Township of Tredyffrin, PA Article X Citizen Participation

§ C-65 General provisions.

A. Any qualified citizen of the township may participate in the governing of the township by:

(1) Seeking elected office as a Supervisor and/or voting for the Supervisor or Supervisors of his choice.

(2) Serving on boards, commissions, authorities, committees or other agencies of the township when requested by the responsible officials.

(3) Attending public meetings of the Board and other boards, commissions, authorities, committees or agencies of the township.

(4) Addressing suggestions to the Board and others to provide guidance for their actions and exercising the right of initiative or referendum in accordance with the procedures set forth in § C-66.

B. The Board shall make every effort to appoint qualified citizens to boards, commissions, authorities and committees in order that the greatest possible use be made of the talents and interests of citizens of the township in promoting the public interests and welfare of the township.

§ C-66 Initiative and referendum.

A. The qualified voters of the township shall have the power, subject to the procedures and limitations set forth herein, to propose the initiation of ordinances or the repeal of ordinances previously enacted by the Board.

B. All petition papers for the purpose of initiating or repealing an ordinance shall:

(1) Bear in ink the signatures, addresses and date of signing of at least 20% of the registered electors in the township.

(2) Contain the names and addresses of five registered electors designated as the "Committee of the Petitioners," including the person designated as Chairman.

(3) In the case of initiating an ordinance, contain the full text of the ordinance proposed and, in the case of repealing an ordinance, identify the title, date and a summation of the significant substance of the ordinance for which repeal is sought.

(4) Contain on each page an affidavit executed by the circulator of the petition that all signatures thereon are genuine and were affixed in his presence on the date indicated only after the signer had an opportunity to read the full text prior to signing.

(5) Be circulated and signed within a period of 30 days between the date of the first signature and the date at which the petition papers are submitted to the Township Manager.

(6) Be submitted to the Township Manager who shall immediately take further action as set forth in this article.

C. Upon receipt of a petition to initiate or repeal an ordinance, the Township Manager shall take the following action:

(1) Within 20 days of receiving the petition, the Township Manager shall examine the petition for compliance with the provisions of this article with respect to form and sufficiency of signatures and advise the designated Chairman of the Committee of the Petitioners of the results of the examinations by certified mail or hand delivery.

(2) If the purpose of the petition is to initiate an ordinance, the Manager shall immediately refer a copy of the text of the proposed ordinance to the Township Solicitor who shall within five days certify to the Manager whether or not the proposed ordinance is lawful under this Charter and general law and whether or not the proposed ordinance is in proper form or can be so written without changing substance. Such decision by the Township Solicitor shall be considered a "final order of an administrative agency" under the provisions of Article V, Section 9, of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If the Township Solicitor considers the proposed ordinance to be lawful, but defective in form, he shall provide a draft in proper form. The Manager shall report the findings of the Township Solicitor in his report to the designated Chairman of the Committee of the Petitioners, as required above.

(3) Within 10 days of receiving the response of the Manager, the Chairman of the Committee of the Petitioners may notify the Manager of the Committee's acceptance of the report or the revised draft, if any, and remedy any minor procedural deficiencies in the petition. Otherwise, the petition will be considered abandoned and any further action must be initiated by a new petition.

(4) If the Manager finds the petition is sufficient, the Manager shall as soon as possible, but in no more than 20 days after receipt, advise the Board Chairman. If the petition calls for the repeal of an ordinance which was not in effect at the time the petition was filed with the Manager, the ordinance will be suspended until final decision has been made under this article. If the ordinance was in effect at the time the petition was received by the Manager, the ordinance will remain in effect until repealed by the Board or by referendum.

(5) The Manager shall advertise the proposed ordinance or repeal of an ordinance in the same manner as an ordinance initially approved by the Board under § C-38B, designating the date at which the Board will take final action, and shall place the question on the agenda for the Board at the designated meeting.

D. The Board must accept or reject the proposed ordinance or repeal of an ordinance at the meeting designated for this purpose. No amendments may be made which materially change the substance or effect of the proposed ordinance.

E. Before final action is taken by the Board, the Committee of the Petitioners may, by majority vote of its members, elect to rescind the petition and notify the Manager, in writing, of this decision. If such action is taken, the matter will be closed and any further action can be taken only by a new petition.

F. If, within 60 days of the submission of a certified petition by the Manager to the Board Chairman, the Board shall fail to pass an ordinance requested by initiative petition in substantially the form requested or shall fail to repeal the referred ordinance, the Manager shall within 14 days thereafter file the petition with the Board of Elections of Chester County, Pennsylvania, and request that the proposed ordinance or repeal of an ordinance be submitted for referendum at the next municipal, general or primary election which shall occur not less than 60 days from the date of certification of the petition to the County Board of Elections. No action of initiative or referendum shall be taken under this article at a special election other than at the time of regular scheduled elections.

G. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the question favor the adoption of a proposed ordinance or the repeal of an ordinance previously adopted by the Board, the ordinance shall become effective or the repealed ordinance shall become void upon certification of the election results. The Manager shall add the new ordinance to or delete the repealed ordinance from the record book and the code of ordinances required in §§ C-41, C-42 and C-48.

H. If a proposed ordinance or repeal of an ordinance is rejected in the referendum, no further action may be initiated by petition on the same subject within two years from the date of election at which the proposal was defeated. However, the Board will retain the option of adopting a similar ordinance or repealing previous ordinances at its discretion. The Board may take no action to repeal or significantly modify an ordinance adopted by initiative or referendum within a period of two years from the date of the election at which the ordinance was approved.

I. Initiative or referendum may not be used to alter ordinances enacting or amending the annual operating and capital budgets of the township. However, such action may be taken with respect to any ordinance authorizing the establishment of specific programs or projects. No ordinance enacted by referendum which would affect the revenues or expenditures of the township in the fiscal year in which the ordinance is adopted shall take effect until the succeeding fiscal year.

J. In the event that two or more ordinances are properly proposed by initiative but are inconsistent, the Manager and the Township Solicitor shall meet with Committees of the Petitioners and seek mutually agreeable adjustments to eliminate the inconsistency. If mutual agreement cannot be obtained, the petition first submitted to the Township Manager pursuant to § C-66B(6) shall be accepted for further processing.