§ 8. Elections.
(1)
Electors. Any person who is a resident of the village, who has qualified as an elector of this state, and who registers in the manner prescribed by law shall be an elector of the village.
(2)
Nonpartisan elections. All elections for the village councilmembers shall be conducted on a nonpartisan basis without any designation of political party affiliation.
(3)
Qualifying for office. Any resident of the village who wishes to become a candidate for a village elective office shall qualify with the village clerk no sooner than the second Tuesday prior to the Monroe County's primary election at noon and ending no later than noon on the following Tuesday of the year in which the election is to be held.
(4)
Schedule for general elections. The regular village election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even numbered year. Such village elections shall be general village elections.
(5)
Schedule for other elections.
(a)
An election to fill the remainder of an unexpired term shall be held as provided in subsection (4).
(b)
Special municipal elections shall be held in the same manner as regular elections, except that the village council, by ordinance, shall fix the time for holding of such elections.
(6)
Determination of election to office. If only one candidate qualifies for a seat, said candidate shall be deemed to be elected to office for that particular seat. If two or more candidates qualify for a seat, the names of those candidates shall be placed on the ballot, by seat, at the general election. The candidate receiving the highest number of the votes cast for each seat in the election shall be elected to such office. If the vote at the election results in a tie, the outcome shall be determined by lot.
(7)
Village canvassing board. The village canvassing board shall be no less than three members and composed of those members of the village council who are not candidates for reelection and the village clerk, who shall act as chairperson. If there are less than two eligible councilmembers to serve, board members shall be appointed by the council. At the close of the polls of any village election, or as soon thereafter as practicable, the canvassing board shall meet at a time and place designated by the chairperson and shall proceed to publicly canvass the vote as shown by the returns when on file in the office of the village clerk, and then shall publicly canvass the absentee elector ballots. The canvassing board shall prepare and sign a certificate containing the total number of votes cast for each candidate or other measure voted upon. The certificate shall be placed on file with the village clerk.
(8)
Recall of village councilmembers. Any member of the village council may be removed from office by the electors of the village following the procedures for recall established by general law.
State Law reference— Recall, F.S. § 100.361.
(9)
Initiative and referendum.
(a)
Power to initiate and reconsider ordinances.
1.
Initiative. The electors of the village shall have the power to propose ordinances to the village council and, if the village council fails to adopt an ordinance so proposed without any change in substance, to adopt or reject it at a village election, provided that such power shall not extend to the annual budget or capital program or any ordinance appropriating money, levying taxes, or setting salaries of village officers or employees.
2.
Referendum.
a.
The village council shall have the power, by resolution, to call for a referendum vote by the electors of the village at any time, provided that the purpose of such referendum is presented to the village at a public hearing at least 60 days prior to the adoption of said resolution. Any resolution calling for a referendum vote of the electors of the village must be passed by the affirmative vote of not less than four members of the council.
b.
The electors of the village shall have the power to require reconsideration by the village council of any adopted ordinance and, if the village council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, to approve or reject it at a village election, provided that such power shall not extend to the annual budget or capital program or any ordinance appropriating money, levying taxes, or setting salaries of village officers or employees.
c.
Notwithstanding anything in subparagraph 2.b. to the contrary, the referendum power shall extend to any ordinance levying ad valorem taxes, provided that the ordinance increases the total village tax rate above 5 mills, and that all petitions with respect to the referendum are filed within 30 days after the date of adoption of the ordinance.
(b)
Commencement of proceedings. Any ten electors may commence initiative or referendum proceedings by filing with the village clerk an affidavit stating that they shall constitute the petitioner's committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form stating their names and addresses and specifying the address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent, and setting out in full the proposed initiative ordinance or citing the ordinance sought to be reconsidered. Promptly after the affidavit of the petitioner's committee is filed, the village clerk may, at the committee's request, issue the appropriate petition blanks to the petitioner's committee at the committee's expense.
(c)
Petitions.
1.
Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by electors of the village equal in number to at least ten percent of the total number of electors registered to vote in the last regular village election.
2.
All papers of a petition shall be assembled as one instrument of filing. Each signature shall be executed in ink and shall be followed by the printed name and address of the person signing. Petitions shall contain or have attached thereto throughout their circulation the full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered.
3.
Each paper of a petition shall have attached to it, when filed, an affidavit executed by the circulator thereof stating that he or she personally circulated the paper, the number of signatures thereon, that all signatures were affixed in his or her presence, that he or she believes them to be the genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be, and that each signer had an opportunity before signing to read the full text of the ordinance proposed or sought to be reconsidered.
4.
Except as otherwise provided in subsubparagraph 2.b., all initiative and referendum petitions must be filed within 60 days of the date on which proceedings with respect to such initiative or referendum are commenced, and all requirements of the process, including, but not limited to, the submission of the signatures required, must be completed no later than 90 days following the date of filing said initiative or referendum petition.
(d)
Procedure for filing.
1.
Within 20 days after an initiative petition or a referendum petition is filed, the village clerk shall complete a certificate as to its sufficiency, specifying, if it is insufficient, the particulars wherein it is defective and shall promptly send a copy of the certificate to the petitioner's committee by registered mail. Grounds for insufficiency are only those specifics in subparagraph (c)3. that are not met. A petition certified insufficient for lack of the required number of valid signatures may be amended once if the petitioner's committee files a notice of intent to amend it with the designated official within two business days after receiving the copy of the certificate and files a supplementary petition upon additional papers within ten days after receiving the copy of such certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with original petition requirements, and within five days after it is filed, the village clerk shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition as amended and promptly send a copy of such certificate to the petitioner's committee by registered mail. If a petition or an amended petition is certified sufficient, or if a petition or amended petition is certified insufficient and the petitioner's committee does not elect to amend or request the village council review under subparagraph 2. within the time required, the village clerk shall promptly present a certificate to the village council and such certificate shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.
2.
The village council review. If a petition has been certified insufficient and the petitioner's committee does not file notice of intent to amend it or if an amended petition has been certified insufficient, the committee may, within two business days after receiving the copy of such certificate, file a request that it be reviewed by the village council. The village council shall review the certificate at its next meeting following the village council's filing of such request and approve or disapprove it, and determination shall then be final as to the sufficiency of the petition.
(e)
Action on petitions.
1.
Action by village council. When an initiative or referendum petition has been determined insufficient, the village council shall promptly consider the proposed initiative ordinance or reconsider the referendum ordinance by voting its repeal. The repeal of an ordinance relating to the levy of ad valorem taxes shall be by ordinance. If the village council fails to adopt a proposed initiative ordinance without any change in substance within 45 days or fails to repeal the referendum ordinance within 30 days or, in the case of a referendum authorized pursuant to subsubparagraph (a)2.c., within five days after the date on which the petition is determined to be sufficient, it shall submit the proposed initiative or referendum ordinance to the electors of the village. If the village council fails to act on a proposed initiative ordinance or a referendum ordinance within the time period specified, the village council shall be deemed to have failed to adopt the proposed initiative ordinance or failed to repeal the referendum ordinance on the last day that the village council was authorized to act on such matter.
2.
Submission to electors. The vote of the village on a proposed initiative or referendum ordinance shall be held not less than 30 or more than 60 days from the date the village council acted or was deemed to have acted pursuant to subparagraph (e)1. that the petition was determined sufficient. If no regular election is to be held within the period described in this paragraph, the village council shall provide for a special election, except that the village council may, in its discretion, provide for a special election at an earlier date within the described period. Copies of the proposed initiative or referendum ordinance shall be made available at the polls.
3.
Withdrawal of petitions. An initiative or referendum petition may be withdrawn at any time prior to the 15th day preceding the day scheduled for a vote of the village by filing with the village clerk a request for withdrawal signed by at least eight members of the petitioner's committee. Upon the filing of such request, the petition shall have no further force or effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated.
(f)
Results of election.
1.
If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed initiative ordinance vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of the election results. If conflicting ordinances are approved at the same election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
2.
If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a referendum ordinance vote[s] against it, it shall be considered repealed upon certification of the election results.
(Ord. No. 03-13, § 3, 12-11-2003, referendum 3-9-2004; Ord. No. 07-02, § 2, 2-8-2007, referendum 5-15-2007; Ord. No. 07-04, § 2, 3-8-2007; Ord. No. 11-15, § 2, 6-23-2011; Ord. No. 11-19, § 2, 9-8-2011, referendum 1-31-2012)