§ 503. Ordinances, when effective.

(a)

Accelerated effective date, emergency ordinances and resolutions.

(1)

Effective date. Ordinances with an accelerated effective date, emergency ordinances, and resolutions shall take effect immediately following approval by the Mayor, or five days after passage if no action is taken by the Mayor to approve or veto the ordinance or resolution.

(2)

Emergency declared. An ordinance declaring an emergency is an ordinance which in whole or in part is passed by the affirmative vote of nine members of the Council for the immediate preservation of the public peace, property, health, safety or morals, in which the emergency is set forth and defined in a preamble to the ordinance.

(3)

Accelerated effective date. An ordinance with an accelerated effective date is an ordinance which in whole or in part falls within any of the following categories and is recognized in the ordinance as having an accelerated effective date:

(A)

Elections. Calls any election, or providing for the submission of any proposal to the people;

(B)

Expenses of government. Makes an appropriation for the payment of principal or interest of the public debt, or for current expenses of the City government;

(C)

Appropriation of money. Appropriates money;

(D)

Public improvements. Relates to any public improvement to be paid for by special assessment, or to be paid wholly or in part by State or federal funds, or to any contract relating to the design, repair, maintenance or construction of a public improvement;

(E)

Interfund borrowing. Authorizes borrowing of money from one fund of the City to another in anticipation of future revenue;

(F)

Fixing interest rates. Fixes the interest rates on bonds;

(G)

Setting annual property tax levy rates. Setting the annual levy rates for taxation of real and tangible personal property;

(4)

Emergency prohibited. No ordinance granting, enlarging or affecting any franchise or amending or repealing any ordinance adopted by the people under the initiative shall be an emergency measure.

(b)

All other ordinances.

(1)

Effective date. All other ordinances shall take effect ten days after the date of passage, unless a later date is provided in the ordinance, or unless the ordinance is vetoed, or reconsideration is requested by the Mayor. Failure of the Mayor to approve, veto or request reconsideration of an ordinance and return it to the Clerk within seven days will be deemed an approval of the ordinance without the approval of the Mayor.

(2)

Exception - Referendum. An ordinance shall not take effect 10 days after the date of passage or on the date provided in the ordinance if within ten days after the passage of the ordinance a notice signed by not less than one hundred registered voters of the City stating the intention of such registered voters to cause referendum petitions to be circulated to submit any such ordinance, or any part thereof, to the electors, is filed with the City Clerk. The ordinance shall, subject to the provisions of this Charter relating to the referendum, take effect 40 days from the date of its passage unless a later effective date be fixed in such ordinance.

(Ord. No. 140060 , § 4, 1-23-14, eff. 5-1-14)