Any provision of the Charter of the City of Norwalk to the contrary
notwithstanding, every ordinance hereinafter enacted and every exercise
of authority of the Common Council, Board of Estimate and Taxation,
or any other City Board or Commission, except as otherwise prohibited
by the Acts of the General Assembly, the Constitution of the State
of Connecticut or the Constitution of the United States, or as exempted
in accordance with Paragraph 12(c) hereinbelow, shall be subject to
referendum, as hereinafter defined, which results shall be binding
upon the Common Council, Board of Estimate and Taxation, or any other
City Board or Commission which enacted the ordinance or exercised
the authority which is the subject of the referendum action. The term
referendum, as used in this Article, shall be defined as provided
in Section 9-1(n) of the Connecticut General Statutes.
1.
Upon a petition of not less than 8% of the electors of the City of
Norwalk qualified to vote in the previous general election filed in
accordance herewith with the City Clerk asking that any such ordinance
or exercise of authority be submitted to the votes of the city, such
ordinance or exercise of authority shall be so submitted.
2.
No ordinance or other exercise of authority shall be subject to referendum
unless, within seven days of the time that the ordinance is passed
or exercise of authority is taken, a written request including the
particular question or proposal to be subject to referendum is filed
by at least five electors of the City of Norwalk, duly notarized,
for the issuance of forms of petition for the referendum with the
City Clerk, together with a fee of $25.
3.
Within three days of the receipt of a request in accordance with
Paragraph 2 above, the City Clerk shall cause to be prepared a form
of petition for referendum in at least 500 copies, each of which shall
be marked with the Seal of the City of Norwalk, and shall notify by
registered mail the electors named in the aforesaid request for petition
forms that the said petition forms are available in the office of
the City Clerk. The petition forms shall be available at the office
of the City Clerk on the day that the notice is mailed as hereinbefore
provided and shall be released by the City Clerk upon demand at that
time or any time thereafter to any of the electors referenced in Paragraph
2 hereinabove.
4.
No ordinance or exercise of authority shall be subject to referendum
unless, within 25 days of the mailing of notice in accordance with
Paragraph 3, there shall be returned to the City Clerk as a lot by
any of the named electors of the aforesaid request for petition, the
petition forms containing the signatures, with addresses, of 8% of
the electors of the City of Norwalk on the petition forms requesting
such referendum issued by the City Clerk.
5.
a.
The City Clerk shall cause the question or proposal to be reprinted
on each petition form as submitted by the electors in their written
request for the issuance of petition forms pursuant to Paragraph 2
above, except that the City Clerk may rephrase or remove any language
which is ambiguous, misleading, scandalous, libelous, repetitive,
presents the question or proposal in an outlandish or impractical
form, is inconsistent with Paragraph 5(b) hereof, or is otherwise
contrary to law, but in no event shall the City Clerk rephrase or
remove any language in such a manner which could contravene, defeat,
vary or evade the clearly expressed purpose and intent of any question
or proposal so submitted which may lawfully be the subject of referendum
under the provisions of this Article, the Acts of the General Assembly
and the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.
b.
When the question or proposal to be reprinted concerns the capital
budget, operating budget, any other appropriation, or any part thereof,
the question or proposal may either i) call for disapproval of the
capital budget, operating budget, any other appropriation or any part
thereof, or ii) specifically state whether the capital budget, operating
budget, any other appropriation or any part thereof is to be decreased
by a specified dollar amount or percentage. If the question or proposal
as submitted by the electors in their written request for the issuance
of petition forms pursuant to Paragraph 2 above specifically states
whether the capital budget, operating budget, any other appropriation
or any part thereof is to be decreased by a specified dollar amount
or percentage, the City Clerk shall specifically and clearly state
such dollar amount or percentage of decrease in the question or proposal
reprinted on the petition forms.
c.
The City Clerk shall cause to be reprinted on each petition form
the question or proposal in accordance with the provisions of 5(a)
and (b) above, which shall be followed by sufficient lines for the
signatures and addresses of 20 electors. Below the lines the City
Clerk shall cause to be reprinted on the petition forms language substantially
as follows:
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The undersigned elector of the City of Norwalk hereby attests
that:
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1.
Each person whose name appears on this page personally signed the
same in my presence.
2.
Each person whose name appears on this page is either personally
known to me or satisfactorily identified himself or herself to me.
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I recognize that the above statements are made by me subject
to the penalties for false statement.
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Signature of circulator
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Name and address of circulator (to be typed or printed)
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6.
A referendum may be had hereunder as to the whole or any part of
any ordinance or exercise of authority of the Common Council, Board
of Estimate and Taxation or any other City Board or Commission, except
as otherwise prohibited by the provisions of this Article, the Acts
of the General Assembly, the Constitution of the State of Connecticut
or the Constitution of the United States or as exempted in accordance
with paragraph 12(c) hereinbelow.
7.
The Town Clerk shall review all petition forms returned hereunto
within five working days of their receipt by the City Clerk and shall
certify to the City Clerk:
a.
The number of validated signatures necessary to equal the signatures
of 8% of the electors of the city.
b.
On each page of said petition forms the number of valid signatures
thereon. The City Clerk shall, within two days of the receipt by him
of the petition forms from the Town Clerk, issue a statement by registered
mail addressed to the electors named in the request for petition forms
pursuant to Paragraph 2 above either verifying the timely receipt
of the petition forms in proper order containing the signatures of
8% of the electors of the City of Norwalk or shall so issue a statement
that such petition forms were not timely received by him or were not
in proper order or contained less than the signatures of 8% of the
electors of the City of Norwalk.
8.
No action shall be taken pursuant to any ordinance or exercise of
authority subject to referendum under this Article until seven days
shall have passed after the adoption of such ordinance or after the
taking of the decision to exercise authority as aforesaid. In the
event that a request is received by the City Clerk in accordance with
Paragraph 2 above, no such action shall be taken until the City Clerk
shall have issued a statement pursuant to Paragraph 7 above. In the
event that the City Clerk issues a statement verifying the timely
receipt of petition forms in proper order containing the signatures
of 8% of the electors of the City of Norwalk, then no such action
shall be taken until the referendum election on such ordinance or
exercise of authority is held and the ordinance or exercise of authority
is upheld; provided, however, that any ordinance or exercise of authority
designated as an emergency measure by the municipal authority so acting
shall be fully and immediately effective unless and until disapproved
at a referendum election.
9.
a.
In the event that the City Clerk issues a statement verifying the
timely receipt of petition forms in proper order containing the signatures
of 8% of the electors of the City of Norwalk as provided in Paragraph
7(b) above, then within three days of the date on which the statement
verifying the petition forms is deposited in the mail, the Common
Council shall meet and determine the date of the referendum and shall
instruct the City Clerk to issue a warning according to law; provided,
however, in the case of a special election, such warning shall be
issued by the City Clerk within three days after instruction by the
Common Council.
b.
Any referendum election concerning the capital budget, operating
budget, any other appropriation or any part thereof shall be held
at a special election not earlier than 17 days nor later than 25 days
following the day upon which the City Clerk, upon instruction from
the Common Council, issues a warning therefor by publishing a notice
thereof in a newspaper having general circulation in the City of Norwalk.
Any other referendum election shall be held at the next general election
if such general election is to be held within six months from the
date of verification by the City Clerk as provided in Paragraph 7(b)
above; provided, however, that if such verification by the City Clerk
as provided in Paragraph 7(b) above occurs less than 60 days or more
than six months prior to the general election, then the referendum
election shall be held at a special election not earlier than 17 days
nor later than 25 days following the day upon which the City Clerk,
upon instruction from the Common Council, issues a warning therefor
by publishing a notice thereof in a newspaper having a general circulation
in the City or Norwalk.
10.
No question or proposal shall be approved, unless at the election
at least 25% of the electors of the City of Norwalk cast a ballot
with respect to such question or proposal.
11.
a.
Every referendum pursuant to this Article and any question or proposal
approved by the electors of the City of Norwalk shall be binding,
final and mandatory upon the Common Council, Board of Estimate and
Taxation or any other City Board or Commission which enacted the ordinance
or exercised the authority which is the subject of the referendum
action, unless the same has been exempted in accordance with Paragraph
12(c) hereinbelow.
b.
If, upon the official determination of the result of such referendum,
the question or proposal has been approved by the electors, such question
or proposal shall take effect forthwith.
c.
Whenever the question or proposal so voted upon concerns the capital
budget, operating budget, any other appropriation or any part thereof
and the question or proposal as submitted by the electors in their
written request for the issuance of petition forms pursuant to Paragraph
2 above specifically provided whether the capital budget, operating
budget, any other appropriation or any part thereof is to be decreased
by a specified dollar amount or percentage, the decrease shall take
effect forthwith; provided, however, that the appropriate municipal
authority shall meet within three days of the referendum to determine
in what manner the mandated decrease of the dollar amount or percentage
shall be effected, unless the manner of the implementation of the
decrease is otherwise provided for in the question or proposal so
approved, in which event no such meeting shall be required.
d.
Whenever the electors of the City of Norwalk approve any question
or proposal at any referendum requiring the operating budget to be
decreased, the Board of Estimate and Taxation shall meet within three
days and shall lower the mill rate in accordance with the decrease.
Nothing herein shall be interpreted as requiring any action by the
Board of Estimate and Taxation in order for the decrease to take effect
forthwith. As to the manner of the implementation of the exercise
of the decrease, the provisions of Paragraph 11(c) above shall apply.
e.
In the event that a referendum is held and the capital budget, operating
budget, any other appropriation or any part thereof submitted to the
electorate in the referendum shall be disapproved, but the question
or proposal as submitted by the electors in their written request
for the issuance of petition forms pursuant to Paragraph 2 above did
not specifically provide whether the capital budget, operating budget,
any other appropriation or any part thereof is to be decreased by
a specified dollar amount or percentage, then within three days after
said election the Board of Estimate and Taxation shall hold a public
hearing on said appropriations and shall make such alterations or
adjustments therein and shall decrease the tax rate to correspond
to such changes as are appropriate to reflect the wishes of the electors;
provided, however, that the Board of Estimate at said meeting shall
not approve any increase in total appropriations above the amount
provided for in the disapproved budget, appropriation or part thereof.
f.
Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, if two or more conflicting questions or proposals shall be approved by the electors at the same referendum election, the question or proposal receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail in all particulars as to which there is a conflict, so long as such question or proposal has met the requirements of Paragraph 10 of this § 1-669.
g.
Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, any appropriations fixed
by the Board of Estimate and Taxation pursuant to Sections c, d or
e of this paragraph shall be final, and the actions taken by the Board
of Estimate and Taxation pursuant to said sections shall be exempt
from any further referendum as to said actions.
12.
a.
Each paragraph, subparagraph and each provision of each paragraph
and subparagraph of this Article shall be separable, and the invalidity
of any portion of any paragraph, subparagraph or any provision of
any paragraph or subparagraph shall not affect the validity or enforcement
of any other portion. Should any provision be found to be invalid
as to any circumstance, such provision shall apply to all other circumstances
to which such provision may lawfully apply.
b.
When a period of time is prescribed for the doing of any act, or
as to Paragraph 8 above prescribed for the doing of any act, Sundays
and holidays shall be included in computing such period, except that,
if the last day of such period is on a Sunday or holiday, such day
shall not be counted, and the last day shall be the day following
such Sunday or holiday.
c.
Should any provision of § 1-669 of this Article conflict with any other provision of any other section of this Article, or any other Article, of this Charter, the provision of § 1-669 shall apply, be considered supreme, and supersede such other provision, unless such other provision specifically states that it is exempt from the application of this § 1-669.
[1]
Editor's Note: Approved by the electorate a the general election held 11-5-1974. Former § 1-669, originally part of Article XXII, Extension of Fire Protection, was repealed by Charter Amendment of 11-3-1970, effective 7-1-1971.
[2]
Editor's Note: Approved by the electorate at the general
election held 11-2-1976.
