[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Woodbury 10-3-2011 by L.L. No.
1-2011. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town Board of the Town of Woodbury believes that the concerns
of the public are important and should be considered seriously. This
law will empower the public with procedures that will require the
Town Board to consider and vote on proposed ordinances/legislation
which are of concern to the public.
A.
Petitions can be submitted on a single subject only if an individual
had first requested the Town Board to take action on the single subject
during a public comment section of a Town Board meeting. If no action
is taken by the Town Board on that single subject within 30 days,
then the petitioner can begin the petitioning process.
B.
Any five registered voters of the Town of Woodbury may file with
the Town Clerk an affidavit stating that they will constitute a petitioner's
committee, be responsible for circulating a petition and filing it
in the proper form. The affidavit must contain the full text of the
proposed initiative ordinance or site the ordinance sought to be considered
along with a two-hundred-word-or-less description of the effect of
the petition.
A.
Each petition
can embrace only a single subject and matter necessarily connected
therewith and pertaining thereto. Petitions must be signed by at least
10% of the total number of registered voters to be considered. A cover
sheet must be attached to the petitions when submitted and must also
state the following: the number of signatures contained in the document,
and an affirmation that each signer had an opportunity before signing
to read the full text of the measure.
B.
Each petition page submitted must contain the following:
(1)
At the top, an abstract of the full text of the proposed initiative
ordinance.
(2)
No more than 20 signature lines per page. The signature line should
include the date signed, the signer's signature, and the printed
address of the signer. All signers must be residents of the Town of
Woodbury and registered to vote.
(3)
At the bottom, a "Statement of Witness" must be executed by the individual
circulating the petition and state the following: "I, (name of witness)
state: I am a duly qualified voter of the Town of Woodbury. I now
reside at (residence address). Each of the individuals whose names
are subscribed to this petition sheet containing (number of signatures),
subscribed the same in my presence on the dates above indicated and
identified himself or herself to be the individual who signed the
sheet. I understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes
as the equivalent of an affidavit and, if it contains a material false
statement, shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been
duly sworn." This statement must be then signed and dated by the witness
of signatures.
(4)
Each petition page should be numbered and submitted, in numerical
order, securely attached to the coversheet noted above.
A.
Upon receipt of a petition, the Town Clerk shall count the number
of signatures submitted. This number will be considered the "raw count."
If the raw count is less than 100% of the number of signatures required
(10% of registered voters), the petition is deemed insufficient. If
the raw count indicates that the petition contains 100% or more of
the total number of signatures required, the Town Clerk shall then
begin signature verifications.
B.
If the total number of signatures from the raw count is less than
15% of the total number of registered voters, the Town Clerk must
examine and verify every signature on the petition. If the total number
of signatures from the raw count is more than 15% of the total number
of registered voters, then the Town Clerk shall randomly sample 5%
of the signatures. If the examination of the random sample shows that
the number of valid signatures is less than 90% of the number of signatures
of registered voters needed, it shall be deemed insufficient. If the
examination of the random sample shows that the number of valid signatures
is 90% or more but less than 100% of the number of valid signatures
needed, then the Town Clerk shall continue to verify signatures. The
Town Clerk shall continue to verify the signatures until she has examined
every signature or has determined that 100% of the number of signatures
needed is valid.
C.
The Town Clerk has 30 business days from receipt of the petition
to conduct the signature verification process.
If the petition is deemed sufficient, the Town Board, at their
next worksession during open session, will discuss and may call for
a motion on the issue being petitioned for. In the case pertaining
to a local law or other applicable matter, the Town Board may call
for a motion to schedule a public hearing for the issue being petitioned.
If the Board does not take action at that meeting, the Town Board
must take an action within two regular Town Board meetings. If the
petition has been certified insufficient, the petitioner's committee
may, within two business days of receipt of a copy of the certificate,
file a written request with the Town Clerk that it be reviewed by
the Town Board. Failure to file this written request for a review
within these two business days will cause the petitioner's request
to be deemed withdrawn. The Town Board will review the certificate
at their next meeting and will approve or disapprove it. The determination
of the Board will be the final determination of the sufficiency of
the petition.
