Date: January 5, 2015 To: The City of Black River Falls Common Council From: The undersigned Concerned Citizens of Black River Falls REF: Direct Legislation for Charter Ordinance The City of Black River Falls Common Council, We the people of the City of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, listed as the undersigned petitioners, due hereby request that the Charter Ordinance submitted this day be placed on the ballot for April 7, 2015. We wish to exercise our right to vote on this important decision whether we keep and maintain our own Police Department. Initiating City and Village Charter Ordinances, Ordinances and Resolutions Under Section 9.20, Wisconsin Statutes, electors in Wisconsin cities and villages may petition the city common council or village board of trustees to pass without change a proposed ordinance or resolution the voters have proposed. (The text of s. 9.20 is reprinted in Appendix A of this bulletin.) In addition, s. 66.01 (6) permits electors to initiate the enactment, amendment or repeal of city or village charter ordinances, using the indirect initiative procedures provided in s. 9.20. If the council or board fails to enact a petition-initiated proposal without change within 30 days, the question automatically appears on a referendum ballot for the people to decide. Although s. 9.20 is titled “Direct Legislation”, the fact that the proposal must first receive municipal legislative action places this mechanism in the indirect initiative category because supporters of a proposal cannot move the measure directly from the petition phase to the ballot. The evolution of local initiative in Wisconsin occurred over almost eight decades. The power to initiate ordinances and resolutions was granted to city residents by Chapter 513, Laws of 1911. Charter ordinance initiatives in cities and villages were authorized by Chapter 198, Laws of 1925. 1989 Wisconsin Act 273 gave electors in Wisconsin villages the initiative, effective May 1990. (Counties were originally included in the 1911 initiative law, but, after various changes, the provisions for county direct legislation were subsequently repealed by Chapter 177, Laws of 1943.) We have exceeded the amount of signatures required to qualify this Charter Ordinance for direct legislation. Attached you will find a total of 309 valid signatures surpassing the number that City Administrator Brad Chown determined as 202 signatures. Suggested Language for the Ballot question: “Should the City of Black River Falls maintain a Police Department?” These signatures are submitted this day 5th day of January, 2015 by City of Black River Falls residents; Scott Moldenhauer Michael Puffer
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 23:47:13 +0000
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