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Commission clarifies petition thresholds and debates whether resolutions should be subject to referendum
Summary
Commissioners reviewed state petition rules (minimum 25 signatures, 5% statutory rules) and debated whether to allow initiative/referendum on resolutions or to carve out exemptions; legal counsel noted ordinances are typically subject to initiative while many resolutions are fact-specific.
The Willow Park Charter Commission spent significant time clarifying how citizen petitions, initiative and referendum, and charter amendments should work under state law.
Chair said state law sets a baseline: the minimum number of signatures to appear on a city election petition without paying a filing fee is 25, not 50, and that the state requirement (for charter amendments) is generally 5% of qualified voters in the municipality. "State law wins," a commissioner said, summarizing that the charter cannot undercut statutory minimums.
Members then debated whether the charter should include "resolutions" in the scope of initiative/referendum. Legal counsel explained that ordinances are usually the more permanent legislative actions and are commonly the subject of initiative or referendum, while resolutions are typically fact-specific and narrower (for example, authorizing a contract). Several commissioners suggested a targeted approach: either list specific resolution types that could be subject to petition or use a shorter list of included resolutions rather than a broad exclusion.
The commission did not finalize a definitive list of exempt or includable resolutions but agreed to leave the current draft in place for further revision, with a plan to craft clearer language that identifies which resolution types (if any) should be eligible for citizen initiated referendum or petition.
