Town Secretary.
Upon the filing of a petition, the Town Secretary shall review the petition to determine the existence of the requisite number of signatures of qualified voters and whether the form of the petition complies with the provisions of this Charter. The Town Secretary shall also review the petition to determine the genuineness of the signatures. The Council may provide by ordinance the punishment and penalties for contempt for failure or refusal to obey any subpoena, or request for production of evidence issued by the Town Secretary or Town Attorney.
(b) 
Certificate of Town Secretary.
Within ten (10) days after the petition is filed, the Town Secretary shall complete a certificate as to its sufficiency, specifying, if it is insufficient, the particulars wherein it is defective and shall promptly send a copy of the certificate to the Petitioners’ Committee by registered mail.
(c) 
Amendment by Petitioner.
A petition certified insufficient for lack of the required number of valid signatures or due to inadequate form or content may be amended once if the Petitioners’ Committee files a notice of intention to amend it with the Town Secretary within five (5) days after receiving the copy of this certificate and files a supplementary petition with additional papers within ten (10) days after receiving the copy of such certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with the requirements of subsection (b) of 9.13 and within five (5) days after it is filed the Town Secretary shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition as amended and promptly send a copy of such certificate to the Petitioners’ Committee by registered mail as in the case of an original petition.
(d) 
Submission to Town Council.
If a petition or amended petition is certified sufficient, or if a petition or amended petition is certified insufficient and the Petitioners’ Committee does not elect to amend as provided in subsection (c) of this 9.14 within the time required, the Town Secretary shall promptly present this certificate to the Council and the certificate shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.
(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 manner prescribed for enacting ordinances or reconsider the referred ordinance by voting its repeal. If the Council fails to adopt a proposed initiative ordinance without any change in substance within sixty (60) days or fails to repeal the referred ordinance within thirty (30) days after the date the petition was finally determined sufficient, it shall submit the proposed or referred ordinance to the voters of the Town.
(b) 
Submission to Voters:
The vote of the Town on a proposed or referred ordinance shall be held on the next election date authorized by the Texas Election Code that allows sufficient time for compliance with the requirements of the Texas Election Code regarding deadlines to call elections. Copies of the proposed or referred ordinance shall be made available at the polls and shall be published in accordance with applicable State law and on the Town’s website no later than fifteen (15) days before the date of the election.
(c) 
Withdrawal Signatures:
No signature shall be withdrawn from any petition after such petition has been filed with the Town Secretary.
(a) 
Initiative:
If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed initiative ordinance vote in its favor, it 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 voting on a referred ordinance vote in favor of repealing it, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results.
The ballots used when voting upon such proposed and referred ordinance, resolutions, or measures, shall set for their nature sufficiently to identify them and shall also set forth upon separate lines the words:
“For the Ordinance” or
“Against the Ordinance” or
“For the Resolution” or
“Against the Resolution”