CITY CHARTER - 2023 Website Version American Legal

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• Petitions for initiative and referendum require signatures numbering at least fifteen percent (15%) of the total ballots cast for president in the most recent presidential election. • Petitions for recall require signatures at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the total ballots cast for president in the most recent presidential election. If all requirements have been met, the city administrator shall report to the Council within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the completed petition. Thereafter, the Council shall immediately declare the sufficiency of the petition by resolution, (Amended 2007 Ord. 790; Amended 2010 Ord. 841; Amended 2023 Ord. 1009.) Section 5.04. Disposition of Insufficient or Frivolous Petition. If the petition appears to be frivolous, the city administrator shall report to the Council within ten (10) calendars days of receipt of the petition. If the Council determines the petition is frivolous, the Council shall direct the city administrator to the file the petition as frivolous and no further action shall be taken. If the city administrator determines that the petition does not meet the requirements for sufficiency and is not determined to be frivolous, a copy of the petition, together with a written statement of its defects, shall be delivered to the sponsoring committee and to the Council within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the completed petition. As specified in this Charter, the sponsoring committee shall have twenty-one (21) calendar days to file additional signature papers and/or to correct the specified insufficiency. Within nine (9) calendar days of receipt of the corrected completed petition, the city administrator shall determine whether the petition as corrected meets the requirements for sufficiency and shall proceed as directed in Section 5.03 . If the petition is still insufficient, the Council shall direct the city administrator to file the petition as insufficient and notify the sponsoring committee within ten (10) calendar days that no further action will be taken. The final finding that the petition is insufficient shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose unless otherwise specified within this Charter. Except in the case of a petition for recall, it shall not prevent the Council from referring the subject matter of the petition to the voters at the next regular or special election. (Amended 2007 Ord. 790; Amended 2010 Ord. 841; Amended 2023 Ord. 1009.) Section 5.05. Ballot Measure Requirements. If a measure meets the requirements to be put on a ballot and is in compliance with Chapter 4 of this Charter, at or before its next regularly scheduled meeting, the Council shall pass a resolution placing the measure on a ballot. If it is within 120 calendar days of a primary or general election and all of the county election requirements can be met, the measure shall be placed on the ballot at the next regularly scheduled election. If a measure meets the requirements to be put on a ballot but cannot be placed on the ballot at a regularly scheduled election, at or before its next regularly scheduled meeting, the Council shall pass a resolution placing the measure on the ballot and calling for a special election to be held within 120 calendar days of said meeting. However, no special elections can be held between a regular primary election and a regular general election or forty (40) calendar days after a regular general election. If there is no regular primary election then no special election shall be held within sixty (60) calendar days prior to a regular general election. (Amended 2007 Ord. 790; Amended 2023 Ord. 1009.) Section 5.06. Initiative*. An ordinance may be proposed by petition. The exact text of the proposed ordinance must be stated at the head of each page of the petition or attached thereto. The petition shall be filed in the city administrator's office prior to circulation and shall be valid for 180 calendar days during which time a completed petition with signatures must be filed. If a petition for initiative is determined to be frivolous, it is prohibited from being repeated within 180 calendar days of the determination. Within sixty (60) calendar days after final determination of the petition’s sufficiency according to Section 5.03 and 5.04 of this Charter, the Council must either adopt an ordinance according to Subdivisions 1 or 2 or pass a resolution to place the measure on a ballot as provided in Subdivision 3. Any amendment to the proposed ordinance must proceed according to Subdivision 2 of this section. If an ordinance is adopted, it shall become effective thirty (30) calendar days after publication unless the ordinance specifies a later effective date. If the vote for adoption fails, the ordinance must be placed on the ballot as provided in Section 5.05 . If a ballot measure for a proposed ordinance fails the same measure is prohibited from being brought forward again as an initiative within