2002-35 Charter Amendment - Certificate of SufficiencyORDINANCE 35-2002
• AN ORDINANCE OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM
BEACH, FLORIDA, SUBMITTING TO REFERENDUM A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE
Vl1,l,AGE CHARTER AMENDING SECTION 10, INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM, OF
ARTICLE' III, I,F,GISLATIVE, TO PROVIDE THAT THE VILLAGE CLERK SHALI.
COMPI,I3TE A CERTIFICATE OF SUFFICIENCY FOR A REFERENDUM PETITION WITHIN
TWENTY (20) DAYS OF FILING AND PROVIDING THAT NOTICE TO PF,TITIONERS'
COMMITTEE SHALL BE BY CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED;
PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE, UPON ADOPTION, SHALL BE SUBMITTED 1'O
TI11; L'LECTORS OF THE VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH AT THE MARCH, 2003,
IiLECT10N }IELD WITHIN THE VILLAGE; PROVIDING FOR A NOTICE OF THE
RF,FIiK1:NDUM ELECTION TO BE PUBLISHED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATE OF
FLORIDA ELECTION CODES; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR THE
RIiPI'sAL OF AEI, ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH;
I'KOVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ORDINANCE; PROVIDING FOR
INCLUSION IN THE VILLAGE CHARTER; AND PROVIDING FOR T}IE EFFECTIVE DATE
OF PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT.
Wf11REAS, Chapter 166, }'lorida Statutes, as amended, provides for charter amendments for
municipalities and authorizes the governing body of a municipality, by ordinance, to submit to the
electors of said municipality proposed amendments to its Charter; and
WI1F,R}iAS, the Village Council is desirous of submitting the proposed amendment contained within
this ordinance to a vote of the electors at the March, 2003, election to be held within the Village.
BE 17' ORDAINED BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM
BRACH, I'LORIDA:
Section 1. That Section 1Q, Initiative and referendum, of Article III, Legislative, of the Village
Charter is hereby amended to read as follows:
°~ARTICLE III. LEGISLATIVE
Section ]0. Initiative and referendum.
(a) (1) Initiative. The qualified voters of the village shall have power to propose
ordinances to the council and, if the council fails to adopt an ordinance
so proposed without any change in substance, to adopt or reject it at a
village election, provided that such power shall not extend to the budget
• or capital program or any ordinance relating to appropriation of money,
levy of taxes or salaries of village officers or employees.
(2) Referendum. The qualified voters of the village shall have power to require
• reconsideration by the council of any adopted ordinance and, if the
council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, to approve or reject
it at a village election, provided that such power shall not extend to the
budget or capital program or any emergency ordinance or ordinance
relating to appropriation of money, levy of taxes or salaries of village
officers or employees.
(h) Commencement of proceedings. Any five (5) qualified voters may commence
initiative or referendum proceedings by filing with the village clerk or other official designated by
the council an affidavit stating they will constitute the petitioners' committee and be responsible for
circulating the petition and filing it in proper form, stating their names and addresses and specifying
the address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent, and setting out in full the proposed
initiative ordinance or citing the ordinance sought to be reconsidered.
Promptly after the affidavit of the petitioners' committee is filed, the Clerk or other official
designated by the Council may, at the committee's request, issue the appropriate petition blanks to
the petitioners' committee at the committee's expense.
(c) 1'etilions.
(1) Number ofsignaturer. Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by qualified
voters of the village equal in number to at least fifteen percent (15%) of the total
number of qualified voters registered to vote at the last regular village election.
(2) Form and content. All papers of a petition shall be uniform in size and style and shall
be assembled as one instrument for filing. Each signature shall be executed in ink or
indelible pencil and shall be followed by the address of the person signing. Petitions
shall contain or have attached thereto throughout their circulation the full text of the
ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered.
(3) Affidavit of circulator. Each paper of a petition shall have attached to it when filed
an affidavit executed by the circulator thereof stating that he personally circulated the
paper, the number of signatures thereon, that all the signatures were affixed in his
presence, that he believes them to be the genuine signature of the persons whose
names they purport to be and that each signer had an opportunity before signing to
read the full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered.
(4) 7'inre for. filing referendum petitions. Referendum petitions must be filed within thirty
(30) days after adoption by the council of the ordinance sought to be reconsidered.
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(~ Action on petitions.
• (1) Action by council. When an initiative or referendum petition has been finally
determined sufficient, the council shall promptly consider the proposed initiative
ordinance in the manner provided in Article III or reconsider the referred ordinance
by voting its repeal. If the council fails to adopt a proposed initiative ordinance
without any change in substance within sixty (60) days or fails to repeal the referred
ordinance within thirty (30) days, it shall submit the proposed or referred ordinance
to the voters of the village.
(2) Submission to voters. The vote of the village on a proposed or referred ordinance shall
be held not less than thirty (30) days and not later than sixty (60) days from the date
that the petition was determined sufficient. If no regular village election is to be held
within the period described in this subsection, the council shall provide for a special
election; except that the council may, in its discretion, provide for a special election
at an earlier date within the described period. Copies of the proposed or referred
ordinance shall be made available at the polls.
(3) Withdrawal of petitions. An initiative or referendum petition may be withdrawn at
any time prior to the fifteenth (15'") day preceding the day scheduled for a vote of the
village by filing with the village clerk or other official designated by the council a
request for withdrawal signed by at least four (4) members of the petitioners'
committee. Upon the filing of such request the petition shall have no further force or
effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated.
(g) Results of election.
(1) Initiative. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed initiative
ordinance vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of the
election results and shall be treated in all respects in the same manner as ordinances
of the same kind adopted by the council. If conflicting ordinances are approved at the
same election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail
to the extent of such conflict.
(2) Referendum. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a referred ordinance vote
against it, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results."
Section 2. This ordinance, upon adoption, shall be submitted to the electors of the Village of North
Palm Beach at the March, 2003, election. The ballot title and explanatory statement of the
amendment shall be set forth as follows on the ballot for consideration by the qualified electors of
• the Village of North Palm Beach, Florida:
(d) Procedure for frling.
• (1) Cerlircale of clerk; amendment. Within twenty (20) days after the initiative petition
is filed and twenty (20) days for a referendum petition, the village clerk or other
official designated by the council shall complete a certificate as to its sufficiency,
specifying, if it is insufficient, the particulars wherein it is defective and shall
promptly send a copy of the certificate to the petitioners' committee by certified mail,
return receipt requested. Grounds for insufficiency are only those specified in
subsection (c). A petition certified insufficient for lack of the required number of
valid signatures may be amended once if the petitioners' committee files a notice of
intention to amend it with the clerk or other official designated by the council within
two (2) days after receiving the copy of the certificate and files a supplementary
petition upon additional papers within ten (10) days after receiving the copy of such
certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with the requirements of
subsections (2) and (3) of Section 10(c), and within five (5) days after it is filed the
clerk or other official designated by the council shall complete a certificate as to the
sufficiency of the petition as amended and promptly send a copy of such certificate
to the petitioners' committee by certified mail, return receipt requested, as in the case
of an original petition. If a petition or amended petition is certified sufficient, or if a
petition or amended petition is certified insufficient and the petitioners' committee
does not elect to amend or request council review under subsection (2) of this section
within the time required, the clerk or other official designated by the council shall
promptly present his certificate to the council and the certificate shall then be a f final
determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.
(2) Council review. If a petition has been certified insufficient and the petitioners'
committee does not file notice of intention to amend it or if an amended petition has
been certified insufficient, the committee may within two (2) days after receiving the
copy of such certificate, file a request that it be reviewed by the council. 7'he council
shall review the certificate at its next meeting following the filing of such request and
approve or disapprove it, and the council's determination shall then be a final
determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.
(e) Referendum petitions; suspension of effect of ordinance. When a referendum petition
is filed with the village clerk or other official designated by the council, the ordinance sought to be
reconsidered shall be suspended from taking effect. Such suspension shall terminate when:
(1) There is a final determination of insufficiency of the petition, or;
(2) The petitioners' committee withdraws the petition, or;
(3) The council repeals the ordinance, or;
• (4) After a vote of the village on the ordinance has been certified.
"TITLE"
• Providing Village Clerk to complete certificate of sufficiency for referendum petitions within
twenty (20) days of filing and providing notice to petitioners' committee to be by certified mail,
return receipt requested.
"EXPLANATORY STATEMENT"
Village Charter now provides that the Village Clerk must complete a certificate of
sufficiency for a referendum petition within five (5) days of filing, and the proposal is to extend it
to twenty (20) days. Notice to petitioners' committee on initiative or referendum petitions proposed
to be changed from registered mail to certified mail, return receipt requested.
Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?
YES (FOR APPROVAL)
NO (AGAINST APPROVAL)
Section 3. The Village Clerk of the Village of North Palm Beach is authorized and directed to
advertise the referendum election in accordance with the State of Florida Election Code.
Section 4. If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance is for any
reason held by a Court to be unconstitutional, inoperative or void, such holding shall not affect the
remainder of this Ordinance.
Section 5. All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
Section 6. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
Section 7. In the event of adoption by the electors as provided herein, the Village Clerk shall
incorporate the amendment into the Village Charter and shall file the revised Charter with the Florida
Department of State.
Section 8. 7'he proposed Charter amendments shall take effect upon adoption by a majority of
• electors voting in the referendum election.
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PLACED ON FIRST READING TH[S 21st DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2002.
• PLACEU ON SECOND, FINAL READING AND PASSED THIS 12th DAY OF DECEMBER, 2002.
(VILLAGE SEAi,)
A
VILLAGE CLERK
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