ORDINANCE NO. 119563
AN ORDINANCE submitting a proposition to the qualified electors of the City of Seattle at the general election to be held on November 2, 1999, to amend Section 1 Paragraph B, Section 13 Paragraph B, and Section 22 of Article IV; Section 8 of Article V; Sections 3, 10, 11 and 14 and the heading of Article VIII; Section 5 of Article XII; and Section 1 of Article XVIII of the Charter of the City of Seattle and to add a new section to Article VIII of said charter; all in order to eliminate obsolete references to the City Comptroller and City Treasurer, and to re-assign various financial, auditing, claims, contracting and clerical functions, responsibilities and procedures previously assigned to those officers to conform with other current charter and ordinance provisions and with current practice; ratifying and confirming prior acts; calling on the City Clerk to certify the proposed amendment to the Director of Records and Elections of King County and directing such Director to submit the proposition to City voters; and providing for publication of such proposed amendment.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subject to the approval of a proposition by a majority of the qualified electors casting votes thereon, Section 1 Paragraph B, Section 13 Paragraph B and Section 22 of Article IV; Section 8 of Article V; Sections 3, 10, 11 and 14 and the heading of Article VIII; Section 5 of Article XII; and Section 1 of Article XVIII of the Charter of the City of Seattle are amended; and a new section is added to Article VIII of said charter, as follows:
ARTICLE IV Legislative Department
Section 1.
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B. INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM; HOW EXERCISED; PETITIONS; ((COMPTROLLER TO VERIFY)) VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURES; COMPLETION OF PETITION, CONSIDERATION IN COUNCIL: The first power reserved by the people is the initiative. It may be exercised on petition of a number of registered voters equal to not less than ten (10) percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of Mayor at the last preceding municipal election, proposing and asking for the enactment as an ordinance of a bill or measure, the full text of which shall be included in the petition. Prior to circulation for signatures, such petition shall be filed with the City ((Comptroller))Clerk in the form prescribed by ordinance, and by such officer assigned a serial number, dated, and approved or rejected as to form, and the petitioner so notified within five (5) days after such filing. Signed petitions shall be filed with the City ((Comptroller))Clerk within one hundred eighty (180) days after the date of approval of the form of such petitions. Upon such filing, the City ((Comptroller))Clerk shall ((verify)) cause the verification of the sufficiency of the signatures to the petition, and transmit it, together with his or her report thereon to the City Council at a regular meeting not more than twenty (20) days after the filing of such signed petition, and such transmission shall be the introduction of the initiative bill or measure in the City Council. If the ((Comptroller))Clerk shall find any petition, which, upon filing had a sufficient number of signatures, to have insufficient verified signatures, he or she shall notify the principal petitioners, and an additional twenty (20) days shall be allowed them in which to complete such petition to the required percentage; provided however, that in no event shall the time for procuring signatures exceed two hundred (200) days. Consideration of such initiative petition shall take precedence over all other business before the City Council, except appropriation bills and emergency measures.
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Section 13.
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B. Annually in January of each year at the expense of the City, the City ((Comptroller))Clerk shall compile all ordinances enacted in the preceding year, which are required to be published as set out in the preceding paragraph herein, and he or she shall also cause copies of same to be printed, indexed and bound in books with substantial covers. There shall be provided a sufficient number of such books for all elected City officials and department heads, and at least one hundred copies shall be made available for general distribution at cost to the general public.
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Section 22. ANNUAL ESTIMATE OF EXPENSES AND REVENUES: On or before the tenth day of July of each year the heads of all departments shall submit to the Finance Committee of the City Council an estimate of the expense of operation for the ensuing year. The ((City Comptroller))Mayor shall also submit the amount required to meet the interest, redemption and sinking funds for all outstanding bonded debts, an estimate of the amount of revenue likely to accrue from all sources, other than taxation, and the condition of each fund in the treasury.
The City Council when determining the budget and the tax levy for any year, shall base its revenue estimates primarily on the collection experience of the twelve months ending with the last previous June 30, and shall not estimate revenue from any source in excess of the amount so collected unless it shall be clearly established that such excess amounts will in fact be realized. They shall include estimates of revenue only from sources previously established by law. They shall also include in each years budget an item equal in amount to the aggregate of all taxes levied for the second fiscal year prior to the budget year, which are delinquent and outstanding on the last preceding September 1st.
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ARTICLE V Executive Department
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Sec. 8. MAYOR TO APPROVE BONDS; WHERE FILED: The Mayor shall, unless in this Charter otherwise provided, take and approve all official undertakings or bonds required of any officer, employee, or agent of the City as security for the faithful performance of his or her duty; and ((he)) the Mayor shall also, except as otherwise provided in this Charter, take and approve any such bond or undertaking as may be required of any contractor for the faithful performance of his or her contract; and when ((he)) the Mayor approves any bond or undertaking he or she shall immediately file the same with the City Clerk ((except the bond of the City Comptroller, which shall be filed with the City Treasurer)).
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ARTICLE VIII ((Department of Finance)) Financial and Clerical
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Sec. 3. DUTIES OF CITY CLERK: The City Council shall select the City Clerk. The City Clerk, or a deputy, shall attend all meetings of the City Council and keep a complete record of the proceedings thereof; and he or she shall have the custody of the City Seal, the original rolls of ordinances, the original contracts, deeds, and certificates relative to the title of any property of the City, official, indemnity or security bonds, and such other records, as are required to be deposited, and he or she shall administer oaths and perform such other duties as prescribed by ordinance.
((The terms "City Comptroller" and "City Treasurer," as may be used elsewhere, shall refer to the Director of Finance, except as the Council may by ordinance, re-assign these functions.))
Sec. 10. CONTINGENT FUND: There shall be established by ordinance a Contingent Fund, into which shall be appropriated from the General Fund moneys to pay employees of the City released between regular pay days. Payments shall be made from said fund on certification by the ((City Comptroller)) Director of Finance of amounts due. Said fund shall be reimbursed on the next day following pay day by transfer thereto from the proper funds. Another contingent fund shall be so established for the payment of freight and express charges, telegrams, postage and like incidental expenses of the different departments. Payments shall be made on certification of the ((Comptroller)) Director of Finance, said fund to be reimbursed monthly from the proper funds.
Sec. 11. MONEY TO BE PAID TREASURER; ((DUPLICATE RECEIPTS,)) FAILURE, PENALTY: Every officer or agent of the City, or other person who shall receive or have in his or her hands any money payable to the City in any capacity, shall immediately pay the same to the City Treasur((er))y ((,and take his receipt therefor in duplicate, one of which receipts shall be delivered to the City Comptroller by the party paying the money)). Any such person who shall fail to so pay any moneys received ((, or to deliver such receipt)) for more than forty-eight hours, Sundays and holidays excluded, after the money ((or receipt)) shall have been received by him or her, shall be liable to the City for double the amount of money so received ((,or for which such receipt was given)).
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Sec.14. CLAIMS; VERIFICATION: All demands and claims against the City required to be verified shall be subscribed and sworn to before the City ((Comptroller)) Clerk or one of his or her deputies, or some officer authorized to administer oaths. Each claim or demand must be accompanied by a detailed statement of the items.
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Sec. ___ CERTAIN DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS MAY BE REASSIGNED: The terms "City Comptroller" and "City Treasurer" as may be used outside this Charter shall refer to the Director of Finance, except as the Council may by ordinance re-assign those functions. The duties and functions of the former City Comptroller and City Treasurer assigned by this or another contemporaneous 1999 charter amendment also may be re-assigned by ordinance.
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ARTICLE XII The Library Department
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Sec. 5. MANAGEMENT OF LIBRARY; EXPENDITURES: The Library Board shall manage and control the public library as provided by State Law and shall alone have authority to expend the Library Fund; the Board shall certify expenditures to the ((City Comptroller)) Director of Finance, who shall issue warrants therefor payable ((by the Treasurer)) out of any money in the Library Fund, not otherwise appropriated.
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ARTICLE XVIII Elections
Section 1. ELECTIONS; GENERAL AND SPECIAL: A general municipal election shall be held biennially on the second Tuesday in March in the even numbered years. At the election to be held in March, 1948, the Mayor, the Corporation Counsel and four members of the City Council shall be elected for terms of four years, and two members for two years; and, at the election in March 1950, the City Comptroller, the City Treasurer and five members of the City Council shall be elected for four-year terms. Special elections shall be held at such times, and for such purposes, as the City Council may, by ordinance, prescribe, subject to law.
Subdivision A. NOMINATIONS: Nominations for municipal elective offices under this Charter shall be made in conformity with the nonpartisan method hereinafter prescribed and provided, to-wit:
First. PRIMARY ELECTION: A primary election shall be held on the Tuesday two weeks preceding the day of any general municipal election. Whenever said Tuesday shall fall upon any legal holiday, the primary shall be held on the Monday immediately preceding the same.
Second. BALLOTS: All names of candidates to be voted upon at the primary election shall be printed upon the official primary ballot alphabetically in groups under the designation of the respective titles of the offices for which they are candidates.
Nothing on the ballot shall be indicative of the source of the candidacy or of the support of any candidate. No ballot shall have printed thereon any party or political designation or mark, and there shall not be appended to the name of any candidate any such party or political designation or mark, or anything indicating his or her views or opinions.
All ballots shall be as provided by State law.
Third. NAME OF CANDIDATE TO BE PLACED ON BALLOTS: The name of a candidate shall be printed upon the ballot prepared for the primary election, when a declaration of candidacy shall have been filed in the office of the City ((Comptroller)) Clerk, as follows:
DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY: Not earlier than sixty (60) days nor later than thirty (30) days before the primary election any eligible person desiring to become a candidate for nomination for any office, shall file in the office of the City ((Comptroller)) Clerk a declaration of candidacy, accompanied by a fee equal to one per cent of the annual salary attached to the office for which he desires to become a candidate.
The form of such declaration of candidacy, to be furnished by the City ((Comptroller)) Clerk, shall be substantially as follows:
State of Washington, County of King, City of Seattle, ss.
I, .............................................., being first duly sworn, on oath depose and say: That I reside at No.
.. in The City of Seattle, and am a qualified voter therein; that I hereby declare myself eligible and a candidate for the nomination for the office of
. at the primary election to be held on the
day of
., ((19))
..; that in making this declaration I am not becoming a candidate as the nominee of, or because of any promised support from any political party or any committee or convention representing or acting for any such political party. That I possess the qualifications required by law for said office.
I accompany this declaration with the sum of
. dollars, the fee required by law for becoming such candidate.
Dated this
day of
, ((19))
Subscribed and sworn to before me this
. day of
.., ((19))
...
. City ((Comptroller))Clerk.
By,
.. Deputy Clerk.
Fourth. WITHDRAWAL: Any person may, not later than fifteen (15) days before the primary election, withdraw by filing with the City ((Comptroller))Clerk a request therefor in writing, and no name so withdrawn shall be printed upon the official ballot. The City((Comptroller)) Clerk shall preserve in his or her office for a period of three years all declarations of candidacy filed under the provisions of this article.
Fifth. CANDIDATE CERTIFIED: The City ((Comptroller)) Clerk shall, not less than ten (10) days before the primary election, certify a list of candidates for the respective offices whose names are entitled to appear upon the ballot, together with a list of the offices to be filled, and the same shall be published at least three consecutive days before the election in the City official newspaper.
Sixth. STATE LAW AND CITY CHARTER APPLICABLE: All the provisions of this Charter and of the state law relating to the holding of municipal elections shall apply.
Section 2. A. Should the voters approve the charter amendment proposition submitted to them by the ordinance that has been proposed as Council Bill 112790 [general obsolete provisions], then Article IV, Section 22, of the City Charter shall not be amended as provided herein, but rather shall be repealed as provided in that other proposition.
B. Should the voters approve the charter amendment proposition submitted to them by the ordinance that has been proposed as Council Bill 112779 [elections provisions], then the amendments made by that other proposition shall take precedence over any inconsistent text or amendments shown herein.
C. Should the voters approve the charter amendment proposition submitted to them by the ordinance that has been proposed as Council Bill 112775 [initiative - 200 days deletion], then the amendments made to Article IV, Section 1 paragraph B by that other proposition shall take precedence over any inconsistent text or amendments shown herein.
Section 3. The King County Director of Records and Elections, as ex officio supervisor of elections, is hereby directed to submit to the qualified electors of the City the proposition set forth below at the City general election on November 2, 1999.
The City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to certify the proposition to the King County Director of Records and Elections in the following form:
Proposed City Charter Amendment No. __
Shall the Seattle City Charter be amended to eliminate obsolete references to City Comptroller and City Treasurer and re-assign various financial, auditing, claims, contracting and clerical functions, responsibilities and procedures previously assigned those officers to conform with other current charter and ordinance provisions and practice; and shall certain sections of Articles IV, V, VIII, XII and XVIII of said charter be amended and a new section added to Article VIII of said charter, accordingly?
Section 4. The City Clerk shall certify to the Director of the Department of Records and Elections of King County as Supervisor of Elections the charter amendment proposed herein in the form of a ballot title conforming to the foregoing statement of the same, and shall certify a copy of the proposed charter amendment, and the same shall be published by the City Clerk in two daily newspapers in the City for at least thirty (30) days prior to such election, and as required by RCW 35.22.170.
Section 5. Certification of the charter amendment proposed herein by the City Clerk to the Director of Records and Elections and any other act pursuant to the authority and prior to the effective date of this ordinance is hereby ratified and confirmed.
Section 6. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force immediately upon approval by the Mayor or, if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten (10) days after presentation, then on the eleventh (11th) day after its presentation to the Mayor or, if vetoed by the Mayor, then immediately upon its passage over his veto.
Passed by the City Council the 19 day of July, 1999, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this 19 day of July, 1999.
Sue Donaldson, President of the City Council
Approved by me this 19 day of July, 1999.
Paul Schell, Mayor
Filed by me this 23 day of July, 1999.
Ernie Dornfeld, Acting City Clerk
Filed by me this 26 day of July, 1999.
(Seal)