Section 5.01.  General Voter Authority.  The people of Mounds View have the right, in accordance with this Charter, to propose ordinances [initiative] and to require that any ordinance be referred to the voters [referendum], except those that appropriate money or levy taxes.  The voters also have the right to remove elected public officials [recall].  The term voter(s), as used in Chapter 5, shall refer only to residents of the City of Mounds View who first register, or who have registered and are qualified to vote.  Per Minnesota Statute 200.039 (as amended), eligibility to sign the petition is not restricted to only those who were eligible to or did cast ballots in the previous election.

	Section 5.02. Petitions.  To circulate a petition provided for under this chapter, it must be sponsored by a committee of five or more voters of the City whose names and addresses appear on the petition.  A petition consists of one or more pages with each separately circulated page containing at its head the information specified in sections 5.05, 5.07 or 5.08 which apply, respectively, to initiative, referendum and recall.  The committee may obtain a sample petition from the city Clerk-Administrator.  All petition circulators must be voters of the City.  Each separate page of the petition must have appended to it a certificate by the circulator, verified by oath. The certificate shall affirm that each signature was made in the circulator’s presence and that the circulator believes them to be the genuine signature of the voter whose name it purports to be and that each signer was presented with the full petition.  Each signer of a petition must be a voter of the City and must sign and print their name and give their street address.  Any voter whose name appears on a petition may withdraw their name by filing a statement in writing with the Clerk-Administrator before the Clerk-Administrator advises the Council of the sufficiency of the petition.

	Section 5.03.  Determination of Petition Sufficiency.  The committee must file the completed petition in the office of the Clerk-Administrator.  The Clerk-Administrator shall provide the number of total ballots cast for President in the most recent Presidential election.  For a petition to be sufficient, the required number of signatures shall be a percentage of that number.

•	Petitions for Initiative and Referendum require at least 15 percent.
•	Petitions for Recall, at least 25 percent.
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Within 10 working days of receipt of the petition, the Clerk-Administrator shall determine its sufficiency.  Upon final determination of sufficiency, the Clerk-Administer shall report the date of the determination and its sufficiency to the Council at or before the next regularly scheduled meeting.  Upon receipt of the report, the Council shall immediately declare the sufficiency of the petition by resolution including the reported date of determination of sufficiency.

	Section 5.04.  Disposition of Insufficient or Irregular Petition.  If the Clerk-Administrator determines that the sufficiency of a petition cannot be declared, it shall be determined to be insufficient or irregular.  The Clerk-Administrator shall deliver a copy of the petition, together with a written statement of its defects, to the sponsoring committee and to the City Council.  The committee shall have 30 calendar days in which to file additional signature papers and/or to correct the specified irregularity.  Within five working days of receipt of the corrected petition, the Clerk-Administrator shall determine the sufficiency of the petition as corrected and proceed as directed in Section 5.03.  If the petition is still insufficient or irregular, this shall be considered the Final Finding and the Clerk-Administrator shall file the petition as noted and immediately notify the sponsoring committee that no further action will be taken.  The final finding that the petition is insufficient or irregular shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.  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.

	Section 5.05.  Initiative.  Any ordinance may be proposed by a petition.  The exact text of the proposed ordinance must be stated at the head of each page of the petition.  The Council must act upon the proposed ordinance within 60 calendar days after final determination of the petition’s sufficiency under the provisions of Section 5.03 of this chapter.  The Council may amend the proposed ordinance and must provide such amendments to the petition committee.  A majority of the sponsoring committee of the petition may disapprove the amended form by filing a statement with the Clerk-Administrator within 14 calendar days of the receipt of the amended ordinance. If the sponsoring committee does not file disapproval, the ordinance is not required to be submitted to the voters for enactment.  Upon filing a statement of disapproval, the proposed ordinance, as stated on the original petition, must be placed on the ballot at the next election occurring in the City.  If there is no regularly scheduled election within 120 calendar days of the determination of sufficiency or if the calendar date prohibits compliance with provisions in Chapter 4 of this Charter, at or before its next regularly scheduled meeting, the Council shall call a special election o take place within 90 calendar days of said meeting.  If the ordinance receives a majority vote in its favor, it shall become effective 30 calendar days after adoption unless the ordinance specifies a later effective date.  (Amended, Ord. 650, 8-16-2000)

	Section 5.06.  Initiative to Amend the Charter.  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as in any way affecting the right of the voters to propose amendments to this charter.

	Section 5.07.  Referendum.  Prior to the date when an ordinance takes effect, it may be subjected to a referendum by a petition which shall state at the head of each page the exact text of the measure to be considered by the voters.  If the petition is found to be sufficient under the provisions of Section 5.03 of this chapter, said ordinance shall thereby be prevented from enactment, and the subject matter of the petition shall be placed on the ballot at the next election occurring in the City.  If there is no regularly scheduled election within 120 calendar days of the determination of sufficiency or if the calendar date prohibits compliance with provisions in Chapter 4 of this Charter, upon declaration of sufficiency, the Council shall immediately call a special election to take place within 90 calendar days of said meeting.  If a majority of the voters voting thereon favors the ordinance contained in the petition, it shall remain in effect.  If a majority votes against the ordinance contained in the petition, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results. (Amended, Ord. 651, 8-16-2000)

	Section 5.08.  Recall.  The voters of the City may request a recall vote of any elected official of the City by petition.  The petition shall state at the head of each page, or attached thereto, the name of the official whose removal is sought, the grounds for recall constituting malfeasance or misfeasance, in not more than 250 words, and the intention of the sponsoring committee to bring about the official's recall.  The petition shall be filed in the Clerk-Administrator's office prior to circulation.  If the petition is determined sufficient under the provisions of Section 5.03 of this chapter, the Clerk-Administrator shall submit it to the Council as required.  The Clerk-Administrator shall also officially notify the official sought to be recalled of the sufficiency of the petition and of the pending action  within five working days.  Within five working days of notification, the official may provide an answer stating the justification of their course of action in not more than 500 words.  If there is no regularly scheduled election within 120 calendar days of the determination of sufficiency or if the calendar date prohibits compliance with provisions in Chapter 4 of this Charter, upon declaration of sufficiency, the Council shall immediately call a special election to take place within 90 calendar days of said meeting.  The Clerk-Administrator shall include with the published notice of the election, the statement of the grounds for the recall and the answer of the official concerned or a statement stating no answer was received.  If a vacancy occurs due to recall election, Section 4.05 herein shall apply to fill said vacancy.