March 2005 Ramsey City Charter Update

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election. The required number of signatures for recall of the mayor or a councilmember elected at large shall be at lest twenty percent of the total number of registered voters in the city at the time of the last city-wide election. The required number of signatures for recall of a councilmember elected from a ward shall be at least twenty percent of the total number of registered voters in the ward represented by the councilmember subject to the recall at the time of the last city-wide election. Immediately upon receipt of the petition, the city clerk shall examine the petition as to its sufficiency and report to the council within ten days. Upon receiving the report,the council shall determine by resolution the sufficiency of the petition. Section 5.4 Disposition of Insufficient or Irregular Petition. If the council determines that the petition is insufficient or irregular, as defined in Sections 5.3 and 5.2 respectively, the city clerk shall deliver a copy of the petition, together with a written statement of its defects, to the sponsoring committee. The committee shall have thirty days in which to file additional signature papers and/or to correct the petition in all other particulars, except that, in the case of a petition for recall, the committee may not change the statement of the grounds on which the recall is sought. Within five days of receipt of the corrected petition, the city clerk shall again report to the council. If the council finds that the petition is still insufficient or irregular, the city clerk shall file the petition in his/her office and notify the sponsoring committee. The final finding that the petition is insufficient or irregular shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose, nor shall it prevent the council from referring the subject matter of the petition to the voters at the next regular or special election. Section 5.5 Initiative. Any ordinance may be proposed by a petition which shall state at the head of each page or attached thereto the exact text of the proposed ordinance. If the council passes the proposed ordinance with amendments, and a majority of the sponsoring committee do not disapprove the amended form by a statement filed with the city clerk within ten days of its passage by the council, the ordinance need not be submitted to the voters. If the council fails to enact the ordinance in a form acceptable to the majority of the sponsoring committee within sixty days after the final determination of sufficiency of the petition, the ordinance as originally proposed shall be placed on the ballot at the next election occurring in the city. If no election is to occur within 120 days after the filing of the petition, the council shall call a special election on the ordinance to be held within such period. Section 5.6 Initiative to Amend the Charter. Nothing in this charter shall be construed in any way as affecting the right of the electors to propose amendments to this charter. Section 5.7 Referendum. Prior to the date an ordinance takes effect, it may be subjected to referendum by a petition which shall state at the head of each page, or attached thereto, the exact text of the ordinance to be considered by the voters. If the petition is found to be sufficient under the provisions of Section 5.3 of this chapter, the said ordinance shall thereby be prevented from going into operation, and the subject matter of the petition shall be placed on the ballot at the next election occurring in the city. If no election is to occur within 120 days after the filing of the petition, the council shall call a special election to be held within such period, providing the petition has been found to be sufficient. If a majority of the voters voting thereon vote for the ordinance contained in the petition, it shall take effect immediately upon certification of the election results by the council. 11