Any elected City official, whether elected to office by qualified
voters or appointed by the City Council to fill a vacancy, must be
subject to recall and removal from office by the qualified voters
of the City on grounds of incompetence, misconduct, or malfeasance
in office.
(a) Before
the question of recall of such officer may be submitted to the qualified
voters of the City, a petition demanding such question to be so submitted
must first be filed with the person performing duties of City Secretary,
which said petition must be signed by 30% of the number of registered
voters recorded at the last regular City election.
(b) Each
signer of such recall petition must personally sign his or her name
in ink or indelible pencil, and must write after his or her name his
or her place of residence, giving the name of the street and number,
or place of residence, and must also write the day, the month, and
the year his or her signature was affixed.
The recall petition mentioned above must be addressed to the
City Council of the City, must be distinctly and specifically pointed
to the grounds upon which such petition for removal is predicated,
and, if there be more than one ground, said petition must specifically
state each ground with such certainty as to give the officer sought
to be removed notice of the matters and things with which the officer
is charged. The signature must be verified by oath in the following
form.
I, __________ (printed name), 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.
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_______________________________________
Signature
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Sworn and subscribed before me on __________ (date).
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_______________________________________
Notary Public in and for the State of Texas
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(a) The
petition may consist of one or more copies, or subscription lists,
circulated separately, and the signatures thereto may be upon the
paper or papers containing the form of petition, or upon other paper
attached thereto.
(b) Verifications
provided for in the next preceding section of this Article may be
made by one 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 remain effective, nor may they be counted,
if affixed more than 45 days before the filing of such petition or
petitions with the person performing the duties of City Secretary.
(c) All
papers comprising a recall petition must be filed with the person
performing the duties of City Secretary on the same day, and the said
person performing the duties of City Secretary must immediately notify,
in writing, the officer so sought to be removed, by mailing such notice
to the officer’s City address.
Within 21 days after the date of the filing of the papers constituting
the recall petition, the person performing the duties of City Secretary
must present such petition to the City Council of the City.
The officer whose removal is sought may, within seven days after
such recall petition has been presented to the City Council, request
that a public hearing be held to permit him or her to present the
facts pertinent to the charges specified in the recall petition. In
this event, the City Council must order such public hearing to be
held, not less than five days nor more than 15 days after receiving
such request for a public hearing.
If the officer whose removal is sought does not resign, then
the City Council must order an election and set the date for holding
such recall election. The date selected for the recall election must
be in accordance with the Texas Election Code. If after the recall
election date is established, the officer vacates his or her position,
the election must be canceled.
Ballots used at recall elections must conform to the following
requirements:
(1) With
respect to each person whose removal is sought, the question must
be submitted: “Do you vote to remove __________ (name of official)
from the office of __________ (name of office) by recall?”
(2) Immediately
below each such question there must be printed the following words
and characters, one above the other, in the order indicated:
(a) If
a majority of the votes cast at a recall election are “No”
votes–that is against the recall of the person named on the
ballot–the officer may continue in office for the remainder
of the unexpired term, subject to recall as before.
(b) If
a majority of the votes cast at such election are “Yes”
votes–that is, vote in favor of recalling the person named on
the ballot–the officer is, regardless of any technical defects
in the recall petition, deemed removed from office and the vacancy
must be filled as provided in this Charter.
No recall petition may be filed against any officer of the City
within three months after the officer’s election, nor within
three months after an election for such officer’s recall.
In the case that all of the requirements of this Article of
the Charter have been met and the City Council fails or refuses to
receive the recall petition, or order such recall election, or discharge
any other duties imposed on the City Council by the provisions of
this Charter with reference to such recall, then a District Judge
of Collin County, Texas, may order by mandamus any duties required
by law or this Charter to be discharged by the person performing the
duties of City Secretary or by the City Council.
The qualified voters of the City have the power of direct legislation
by initiative and referendum.
(a) Following
a review by the City Attorney for enforceability and legality, qualified
voters of the City may initiate legislation–other than legislation
relating to annexation, disannexation and other matters related to
city boundaries and extraterritorial jurisdiction; regulation of land
or improvements; zoning; personnel; utility rates and utility service;
budgeting; appropriating money or levying taxes; and any other matters
where initiative is in conflict with state or federal law–by
submitting a petition addressed to the City Council which requests
the submission of a proposed ordinance or resolution to a vote of
the qualified voters of the City.
(b) Said
petition must be signed by ten percent of the number of registered
voters recorded at the last regular City election. Each copy of the
petition must have attached to it a copy of the proposed legislation.
(c) The
petition must be signed in the same manner as recall petitions are
signed, as provided in this Article, and must be verified by oath
in the manner and form provided for recall petitions in this Article.
(d) The
petition may consist of one or more copies as permitted for recall
petitions. Such petition must be filed with the person performing
the duties of City Secretary.
(e) Within
21 days after the filing of such petition, the person performing the
duties of City Secretary must present said petition and proposed ordinance
or resolution to the City Council.
(f) Within
two regularly-scheduled City Council meetings after its presentation
to and receipt by the City Council, it is the duty of the City Council
to pass and adopt such ordinance or resolution without alteration
as to meaning or effect in the opinion of the persons filing the petition,
or to call a special election–to be held within 30 days if allowed
under the Texas Election Code, or at the next date allowed under the
Texas Election Code–at which the qualified voters of the City
must vote on the question of adopting or rejecting the proposed legislation.
(g) However,
if any other municipal election is to be held within 60 days after
the filing of the petition, the question may be voted on at such election.
Any election order so issued must comply fully with the Texas Election
Code.
(h) Unless
otherwise provided by law, any election for an initiative under this
Charter must be held on the first authorized uniform election date
that occurs after the 65th day after the petition was presented to
the City Council.
(a) Qualified
voters of the City may require that any ordinance or resolution–other
than legislation relating to annexation, disannexation and other matters
related to city boundaries and extraterritorial jurisdiction; regulation
of land or improvements; zoning; personnel; utility rates and utility
service; budgeting; appropriating money or levying taxes; and any
other matters where initiative is in conflict with state or federal
law–passed by the City Council be submitted to the voters of
the City for approval or disapproval, by submitting a petition for
this purpose within 30 days after final passage of said ordinance
or resolution, or within 30 days after its publication.
(b) Said
petition must be signed by 20% of the number of registered voters
recorded at the last regular City election. Each copy of the petition
must have attached to it a copy of the legislation in question.
(c) Said
petition must be addressed, signed, and verified as required for recall
petitions in this Article and must be submitted to the person performing
the duties of City Secretary.
(d) Immediately
upon the filing of such petition, the person performing the duties
of City Secretary must present said petition to the City Council.
(e) Thereupon the City Council must immediately reconsider such ordinance or resolution and, if the City Council does not entirely repeal the same, must submit it to popular vote as provided in Section
6.13 of this Charter.
(f) Pending
the holding of such election, each ordinance or resolution is suspended
from taking effect and will not later take effect unless a majority
of the qualified voters voting thereon at such election so vote.
(g) Unless
otherwise provided by law, any election for a referendum under this
Charter must be held on the first authorized uniform election date
that occurs after the 65th day after the petition was presented to
the City Council.
The City Council, upon its own motion and by the affirmative
vote of a majority of the full membership of the City Council, may
submit to popular vote at any election for adoption or rejection any
proposed ordinance or resolution or measure, or may submit for repeal
any existing ordinance, or resolution, or measure, in the same manner
and with the same force and effect as provided in this Article for
submission of petition, and may at its discretion call a special election
for this purpose.
The ballots used when voting upon such proposed or referred
ordinance or resolution must set forth their nature sufficiently to
identify them and must also set forth upon separate lines the words:
“For the Ordinance” or “Against the Ordinance”
or
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“For the Resolution” or “Against the Resolution”
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The person performing the duties of City Secretary of the City
must publish at least twice in the official newspaper of the City
the proposed or referred ordinance or resolution within 15 days before
the date of the election, and must give such other notices and do
such other things relative to such election as are required by law
in municipal elections and by the ordinance or resolution calling
said election. Notwithstanding the foregoing and to the extent state
law provides for an applicable alternate method for publication, the
City may forgo newspaper publication and publish the ordinance or
resolution in accordance with the applicable state law.
(Ordinance 764-2018, sec. 2.7 (prop.
E), adopted 2/13/18, approved at election of 5/5/18)
If a majority of the qualified voters vote in favor of any proposed
ordinance, resolution or measure, it is effective immediately unless
expressly stated otherwise in the ordinance, resolution or measure.
If the provisions of two or more proposed ordinances or resolutions
approved at the same election are inconsistent, the ordinance or resolution
receiving the highest number of votes prevails.
No ordinance or resolution that may have been passed by the City Council upon a petition or adopted by popular vote under the provisions of this Article may be repealed or amended except: (1) in response to a referendum petition or by submission as provided by Section
6.15 of this Charter; or (2) by the City Council, but only after the expiration of two years after the passage of the ordinance or resolution by popular vote.
The City Council may pass ordinances or resolutions providing
other and further regulations for carrying out the provisions of this
Article consistent herewith.
Nothing contained in this Article may be construed to be in
conflict with any of the provisions of this Charter, pertaining to
ordinances granting franchises once valuable rights have accrued.
In the case that all of the requirements of this Charter have
been met and the City Council fails or refuses to receive the initiative
or referendum petition, or order such initiative or referendum election,
or discharge any other duties imposed on the City Council by the provisions
of this Charter with reference to such initiative or referendum, then
a District Judge of Collin County, Texas, may order by mandamus any
duties required by law or this Charter to be discharged by the person
performing the duties of City Secretary or by the City Council.