The citizens of the City reserve the power of direct legislation by initiative, and in the exercise of such power, may propose any ordinance not in conflict with this Charter, the state constitution, or the state laws, except an ordinance appropriating money or authorizing the levy of taxes or an ordinance repealing an ordinance appropriating money or levying taxes. Any initiated ordinance may be submitted to the City Council by a petition signed by qualified voters of the City equal in number to at least three percent (3%) of the number of registered voters who resided in the City at the time of the last regular municipal election of the City.
The citizens of the City reserve the power to approve or reject at the polls any legislation subject to the initiative process enacted by the City Council which is subject to the initiative process under this Charter, except an ordinance which is enacted for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety which contains a statement of its urgency and which is adopted by the favorable votes of the requisite number of Council Members required by this Charter to enact emergency legislation. Prior to the effective date of any ordinance which is subject to referendum, a petition signed by qualified voters of the City, equal in number to at least three percent (3%) of the number of registered voters who resided in the City at the time of the last regular municipal election of the City, may be filed with the City Secretary requesting that any such ordinance be either repealed or submitted to a vote of the qualified voters. When such a petition has been certified as sufficient by the City Secretary, the ordinance specified in the petition shall not go into effect, or further action thereunder shall be suspended if it shall have gone into effect, until and unless it is approved by the voters as herein provided.
Initiative petition papers shall contain the full text of the proposed legislation in the form of an ordinance, including a descriptive caption. The signatures to the initiative or referendum petition need not be all appended to one paper, but each signer shall sign their name in ink or indelible pencil and shall add thereto such other information as may be required by law. One of the signers of each separate petition shall make an affidavit that they and they only, personally circulated such petition and that each signature appended thereto was made in their presence and is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be, and further that no signature shall have been placed thereon more than forty-five (45) days prior to the filing of such petition.
Within ten (10) days after an initiative or referendum petition is filed, the City Secretary shall determine whether the same is signed by the requisite number of qualified voters. The City Secretary shall declare void any petition paper which does not have an affidavit attached thereto as required by section 3 of this article. In examining the petitions, the City Secretary shall write the letters "D.V." in red ink opposite the names of signers found not qualified to vote. After completing examination of the petition, the City Secretary shall certify the results thereof to the City Council at its next regular meeting, stating the number of persons found on the petition who are qualified to vote and the number of persons found on the petition who are not qualified to vote. If the certificate of the City Secretary shall show an initiative or referendum petition to be insufficient, the City Secretary shall notify the person filing the petition, and it may be amended within ten (10) days from the date of such notice by filing a supplementary petition upon additional papers signed and filed as provided for in the original petition. Within ten (10) days after such amendment is filed, the City Secretary shall examine the amended petition and certify as to its sufficiency. If the amended petition is found to be insufficient, the City Secretary shall return the petition to the person filing same, without prejudice to the filing of a new petition for the same purpose; provided, however, that upon finding the amended petition to be insufficient, no new petition covering the same subject matter shall be filed until six (6) months shall have elapsed from the date of filing of the original petition.
When the City Council receives an authorized initiative petition certified by the City Secretary to be sufficient, the City Council shall either:
(a) 
Pass the initiated ordinance without amendment within thirty (30) days after the date of the certification to the City Council; or
(b) 
Submit said initiated ordinance without amendment to a vote of the qualified voters of the City at a regular or special election to be held within ninety (90) days after the date of the certification to the City Council, or on such other date as may be provided by law; or
(c) 
At such election, submit to a vote of the qualified voters of the City said initiated ordinance without amendment, and an alternative ordinance on the same subject proposed by the City Council.
When the City Council receives an authorized referendum petition certified by the City Secretary to be sufficient, the City Council shall reconsider the referred ordinance, and if upon such reconsideration such ordinance is not repealed, it shall be submitted to the voters at a regular or special election to be held not more than ninety (90) days after the date of the certification to the City Council, or on such other date as may be provided by law.
Special elections on initiated or referred ordinances shall not be held more frequently than once each six (6) months, and no ordinance on the same subject as an initiated ordinance which has been defeated at any election may be initiated by the voters within two (2) years from the date of such election.
The ballot used in voting upon an initiated or referred ordinance shall state the caption of the ordinance and below the caption shall set forth on separate lines, the words, "For the Ordinance" and "Against the Ordinance."
An initiated ordinance and an alternative ordinance proposed by the City Council which are submitted at the same election, shall be appropriately identified as the initiated or referred ordinance and as the ordinance proposed by the City Council.
Any number of ordinances may be voted upon at the same election in accordance with the provisions of this article. An ordinance submitted and receiving an affirmative majority of the votes cast, shall thereupon be effective as an ordinance of the City. An ordinance so adopted may be repealed or amended at any time after the expiration of two (2) years by a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council.
A referred ordinance which is not approved by a majority of the votes cast shall be deemed thereupon repealed.
The citizens of the City reserve the power to recall the Mayor or any member of the City Council and may exercise such power by filing with the City Secretary a petition signed by qualified voters of the City equal in number to at least three (3) percent of the number of registered voters at the time of the last regular municipal election of the City demanding the removal of the Mayor or a City Councilmember. The petition shall be signed and verified in the manner required for an initiative petition, shall contain a general statement of the grounds for which the removal is sought, and one of the signers of each petition paper shall make an affidavit that the statements therein made are true.
Within fifteen (15) days after the date of the filing of the papers constituting the recall petition, the person performing the duties of City Secretary shall present such petition to the City Council. The officer whose removal is sought may, after such recall petition has been presented to the City Council, request in writing to the City Council at next regular meeting that a public hearing be held to permit that officer to present facts pertinent to the charges specified in the recall petition. In this event, the City 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 the officer whose removal is sought does not resign, then it shall become the duty of the City Council to order an election and fix a date for holding such recall election, the date of which election shall not be less than forty-five (45) days from the date such petition was presented to the City Council, or from the date of the public hearing if one was held.
Ballots used at recall elections shall conform to the following requirements:
(a) 
With respect to each person whose removal is sought, the question shall be submitted "Shall [Name of City Councilmember or Mayor] be removed from the office of Mayor or from the City Council?"
(b) 
Immediately below each such question there shall be printed the two (2) following propositions, one above the other, in the order indicated:
"For the recall of [Name of Mayor or City Councilmember];"
"Against the recall of [Name of Mayor or City Councilmember]."
If a majority of the votes cast at a recall election shall be against removal of the Mayor or City Councilmember named on the ballot, they shall continue in office. If a majority of the votes cast at such election shall be for the removal of the Mayor or City Councilmember named on the ballot, the City Council shall immediately declare the office vacant and such vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of this Charter for the filling of vacancies. A Mayor or City Councilmember thus removed shall not be a candidate to succeed themselves in an election called to fill the vacancy thereby created.
No recall petition shall be filed against any officer of the City within three (3) months after their election, or within three (3) months after an election for such officer's recall.