A.
Initiative. The qualified voters of Peters Township shall have the power to propose ordinances to the Council by an initiative petition. If the Council fails to adopt the proposed ordinance without any change in substance, the ordinance shall be placed on the ballot at a regular or special election, as provided in § C-7.06B, for adoption or rejection by the voters of the township.
The power of initiative shall not extend to the budget or capital
program or to any ordinance relating to appropriation of money, levy
of taxes, or salaries of township officers or employees.
B.
Referendum. The qualified voters of the township shall have the power to require the Council to reconsider any adopted ordinance. If the Council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, the ordinance shall be placed on the ballot at a regular or special election, as provided in § C-7.06B, for adoption or rejection by the voters of the township.
The power to require reconsideration shall not extend to the budget or capital program or to any ordinance relating to the appropriation of money, levy of taxes, or salaries of township officers or employees, except as provided in § C-5.12.
Any five qualified voters may begin initiative or referendum
proceedings by filing with the township manager an affidavit stating
that they will constitute the petitioners' committee, stating
their names and addresses and the address to which all notices to
the committee are to be sent. The affidavit shall also include the
full text of the proposed ordinance or cite the ordinance sought to
be reconsidered. The petitioners' committee shall be responsible
for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form within 60
days after filing the committee's affidavit.
Promptly after the affidavit of the petitioners' committee
is filed, the township manager shall issue the appropriate petition
blanks to the committee.
A.
Number of signatures. Initiative and referendum petitions must be
signed by qualified voters of Peters Township equal in number to 25%
of those voting for the office of governor in the last gubernatorial
election within Peters Township.
B.
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 must be executed in ink or indelible pencil and must be
followed by the date of the signature and the address of the person
signing. The full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered
must be contained within or attached to each paper of the petition
throughout its circulation.
C.
Affidavit. Each paper of the petition shall have attached to it when
it is filed an affidavit of the circulator which states that he personally
circulated the paper, the number of signatures it contains, that all
signatures were affixed in his presence, that he believes them to
be the genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport
to be and that each signer had an opportunity to read the full text
attached before signing the petition.
D.
Time for filing referendum petition. Referendum petitions must be
filed within 30 days after adoption by the Council of the ordinance
sought to be reconsidered.
A.
Within 20 days after the petition is filed, the township manager
shall certify its sufficiency, specifying in exactly which ways, if
any, it is deficient and shall immediately send a copy of the certificate
to the petitioners' committee by registered mail. 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 manager within two days after receiving
the copy of the certificate and files a supplementary petition upon
additional papers within 10 days after receiving the copy of the certificate.
A supplementary petition shall comply with all the requirements of
the original petition; within five days after it is filed, the township
manager shall again certify the sufficiency of the amended petition
and promptly send a copy of this certificate to the petitioners'
committee by registered mail as in the case of the original petition.
B.
Council review. If a petition has been certified insufficient and
the petitioners' committee does not file a notice of intention
to amend the petition, or if an amended petition has been certified
insufficient, the petitioners' committee may, within two days
after receiving the copy of the certificate, file a request that the
certificate be reviewed by Council. The Council shall review the certificate
at its next meeting after the filing of the request and approve or
disapprove it.
When a referendum petition is filed with the township manager,
the ordinance sought to be reconsidered shall be suspended from taking
effect. Such suspension shall end when:
A.
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 same manner as other ordinances
or reconsider the ordinance cited in the referendum petition by voting
its repeal. If the Council fails to adopt the proposed initiative
ordinance without any change in substance within 60 days or fails
to repeal the ordinance cited in the referendum petition within 30
days after the date the petition was finally determined sufficient
it shall submit the proposed or cited ordinance to the voters of the
township.
B.
Submission to the voters. The vote of the township on a proposed
or cited ordinance shall be held at the earliest available election
not sooner than 30 days from the date of the final Council action,
in accordance with the provisions of the election laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania. Copies of the proposed or cited ordinance shall be
available to the public at least 10 days before the scheduled election
and at the polls.
C.
Withdrawal of petitions. An initiative or referendum petition may
be withdrawn at any time prior to the 15th day preceding the day scheduled
for a vote in the township on the petition. No petition shall be withdrawn
except by written request signed by four members of the petitioners'
committee. Upon filing of a withdrawal request the petition shall
have no further force or effect and all proceedings thereon shall
be terminated.
A.
Initiative. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the
question vote in favor of the proposed initiative ordinance, the ordinance
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 in the area of conflict.
B.
Referendum. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the
question vote in favor of repeal of the ordinance cited in the referendum
petition, the ordinance shall be considered repealed upon certification
of the election results.
