The voters of the Township may propose any ordinance
and may adopt or reject the same at the polls, such power being known
as the initiative. Any initiated ordinance may be submitted to the
Committee by a petition signed by twenty-five percent (25%) of the
registered voters of the Township.
A.
The voters shall also have the power of referendum
which is the power to approve or reject at the polls any ordinance
passed by the Committee, against which a referendum petition has been
filed as herein provided.
B.
No ordinance passed by the Committee, except when
otherwise required by general law, shall take effect thirty (30) days
from the date of its final passage. If within thirty (30) days after
such final passage a petition protesting against the passage of such
ordinance shall be filed with the Township Clerk and if the petition
shall be signed by twenty-five percent (25%) of the registered voters,
the ordinance shall be suspended from taking effect until proceedings
are had as herein provided.
All petition papers circulated for the purposes
of an initiative or referendum shall be uniform in size and style.
Initiative petition papers shall contain the full text of the proposed
ordinance. The signatures to initiative or referendum petitions need
not all be appended to one (1) paper, but to each separate petition
there shall be attached, a statement of the circulator thereof as
provided by this section. Each signer of any such petition paper shall
sign his name in ink or indelible pencil and shall indicate after
his name, his place of residence by street and number, or other description
sufficient to identify the place. There shall appear on each petition
paper the names and addresses of five (5) voters, designated as the
committee of the petitioners, who shall be regarded as responsible
for the circulation and filing of the petition and for its possible
withdrawal as hereinafter provided. Attached to each separate petition
paper there shall be an affidavit of the circulator thereof that he,
and he only, personally circulated the foregoing paper, that all the
signatures appended thereto were made in his presence, and that he
believes them to be the genuine signatures of the persons whose names
they purport to be.
All petition papers comprising an initiative
or referendum petition shall be assembled and filed with the Township
Clerk as one (1) instrument. Within twenty (20) days after a petition
is filed, the Clerk shall determine whether each paper of the petition
has a proper statement of the circulator and whether the petition
is signed by a sufficient number of registered voters. After completing
his examination of the petition, the Clerk shall certify the result
thereof to the Committee at its next regular meeting. If he shall
certify that the petition is insufficient, he shall set forth in his
certificate the particulars in which it is defective and shall at
once notify at least two (2) members of the committee of the petitioners
of his findings.
An initiative or referendum petition may be
amended at any time within ten (10) days after the notification of
insufficiency has been served by the Township Clerk by filing a supplementary
petition upon additional papers signed and filed as provided in case
of an original petition. The Clerk shall, within five (5) days after
such an amendment is filed, examine the amended petition and, if the
petition be still insufficient, he shall file a certificate to that
effect in his office and notify the committee of petitioners of his
findings and no further action shall be had on such insufficient petition.
The finding of the insufficiency of a petition shall not prejudice
the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
Upon the filing of a referendum petition with
the Township Clerk the ordinance shall be suspended until ten (10)
days following a finding by the Clerk that the petition is insufficient
or, if amended petition be filed, until five (5) days thereafter.
If the petition or amended petition be found to be sufficient, the
ordinance shall be suspended until the petition be withdrawn by the
committee of the petitioners or until repeal of the ordinance by vote
of the Committee or approval or disapproval of the ordinance by the
voters.
Upon a finding by the Clerk that any petition
or amended petition filed with him in accordance with this article
is sufficient, the Clerk shall submit the same to the Committee without
delay. An initiative ordinance so submitted shall be deemed to have
had first reading and provision shall be made for a public hearing
for further consideration pursuant to law.
If within sixty (60) days of the submission
of a certified petition by the Township Clerk the Committee shall
fail to pass an ordinance requested by an initiative petition in substantially
the form requested or to repeal an ordinance as requested by a referendum
petition, the Clerk shall submit the ordinance to the voters unless,
within ten (10) days after final adverse action by the Committee or
after the expiration of the time allowed for such action, as the case
may be, a paper signed by at least four (4) of the five (5) members
of the committee of the petitioners shall be filed with the Township
Clerk requesting that the petition be withdrawn. Upon the filing of
such a request, the original petition shall cease to have any force
or effect.
Any ordinance to be voted on by the voters in accordance with § C-34 of this article shall be submitted at the next general election occurring not less than sixty (60) days after the date of final action by the Committee or expiration of the time allowed for action by the Committee, as the case may be; provided, that if no election is to be held within ninety (90) days, the Committee may in its discretion provide for a special election.
Any number of proposed ordinances may be voted
upon at the same election in accordance with the provisions of this
article, but there shall not be more than one (1) special election
in any period of six (6) months for such purpose.
Whenever an ordinance is to be submitted to
the voters of the Township at any election in accordance with this
article, the Clerk shall cause the ordinance to be published in at
least one (1) of the official newspapers published or circulated in
the Township. The publication shall be not more than twenty (20) nor
less than ten (10) days before the submission of the ordinance or
proposition to be voted on.
The ballots to be used at such election shall
be in substantially the following form:
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To vote upon the public question printed below,
if in favor thereof mark a cross (X) or plus (+) or check (✓)
in the square at the left of the word "Yes," and if opposed thereto
mark a cross (X) or plus (+) or check (✓) in the square to the
left of the word "No".
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Yes.
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Shall "An act relating to the government and
administration of the Township of Montville in the County of Morris,"
known and designated as the "Montville Township Charter 1974" be adopted?
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No.
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If a majority of the qualified electorate voting
on the proposed ordinance shall vote in favor thereof, such ordinance
shall thereupon become a valid and binding ordinance of the Township
and be published as in the case of other ordinances. If the provisions
of two (2) or more measures approved or adopted at the same election
conflict, then the measure receiving the greatest affirmative vote
shall control.
