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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 4744 08/01/1995 ORDINANCE NO. 4744 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 8 OF THE VILLAGE CODE OF MOUNT PROSPECT Passed and approved by the President and Board of Trustees the 1st day of Auqust , 1995 Published in pamphlet form by authority of the corporate authorities of the Village of Mount Prospect, Illinois, the 1st day of August , 1995. PH/CAF 6/21195 6~28~95 7/14/95 7/18~95 7128195 ORDINANCE NO. 4744 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 8 OF THE VILLAGE CODE OF MOUNT PROSPECT WHEREAS it is recognized that the residents of the Village of Mount Prospect have a right to expect that elected Village officials will discharge the duties of office in a responsible manner; and WHEREAS, if, during an elected official's term of office that official fails to discharge those duties responsibly, the ability of the corporate authorities to govern and the ability of the staff to carry out its obligations to the community may be hampered; and WHEREAS, neither state nor local law currently provides for the electorate to recall an elected Village official whose acts or omissions may be crippling the good government to which the community is entitled; and WHEREAS, the corporate authorities have determined that the Village electorate should have the opportunity to decide whether elected Village officials should be subject to recall according to the procedures set forth in this Ordinance. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, ACTING IN THE EXERCISE OF THEIR HOME RULE POWER: SECTION ONE: That Chapter 8 entitled "Village Government Miscellaneous Provisions" of the Village Code of Mount Prospect, as amended, is hereby further amended by adding thereto an entirely new Article; so that hereafter said Article XVII shall be and read as follows: "ARTICLE XVII RECALL OF ELECTED OFFICIALS SECTION: 8.1701. Purpose 8.1702. Definitions 8.1703. Recall of Elected Officials 8.1704. Recall Procedures; Initiation; Limitations 8.1705. Notice of Intention to Recall 8.1706. Recall Petitions 8.1707. Challenges to Recall Petitions 8.1708. Recall Referenda 8.1709. Filling Vacancies Created by Recall 8.1710. Disqualification of Recalled Officials 8.1711. Defense of Legal Action Relative to Recall Sec. 8.'1~'0'1. Pu~ose. This Article shall vest power in the electorate to recall Village President (Mayor) and Village Trustees elected to the position of members of the Village Board so that the officials may be directly responsible for their behavior in office to the electorate. The electorate is entitled to expect the proper discharge of those responsibilities. The power of the electorate to recall should serve as an impetus to elected officials to be faithful to this trust. It is also intended to serve as an expeditious and effective means for removing from office an elected official who has failed to sustain such trust: Sec. 8.1702. Definitions. As used in this Article, the following terms have the meaning prescribed in this Section: ELECTED OFFICIAL Village President (Mayor) and Village Trustees of the Village Board of the Village of Mount Prospect, irrespective of whether the person holding any such office was elected, appointed to fill a vacancy, or succeeded by operation of law. However, in the event the Village of Mount Prospect adopts another form of municipal government, "elected official" shall mean all officials holding offices regularly filled by election under such form of government. ELECTORAL The Electoral Board shall consist of the same members BOARD as the Canvassing Board, specifically, the Village President, the Village Clerk and the Senior Village Trustee. However, whenever a recall petition comes before the local Electoral Board in which a member of the local Electoral Board is a subject of the petition, that member shall be disqualified to serve on the local Electoral Board and be replaced in the manner provided in determining Senior Trustee, as specified in this Section 8.1702 under "Senior Trustee". SENIOR TRUSTEE Member of the Board of Trustees with the most current continuous months of service, however, if two (2) or more are of the same seniority, then the Senior Trustee shall be determined by alphabetical order. ELECTOR Any person registered to vote under the laws of the State of Illinois whose residence from which he or she is registered to vote lies within the corporate boundaries of the Village of Mount Prospect. Sec. 8.1703. Recall of Elected Officials. A. Elected Officials shall hold office subject to the right of recall vested by this Article in the electors of the Village of Mount Prospect. Any elected official may be recalled and removed from office by majority vote of the electors at a recall referendum initiated as provided in this Article. B. The proposition for recall of an elected official shall be in the following form: "Shall be recalled and removed from the Office of Village YES ( President (Mayor)/Village Trustee__ ) of the Village of Mount Prospect and disqualified from being a candidate for Village Office for 2 years?" NO 2 C. If a majority of the electors voting on the proposition for recall of an elected official vote in favor of such recall, the elected official shall be removed from office and shall be disqualified from being elected or appointed to any such offices Village President (Mayor) or Village Trustee of the Village of Mount Prospect for two (2) years following such recall vote. D. The removal from office shall be effective immediately upon the official proclamation of such vote on the recall proposition, notwithstanding any contest of the results of such vote which may be brought in the circuit court. E. If the result of an affirmative vote on a recall proposition is reversed by final order of any court of competent jurisdiction, the recalled official shall thereupon be restored to office and all rights to salary, pension and similar benefits shall be restored and shall relate back to the date of removal as if such official had not been ousted upon such final order. Any interim appointment to fill the vacancy created by the recall shall thereupon be terminated. However, any official actions taken by the Village with or by such interim appointee and all official actions done by such interim appointee shall be valid and binding. F. If the result of a negative vote finding the official should not be recalled on a recall proposition is reversed by a final order of any court of competent jurisdiction, the official shall be removed from office as of the date of such final order, but the two-year disqualification for future office shall relate from the date of the recall vote. Sec. 8.1704. Recall Procedures; Initiation; Limitations. A. A recall referendum shall be initiated by the filing of a notice of intention to recall and a subsequent Recall Petition in the Office of the Village Clerk with the date and time of filing indicated on the petition by the Village Clerk. B. Notice of Intention to recall which names an elected official must be filed by an elector, in accordance with the requirements of Section 8.1705 of this Article, prior to any circulation of any recall petition against such official. Recall petitions must be circulated by electors and filed within 120 calendar days after a Notice of Intention to Recall is filed naming the official against whom the petition is directed. The 120 day period may not be extended by the filing of subsequent notice(s) of intention to recall. C. A Notice of Intention to recall may name only one elected official. A recall petition may name only one elected official, however, more than one (1) elected official may be subject to Recall at any election. D. A recall petition must be signed by electors numbering not less than ten percent (10%) of the voters registered at the last General Election. E. No Notice of Intention to Recall or Recall Petition may be filed against any elected official within the first year or during the last six months of the term of office of such elected official. F. If the recall petitions filed against an elected official pursuant to a Notice of 3 Intention to Recall are subsequently determined to be invalid, no further Notices of Intention to Recall or Recall Petitions may be filed against such official for six months following the filing of the invalid petitions. Sec, 8.1705, Notice of Intention to Recall; Form; Filing Requirements. A. The form of Notice of Intention to Recall shall be substantially as follows: VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS NOTICE OF INTENTION TO RECALL Notice is hereby given to the citizens (electors) of the Village of Mount Prospect, Illinois, that within the next 120 days Recall Petitions will be circulated requesting that a recall referendum be held to remove the following official of the Village of Mount Prospect from their term of office. Name of Elected Official Title of Oft]ce Took Office: Date official took office in present term Term Ends: Date present term ends Filed this day of ,199 Circulation period ends ,199 Filed By: Name of Elector of the Village of Mount Prospect Address B. Notice of Intention to Recall must be filed together with a proof of service attached to a copy thereof in substantially the following form: PROOF OF SERVICE OF NOTICE OF INTENTION TO RECALL I, , an elector of the Village of Mount Prospect, did this day (or within two (2) days prior to filing of said Notice) mail a true copy of the attached Notice showing the true date of filing thereon to (each of) the elected official named at their residence, by registered mail, return receipt requested, with all postage and fees properly paid and affixed, as follows: Name of Elected Official: Address: 4 SWORN UNDER PENALTY OF LAW Name of Elector: Address: SUBSCRIBED and SWORN to before me this __ day of ,199 __ Notary Public C: No Notice of Intention to Recall shall be valid or shall be accepted for filing by the Village Clerk unless filed with the Proof of Service required in subsection B of this Article. D. Upon the filing of a Notice of Intention to Recall, the Village Clerk shall, as soon as possible, but no later than ten (10) days after such filing, cause such Notice to be printed in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village of Mount Prospect. A defect in such publication or a failure to publish shall be nonfeasance of Office as to the Clerk but shall not be grounds for challenging any recall petition or recall referendum pursuant to the Notice. Sec. 8.'1706, Recall Petitions. A. Recall petitions may be signed only by electors and in their own hand. Each elector signing a recall petition must write his or her residence address. An elector may sign a petition being circulated for each person who is the subject of a Petition for Recall but may only sign each petition once. B. Recall petitions shall be in the following form: RECALL PETITION We, the undersigned electors of the Village of Mount Prospect, hereby petition for a recall referendum for the recall and removal of from the office of Village President (Mayor)Nillage Trustee of the Village of Mount Prospect, the term of which office was entered on ,199 __ and will expire on ,199 , and that the recall proposition be submitted to the electors of the Village of Mount Prospect in the form required by this Article. The Elector initiating this Petition cites the following reason for the proposed recall of the elected official named above: ( space for reason ) Name Address Town 1. 2. 3. C. Each sheet of the recall petition shall contain the following statement which circulator shall be an elector in the Village of Mount Prospect: I, (circulator's name) , a registered voter of the Village of Mount Prospect, hereby certify that each of the signatures on the attached petition were signed in my presence, are genuine and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the persons so signing were at the time of signing registered voters of the Village of Mount Prospect and that the respective residences are correctly stated and that none were placed on said petition prior to the day following the filing of the Notice of Intention to Recall. Circulator's Name and Address SUBSCRIBED and SWORN to before me this __ day of ,199 __ Notary Public D. Recall petitions shall consist of printed or typewritten sheets reproduced to be the same size and shall contain the same heading. The several sheets of a recall petition shall be consecutively numbered and securely bound together at the top on one side, and each sheet shall contain the affidavit of the circulator as provided in Section 8.1706 of this Article. E. The Recall Petition shall contain a general statement, in not more than two hundred (200) words, of the reasons for which the recall is sought. This statement shall only be for the information of the electors. In any attempted challenge to the recall election, the general statement may not be deemed or presumed to be the actual or indirect reason as to why an elected official was or was not recalled. The electors shall be the exclusive judges of the reasonableness and sufficiency of the grounds for the recall and the grounds shall not be open to review. Sec, 8,1707. Challenges to Recall Petitions, A. Each petition filed within the 120 days period specified in Section 8.1704.A shall have the time received by the Village Clerk indicated when filed and within five (5) days of the end of such period shall be presented by the Village Clerk to the local Electoral Board. B. The local Electoral Board shall conduct a hearing on each such petition, upon due notice in writing to the elected official named therein at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of such hearing. The hearing shall be no sooner than thirty- five (35) days nor later than forty-five (45) days after the filing of the Petition to Recall. C. The local Electoral Board shall review the petition to ascertain if it is in apparent conformity with the requirements of this Article. The local Electoral Board on its own motion shall strike any signatures or any petitions not in conformity with this Article which appear from an examination of the petition. Any elector may present to the local Electoral Board any objections to the form, contents, or signatures on a recall petition and may present evidence in support. Any elector may present evidence in opposition to such objections. The local Electoral Board may continue its hearing, and may required any objections to or defense of a recall petition to be reduced to writing. D. The local Electoral Board shall determine the validity and sufficiency of each recall petition within twenty-one (21) days after its initial hearing. All petitions directed at an elected official shall be treated separately and independently. No signatures appearing on different recall petitions shall be cumulative but an elector's signature appearing on more than one recall petition shall be valid as to each such petition. An elector, however, may be counted only once as to a single petition. E. If the local Electoral Board determines that a recall petition is invalid or insufficient, it shall so certify. Such certification shall be a final order and shall be entered upon the records of the Village and no recall referendum shall be held, unless such determination is reversed by a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction. A recall petition which is determined to be valid and sufficient shall be certified by the local Electoral Board to the Village Clerk. Such certification shall be a final order and shall be entered on the records of the Village. Sec. 8.1708. Recall Referenda. A. If the local Electoral Board determines the recall petition is valid, the Village Board shall adopt an Ordinance authorizing that a referendum question be placed on the ballot for the next election to be conducted by the Cook County Clerk. B. Upon passage of the appropriate Ordinance authorizing a referendum question to be placed on the ballot for the next election to be conducted by the Cook County Clerk, the Village Clerk shall certify the referendum question to the County Clerk. C. The Village Clerk shall prepare a pamphlet for distribution to the voters setting forth the date and time of the election and the reasons for initiating recall procedures in accordance with the petition. The pamphlet shall also contain a responsive statement by the elected official whose recall is sought. The statement of reasons shall be the same as that shown on the Recall Petition. Likewise, the response by the elected official being the subject of the Recall Petition shall be limited to two hundred (200) words or less. Said pamphlet shall be reviewed by the Village Attorney as to form and content in compliance with this Article. The Village Clerk shall use all reasonable means to cause a copy of said pamphlet to be distributed to each household within the Village. The Village Clerk shall cause a copy of said pamphlet to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the Village not less than fifteen (15) nor more than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the election. D. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Article, a referendum on a recall proposition shall not be held if the elected official who is the subject of such proposition resigns from office prior to the date of the referendum. Sec. 8.1709. Filling Vacancies Created by Recall. The Local Election Board shall canvass the results of the election. If a majority of votes cast shall be in favor of the recall of the named elected official, the office shall be declared vacant and the office shall then be filled in the manner provided by law for the filling of a vacancy. Sec. 8.1710. Disqualification of Recalled Official. No person who has been removed from elected office by a recall referendum or who has resigned from such an office after a recall petition directed to him or her has been filed and 7 etermined to be valid and sufficient, shall be eligible for election or appointment to any office of the Village of Mount Prospect within two (2) years of the official's removal or resignation. Sec. 8.i7ii. Defense of Legal Action Relative to Recall. In the event an elected official being the subject of the recall takes legal action against the Village of Mount Prospect and/or its elected or appointed officials as a result of the recall, no municipal funds shall be expended on behalf of the elected official who is the subject of the recall in prosecuting such legal action." SECTION TWO: That this Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval and publication in the manner provided by law and upon the written certification of the results of the November 7, 1995 referendum approving the proposition for the recall of officials elected to Village office. AYES: Corcoran, Hoefert, Skowron, Wilks NAYS: Hendricks, Clowes ABSENT: None PASSED and APPROVED this 1st day of Auqust ,1995. ATTEST: Gerald L. Farley, Village Preside% Carol A: Fields, Village Clerk 8 RECALL PETITION We, the undersigned electors of the Village of Mount Prospect, hereby petition for a recall referendum for the recall and removal of from the office of Village President (Mayor)/Village Trustee of the Village of Mount Prospect, the term of which office was entered on ,199 __ and will expire on ,199 , and that the recall proposition be submitted to the electors of the Village of Mount Prospect in the form required by this Article. The Elector initiating this Petition cites the following reason for the proposed recall of the elected official named above: Si.qnature Address Town 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. STATE OF ILLINOIS ) ) ss COUNTY OF COOK ) I, , a registered voter of the Village of Mount Prospect, hereby certify that each of the signatures on the attached petition were signed in my presence, are genuine and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the persons so signing were at the time of signing registered voters of the Village of Mount Prospect and that the respective residences are correctly stated and that none were placed on said petition pdor to the day following the filing of the Notice of Intention to Recall. Signature of Person Making this Affidavit SUBSCRBED and SWORN to before me this day of ,199 __ (Name of Circulator) Notary Public Sheet of 9 VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS NOTICE OF INTENTION TO RECALL Notice is hereby given to the citizens (electors) of the Village of Mount Prospect, Illinois, that within the next 120 days Recall Petitions will be circulated requesting that a recall referendum be held to remove the following official of the Village of Mount Prospect from their term of office. Name of Elected Official Title of Office Took Office: Date official took office in present term Term Ends: Date present term ends Filed this day of , 199 Circulation period ends ,199 Filed By: Name of Elector of the Village of Mount Prospect Address lO PROOF OF SERVICE OF NOTICE OF INTENTION TO RECALL I, , an elector of the Village of Mount Prospect, did this day (or within two (2) days prior to filing of said Notice) mail a true copy of the attached Notice showing the true date of filing thereon to (each of) the elected official named at his/her residence, by registered mail, return receipt requested, with all postage and fees properly paid and affixed, as follows: Name of Elected Official: Address: SWORN UNDER PENALTY OF LAW Name of Elector: Address: SUBSCRIBED and SWORN to before me this __ day of ,199 __ Notary Public 3.1