COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR ORDINANCE NO. 051253
Calling for submission to the
voters of Kansas City, at a special election to be held on August 8, 2006, a
question amending the Charter of Kansas City to require a committee of
petitioners seeking the recall of the Mayor or a Council member to identify the
actions or failure to act on the part of the official, which must be related to
the officials duties, which forms the basis of the recall and requiring
placement of the grounds before the voters; eliminating the question of recall
and providing for a single election at which the official and any other
qualified candidate may seek to serve the remainder of the term of office of
the official subject to the recall petition; directing the City Clerk to notify
the responsible election authorities of the election on or after May 26, 2006,
but not later than May 30, 2006; and recognizing this ordinance to be an
emergency measure.
BE IT ORDAINED
BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1.
ELECTION CALLED. That an election is called on August 8, 2006, for the
purpose of submitting to the voters of Kansas City an amendment to the City
Charter.
Section 2.
NOTICE TO ELECTION AUTHORITIES BY CITY CLERK. That following passage of
this ordinance the City Clerk shall deliver certified copies of this ordinance
and notice of election to the Clerk of Cass County, Board of Election
Commissioners of Clay County, Board of Election Commissioners of Kansas City,
and Board of Election Commissioners of Platte County, on or after May 26, 2006,
but not later than May 30, 2006, which shall be the authority of each election
authority of the City to submit the amendment to the electors of Kansas City
and to give public notice as provided by law.
Section 3.
NOTICE OF ELECTION. The notice of election shall read as follows:
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NOTICE OF ELECTION
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Notice is hereby
given that the City of Kansas City has called a special election to be held on
Tuesday, August 8, 2006, between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., at which
election all qualified voters residing within Kansas City, Missouri will be
given the opportunity to vote.
The official ballot
will be in substantially the following form:
OFFICIAL BALLOT
CITY OF KANSAS CITY
SPECIAL
ELECTION, AUGUST 8, 2006
QUESTION
NO. _____
(Reasons for Recall
and Recall Election)
Should the Charter
of Kansas City be amended by requiring a committee of petitioners seeking the
recall of the Mayor or a Council member to state a reason for the recall that
must relate to malfeasance, misfeasance or misconduct, and by conducting a single
election at which a person would be chosen to serve the remainder of the term
of the official subject to the recall petition; and permitting the official
subject to the recall petition to also be a candidate to continue in office?
_____
Yes
_____
No
(Instructions to
voters will be supplied by the election authorities.)
A full and complete copy of
Committee Substitute for Ordinance No. 051253 (as it may be amended) submitting
the above amendment to the electorate is on file in the office of the City Clerk
of Kansas City, Missouri where the same is open for inspection and copying.
The polling places for the
election will be (INSERT LIST OF POLLING PLACES IN LAST PUBLICATION ONLY)
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I hereby certify that the
foregoing is the legal notice to be published pursuant to Section 115.127,
RSMo, as amended.
Given under my hand and the
official seal of the Kansas City, Missouri, this _____ day of May, 2006.
(SEAL)
__________________________________
MILLIE
CROSSLAND
City Clerk of Kansas City, Missouri
Before me, a notary public,
personally appeared Millie Crossland, to me known to be the City Clerk of
Kansas City, Missouri, and the person who acknowledged to me that she executed
the same for the purposes therein stated.
__________________________________
Notary
Public
My Commission
Expires:____________________________
Section 4. AMENDMENTS TO BECOME
THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF KANSAS CITY REASONS FOR RECALL. If a majority
of the voters favor the reasons for recall question, then the amendment to the
Charter of the City of Kansas City shall become effective September 1, 2006,
which amendment shall read as follows:
BE IT ADOPTED BY THE PEOPLE OF KANSAS CITY:
That the Charter of the City of Kansas City is amended by enacting a new Section 720.5 of the Charter proposed by Committee
Substitute for Ordinance 050953 (as it may be amended) if it is adopted by the
people, to read as follows:
Sec. 720.5. Grounds for recall.
Grounds for recall
must relate to and affect the administration of the officials office, and be
of a substantial nature directly affecting the rights and interests of the
public. Grounds for recall are limited to objective reasons which reasonable
people, regardless of their political persuasion, could agree would render any
officials performance ineffective, which must be an act of misfeasance, the
improper performance of some act which may lawfully be done, or malfeasance,
the commission of some act wholly beyond the officials authority, or
nonfeasance, the failure to perform a required duty. The Council shall not fail
to place the matter before the voters based on the inadequacy of the grounds
stated by the committee of petitioners.
That the Charter of the City of
Kansas City is amended by repealing Sections 724, 725, and 726 of the Charter
proposed by Committee Substitute for Ordinance 050953 (as it may be amended) if
it is adopted by the people, and enacting new Sections 724, 725, and 726 to
read as follows:
Sec. 724.
Ballots in recall election.
Ballots used at a
recall election shall conform to the following requirements:
(Mayor _________ or
Council member _________) has been subjected to recall by submission of a
recall petition. Which of the following candidates should serve as (Mayor or
Council member) to serve out the existing term of office?
Below shall be
listed the names of all qualified candidates, which may include the official
subject to recall.
Sec. 725.
Result of recall election.
The candidate who
shall have received the highest number of votes at such election, shall be
deemed elected and shall serve for the unexpired term unless sooner removed as
provided in this Charter, provided that the candidate received greater than 50%
of the votes. If no candidate received greater than 50% of the votes, the two
candidates receiving the greatest number of votes shall participate in a runoff
election held at the next available municipal or state election held for which
the City can lawfully provide required notices to the election authorities
without seeking a court order.
Sec. 726.
Election when an officer resigns.
If an officer, for
whose recall an affidavit has been filed with the City Clerk, and a petition
for the officers recall shall be filed within thirty days next thereafter, or
for whose recall a petition is submitted to the Council, shall resign within
five days after the filing of such affidavit with the City Clerk (when followed
within thirty days next thereafter by the filing of a petition for his recall),
or within five days after the submission of such petition to the Council, the
election shall be held as hereinbefore provided, except that the official
resigning from office may not be a candidate. No vacancy resulting from such
resignation of an officer, after the filing of an affidavit for recall, when
following within thirty (30) days next thereafter by the filing of petition for
recall, shall be filled for the unexpired term by a majority vote of the City
Council or of the remaining members thereof, but such vacancy shall be filled
by election as hereinbefore provided.
Alternatively, by enacting a new Section 434.5 of the
Charter of Kansas City if the Charter proposed by Committee Substitute for
Ordinance 050953 (as it may be amended) is not adopted by the people, to be
effective September 1, 2006, the sections to read as follow:
Sec. 434.5. Grounds for recall.
Grounds for recall must relate to and
affect the administration of the officials office, and be of a substantial
nature directly affecting the rights and interests of the public. Grounds for
recall are limited to objective reasons which reasonable people, regardless of
their political persuasion, could agree would render any officials performance
ineffective, which must be an act of misfeasance, the improper performance of
some act which may lawfully be done, or malfeasance, the commission of some act
wholly beyond the officials authority, or nonfeasance, the failure to perform
a required duty. The Council shall not fail to place the matter before the
voters based on the inadequacy of the grounds stated by the committee of
petitioners.
And by repealing Sections 438,
439, and 440 of the Charter proposed by Committee Substitute for Ordinance
050953 (as it may be amended) if it is adopted by the people, and enacting new
Sections 438, 439, and 440 to read as follows:
Sec. 438.
Ballots in recall election.
Ballots used at a
recall election shall conform to the following requirements:
(Mayor _________ or
Council member _________) has been subjected to recall by submission of a
recall petition. Which of the following candidates should serve as (Mayor or
Council member) to serve out the existing term of office?
Below shall be
listed the names of all qualified candidates, which may include the official
subject to recall.
Sec. 439.
Result of recall election.
The candidate who
shall have received the highest number of votes at such election, shall be
deemed elected and shall serve for the unexpired term unless sooner removed as
provided in this Charter, provided that the candidate received greater than 50%
of the votes. If no candidate received greater than 50% of the votes, the two
candidates receiving the greatest number of votes shall participate in a runoff
election held at the next available municipal or state election held for which
the City can lawfully provide required notices to the election authorities
without seeking a court order.
Sec. 440.
Election when an officer resigns.
If an officer, for
whose recall an affidavit has been filed with the City Clerk, and a petition
for the officers recall shall be filed within thirty days next thereafter, or
for whose recall a petition is submitted to the Council, shall resign within
five days after the filing of such affidavit with the City Clerk (when followed
within thirty days next thereafter by the filing of a petition for his recall),
or within five days after the submission of such petition to the Council, the
election shall be held as hereinbefore provided, except that the official
resigning from office may not be a candidate. No vacancy resulting from such
resignation of an officer, after the filing of an affidavit for recall, when
following within thirty (30) days next thereafter by the filing of petition for
recall, shall be filled for the unexpired term by a majority vote of the City
Council or of the remaining members thereof, but such vacancy shall be filled
by election as hereinbefore provided.
Section 5.
EMERGENCY RECOGNIZED. This ordinance, providing for the submission of
Charter amendments to the people of Kansas City, Missouri, is hereby recognized
to be an emergency measure within the meaning of Section 15, Article II, of the
Charter, and as such shall become effective immediately upon its passage.
____________________________________________________
Approved
as to form and legality:
____________________________________
William Geary
Assistant City Attorney