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Council rules citizen petition insufficient under charter and approves ordinance
Summary
Trenton City Council voted to adopt Ordinance 20-20-26, concluding a citizen petition to add section 9.06 to the city charter did not meet the higher 'eligible-electors' signature threshold and therefore will not be certified for the November ballot at this time.
The Trenton City Council voted on Aug. 3 to adopt Ordinance 20-20-26, declaring that a citizen petition seeking to add section 9.06 to the city charter did not contain the number of valid signatures required under section 9.03 of the charter. The council applied an interpretation of "electors" that uses the number of persons eligible to vote at the last municipal election, which raised the 10% threshold to 820 signatures; the Board of Elections had verified 336 signatures.
City counsel Michael Ziffel told the council the petition "asks to add a new section 9.06 to the city charter that would prohibit construction of a defined data center." He reviewed state law and case history and said courts, not the council, ultimately decide constitutional questions about charter language. The council suspended the readings and approved the ordinance by roll-call vote, 4–3.
Why it matters: council's ruling on the definition of "electors" determines the numeric threshold for citizen-initiated charter amendments and sets a procedural precedent for how similar petitions will be treated in Trenton. Counsel warned the measure could face litigation if it were placed on the ballot and later challenged in court.
The ordinance adopted tonight declares an emergency to meet the August 5 county filing deadline; the council did not certify the petition for placement on the November ballot under the alternate, lower-threshold reading.
