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Committee considers lowering petition thresholds for citizen initiatives
Summary
A committee member suggested reducing the charter's 10% petition-signature requirement and the minimum certified collectors from five to three; City Attorney Rollins said the charter currently references state law but can be amended to set a lower municipal threshold.
Members discussed whether to lower the city charter's signature and collector thresholds for citizen-initiated ordinances and referenda.
A committee member argued that 10% of registered voters is too high in an era of doorbell cameras and lower in-person engagement and recommended dropping the requirement to 5% or even 2%, and lowering the minimum number of certified petitioners from five to three. "We live in a time of ring door cameras, where I don't answer the door if I don't know you," the member said, arguing that stricter thresholds discourage citizen participation.
City Attorney Rollins responded that the charter references state law for petition thresholds and that any municipal lowering of the signature percentage would require a charter amendment. He said the charter's current rules distinguish between the number of people authorized to collect signatures (a small certified team) and the total percentage of voters needed to place an initiative on the ballot; Rollins offered to draft sample ballot language and legal wording for the committee to consider.
Next steps: Rollins to draft potential charter language and the clerk to present the legal implications and the clerk's administrative workload if thresholds are lowered.
