Initiative Process Information and Sample Timeline#

Process Start: 

An initiative is commenced by one or more registered electors who file a written Notice of Intent to circulate an initiative petition.  The Notice must have the full text of the proposed ordinance or resolution and state whether a special election is requested.  

Petition:

Upon receipt of a Notice of Intent, the City Clerk will provide blank petition forms to be used in assembling petition sections.  The City Clerk will need to know how many petition sections the representatives plan to assemble, and how many signature lines are desired in each section.  No petition may be circulated until the City Clerk has approved its form.  The City Clerk has 5 days to approve the form of a petition once it has been submitted.  See the Initiative Guidelines for more information.

Circulation:

Petition circulators have 63 days to gather signatures, at which point all sections of the petition must be filed together as one document with the City Clerk.  Only persons who are eighteen (18) years of age or older may circulate a petition section for signatures.  Each petition section must be carried by only one circulator; however, a circulator can carry more than one petition section.  Circulators are required to complete an affidavit, attached to each petition section, after the petition has been circulated.  The affidavit must be signed, under oath, before a notary public.  No additional signatures can be obtained on a petition section after completion of the affidavit. 

Signatures:

The number of signatures required on an initiative petition depends on the type of election requested. If the petition representatives are willing to have the initiative placed on a regularly-scheduled election (held in November of odd-numbered years), the petition must contain valid signatures equal in number to 10% of the total ballots cast in the last regular city election. If the petition requests a special election, the number of signatures must equal 15% of the total ballots cast in the last regular city election. 

• 2025 Regular Election - 5,079 signatures required (10% of the 50,699 ballots cast in the November, 2023 regular election).

The number of signatures required for a Special Election will be calculated based on 15% of the ballots cast in the November, 2025 regular election.

Examination

Once the petition (all sections together) is filed with the City Clerk, the Clerk has fifteen business days to examine the petitions to determine if the petition is signed by the requisite number of registered electors and that the petition contains the required particulars and affidavits.

After examination has concluded, the Clerk will deem the petition sufficient or insufficient.

If an initiative petition is deemed insufficient after the examination or following protest proceedings (described below), the City Clerk will prepare a certificate of insufficiency, specifying the particulars of insufficiency, and will notify all of the petition representatives of such insufficiency, both verbally and by providing copies of the certificate of insufficiency. The determination will also be posted on the City’s website.  An insufficient petition may not be amended.  It is considered null and void without prejudice to the filing of a new petition for the same purpose. 

When a petition is deemed sufficient, whether following the sufficiency determination by the City Clerk in the absence of a protest, or following protest proceedings, the City Clerk is required to certify and present the certified petition to the City Council at the next regularly scheduled meeting. The Clerk’s certification is the final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition, subject only to the protest procedure described below.

Protest Period

Any registered elector may protest a determination by the City Clerk that a petition is either sufficient or insufficient by filing a written protest, under oath, in the City Clerk’s office within 7 days of the City Clerk's initial determination as to petition sufficiency. The protest must set forth with particularity the grounds of protest and the names and defects in form protested.

If a protest is filed, the City Clerk must set a hearing date within 10 days of filing of the protest. At least 5 days prior to the hearing, the Clerk is required to mail a copy of the protest to all of the designated petition representatives, together with a notice of the time for hearing.

The City Manager will appoint a hearing officer for all protest hearings, who has the power to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witness and the production of documents. All records and hearings are public, and all testimony must be given under oath. The hearing must be summary in nature, and concluded within 20 business days after the petition was filed. Within 10 business days after the hearing is concluded, the hearing officer must decide and certify the results of the hearing. The City Clerk will make the final determination regarding the sufficiency or insufficiency of a petition and will base such determination on the protest hearing results certified by the hearing officer. 

If the results of the protest hearing result in the petition being deemed insufficient, the petition representatives have an opportunity to amend the petition as described above under “Insufficient Petition”. 

Sample Timeline

Assumes full time period is used at each stage:

April 1st                Notice filed

April 8th                Clerk approval of form for circulation (5 business days)

June 10th              Deadline to file all petitions signatures for review (63 days)

July 2nd                 Clerk Initial Finds (15 business days)

July 9th                  Protest filing deadline (7 days)

July 23rd               Hearing (10 business days from filing)

July 16th               Notice of Hearing (5 business days prior)

August 6th           Conclusion of Hearing (20 business days from filing)

August 20th        Hearing Officer Results (10 business days from hearing)

Certification and presentation to Council 

Note:  It would be nearly impossible to get this to Council in time to certify the ballot content by the September 5, 2025 deadline if everything took the maximum amount of time unless there is no protest filed.  Ideally, first reading would occur the first Tuesday in August.