§ 28. Recall, initiative and referendum.

(A)

Initiative and referendum. The electors of the village shall have the power to propose to the village council passage or repeal of ordinances and to vote on the question if the council refuses action, according to the following procedure:

(1)

The person proposing the exercise of this power shall submit the proposal to the council which shall without delay approve as to form a petition for circulation in one or several copies as the proposer may desire.

(2)

The person or persons circulating the petition shall, within one month of the approval of the form of the petition, obtain the signatures of voters in numbers at least equal to five (5) percent of the total vote of the village for the office of governor at the last preceding gubernatorial general election, or five hundred (500) signatures, whichever is greater.

(3)

The signed petition shall be filed with the council which shall within thirty (30) days order a canvass of the signatures thereon to determine the sufficiency of the signatures. If the number of signatures is insufficient or the petition is deficient as to form or compliance with this section, the council shall notify the person filing the petition and allow thirty (30) days for filing of additional petition papers, and at the end of which time the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition shall be finally determined.

(4)

The council shall within thirty (30) days after the date a sufficient petition is presented either:

(a)

Adopt the ordinance as submitted in an initiatory petition or repeal the ordinance referred to by a referendary petition; or

(b)

Determine to submit the proposal to the electors.

(5)

The vote of the electors, if required, shall take place within one hundred twenty (120) days after the date the petition is presented to the council, preferably in an election already scheduled for other purposes, otherwise, in a special election. The result shall be determined by a majority vote of the electors voting on the proposal.

(6)

An ordinance proposed by initiatory petition or the repeal of an ordinance by referendary petition shall be effective on the date after the election, except that:

(a)

Any reduction or elimination of existing revenue or any expenditures not provided for by the current budget or existing bond issues shall not take effect until the beginning of the next succeeding fiscal year; and

(b)

Rights accumulated under an ordinance between the time a certified referendary petition against the ordinance is presented to the village and the repeal of the ordinance by the voters, shall not be enforced against the village; and

(c)

Should two (2) or more ordinances adopted at the same election have conflicting provisions, the one receiving the highest number of votes shall prevail as to those provisions.

(7)

An ordinance adopted by the electorate through initiatory proceedings shall not be amended or repealed by the council for a period of one year after the election at which it was adopted, but thereafter it may be amended or repealed like in other ordinance.

(B)

Recall.

(C)

Costs. The costs incurred in verifying the signatures on any petition filed for initiative, referendum, or recall shall be advanced by the person or persons filing same.

(Res. No. 667-79, Charter Amend. No. 2, 4-17-79; Res. No. 805, 8-5-86)

Editor's note

Subsection (B) was editorially deleted as preempted by F.S. § 100.361.