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Iowa City Initiative and Referendum Process
Under the home rule provisions of the Code of Iowa,
the City of Iowa City allows citizens to propose changes in city code through
initiative and referendum. Johnson County and the other cities in the
county do not have such provisions and do not allow initiatives.
Signature Requirements
Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by
qualified electors (registered voters). 2,500 signatures, or 25% of the voters
from the last city election (whichever is greater), are required.
Petitioners must file an affidavit with the City Clerk
stating their intention to file a petition and setting out in full the
proposed initiative ordinance or citing the ordinance sought to be
reconsidered.
Within twenty days after a petition is filed with what
appears to be sufficient signatures, the City Clerk shall complete a
certificate as to the petition's sufficiency. A petition with
insufficient signatures may be amended once by submitting additional
signatures.
Required Council Action
When an initiative or referendum petition has been deemed sufficient, the
City Council must consider the proposal. If the Council fails to adopt
the proposal, it shall submit the proposal to the voters.
If at any time more than thirty days before a scheduled initiative or
referendum election, the Council adopts the proposal, the proposal will not be
submitted to the voters.
The vote on a proposal will be held with the next regular city election
(November, odd numbered years) or general election (November, even numbered
years) unless the Council calls for a special election.
Restrictions
Initiatives cannot be filed on:
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The issuance of bonds. (The Iowa City Public Library
bond issue was placed on the November 7, 2000 ballot by Council action.)
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Any measure of an executive or administrative nature.
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The City budget.
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The appropriation of money.
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The levy of taxes or special assessments.
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The letting of contracts.
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City employee salaries.
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Any measure required to be enacted by state or federal
law.
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Amendments to the city charter.
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Amendments to the City Zoning Ordinance, unless the area
in question is two acres or larger. (In 1989,
an initiative was defeated that would have rezoned a 28 acre tract, now
the site of Wal-Mart.)
If two or more conflicting ordinances are approved by majority vote at the
same election, the one receiving the greatest number of yes votes shall
prevail.
An initiative or referendum that fails cannot be re-submitted for at least
two years. The City Council may not reverse the decision of the voters
for two years.
Recent Initiatives
The two most recent initiatives both dealt with the First Avenue
extension. In the November 1997 city
election, voters approved an initiative postponing construction from
Fiscal Year 1998 to Fiscal Year 2002 (a "yes" vote was a vote to
delay construction). In November 2000,
an initiative to delete construction of First Avenue from the city capital
improvements program was defeated (again, a "yes" vote was a vote
against building the road).
For more information contact the city of
Iowa City.
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