[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Southeast 4-5-2004 by L.L. No. 6-2004. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 7-8-2004 by L.L. No. 8-2004]
The first paragraph of Subdivision 4 of § 81 of Article 6 of the Town Law of the State of New York, as previously amended and superseded by Local Law No. 6 of 2004, is hereby further amended and superseded in its application to the Town of Southeast to read as follows:
If such a petition be filed in the office of the Town Clerk in a calendar year that a biennial Town election is scheduled, but not less than 120 days prior to such election, the proposition shall be submitted at such biennial election. If a petition be presented at any other time which is not less than 120 days prior to a general election, the proposition shall be submitted at the next general election held after the filing of such petition.
A. 
Any petition seeking an election upon proposition under Town Law Article 6, § 81, shall be submitted to the Town Clerk in the following manner:
(1) 
The petition shall be subscribed and authenticated by voters registered to vote in the Town of Southeast at the time of signature. All witnesses must be registered to vote within the Town of Southeast at the time of signature;
(2) 
The petition shall designate, in writing, the name and mailing address of a contact person;
(3) 
The number of signatures on the petition must be equal to at least 5% of the total votes cast for Governor in the Town of Southeast at the last general election in the Town held for the election of state officers;
(4) 
All signatures on the petition must be subscribed and authenticated in the manner set forth in the New York State Election Law for the authentication of nominating petitions;
(5) 
All signatures on the petitions submitted to the Town Clerk must be dated at the time of signature; such date shall be no greater than 90 days prior to the filing of the petition with the Town Clerk.
B. 
The proposition contained within the petition or within the Town Board's own motion must set forth clearly to the voters of the Town of Southeast a summary of the change proposed. When the proposition seeks the establishment of a ward system, at a minimum, the proposition must explain:
(1) 
That an at-large system exists in the Town which enables every registered voter to elect all members of the Town Board;
(2) 
That ward districts are proposed;
(3) 
The number of ward districts proposed;
(4) 
That, if approved, voters would vote for one Councilperson/Warden only in their respective ward, rather than each of the at-large Councilpersons/Wardens running for election.
Subdivision 1 of § 85 of Article 6 of the Town Law is hereby superseded in its application to the Town of Southeast, New York, to read as follows:
§ 85. Ward system for election of Councilmen. Whenever a proposition shall have been adopted in the Town for the establishment of the ward system and the election thereafter of one Councilman from each ward, the Town Board shall divide the Town into four wards and fix the boundaries thereof, unless a proposition shall have been adopted to increase the number of Councilmen from four to six, in which instance the Town Board shall divide the Town into six wards and fix the boundaries thereof. The division shall be made so that the number of inhabitants in each ward, based upon the last regular federal census, shall be substantially equal, with wards composed of convenient and contiguous territory in as compact form as practicable. No election district heretofore or hereinafter created under the Election Law shall contain parts of two or more wards. The Town Board shall make appropriate revisions of the boundaries of the wards so that they shall contain a substantially equal number of inhabitants not later than six months after the publication of the results of a regular federal census which indicates that the districts do not contain a substantially equal number of inhabitants. When the Town Board shall have finally determined the boundaries of the wards, it shall cause a map of the Town to be prepared, showing, in detail, the location of each ward and the boundaries thereof. The original map so made shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk, and copies thereof shall be filed in the offices of the County Clerk and the Board of Elections of Putnam County. The ward system shall be deemed established after such filing is complete.