HomeMy WebLinkAbout16435•ORDINANCE NO. 16,435
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3 AN ORDINANCE REFERRING TO THE VOTERS AN OPTION
FOR THE REORGANIZATION OF THE CITY MANAGER FORM
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OF GOVERNMENT THAT PROVIDES FOR A DIRECTLY
5 ELECTED MAYOR, THREE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF
6 DIRECTORS ELECTED AT LARGE, AND SEVEN MEMBERS OF
7 THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTED FROM WARDS;
8 PROVIDING THAT THE PERSON ELECTED MAYOR MUST
RECEIVE A MINIMUM OF FORTY PERCENT (40 %) OF THE
9 VOTES CAST OR FACE A RUNOFF ELECTION; DIRECTING
10 THE MAYOR TO ISSUE AN ELECTION PROCLAMATION;
11 DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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WHEREAS, the City organized the Future - Little Rock
14 process to evaluate the needs of the City and to recommend
15 suggestions and policies for the City to follow in meeting
16 the needs of its citizens now and into the next century;
17 and
18 WHEREAS, one aspect of this process was to create a
Task Force on Governance that recommended a change in the
19 present form of city government; and
20 WHEREAS, this Task Force, co- chaired by Director
21 Hampton Roy and Director Lottie Shackelford, was comprised
22 of members that represented a cross section of the
23 community in terms of economic background, race, cultural,
education, geographic location, age and gender; and
24 WHEREAS, it was the unanimous conclusion of this Task
25 Force that the City should have a directly elected Mayor,
26 some ward representation, and some at -large representation;
27 and
28 WHEREAS, this recommendation was submitted to the
Future - Little Rock Steering Committee and ultimately
29 provided to the Board of Directors; and
30 AREAS, Little Rock, Ark., Resolution No. 8859,
31 approved on January 27, 1993, as amended by Little Rock,
32 Ark., Resolution No. 8870, approved on February 24, 1993,
33 endorses a manager form of government with a directly
elected Mayor, three at -large Directors, and seven
34 Directors elected from wards, and further requires that a
35 candidate for Mayor receive at least forty percent (40 %) of
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the vote to be fected, or face a runoff election between
1 the top two candidates for Mayor; and
2 WHEREAS, Act 1294 of the 78th General Assembly
3 provides statutory authority for this organization of the
4 management form of government; and
WHEREAS, a special election has been set for July 27,
5 1993; and
6 WHEREAS, this date has been determined by the Board
7 of Directors to be an excellent time to submit the question
8 of the reorganization of the government to the electorate;
9 and
WHEREAS, Act 1294 permits this Board, by two - thirds
10 vote, to refer a question on the reorganization of the
11 manager government since no such issue has been so referred
12 within the previous two years.
13 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF
14 DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS:
SECTION 1. The following question shall be referred
15 to the electors of the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, at a
16 special election to be held on Tuesday, July 27, 1993:
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18 FOR adoption of the management form of
19 government as set forth below .................
20 AGAINST adoption of the management form
21 of government as set forth below .............
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23 Description
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A city manager government with seven (7) members of the
25 board of directors elected from wards and three (3) members
26 of the board of directors elected at- large. The mayor shall
27 be directly elected as follows: A successful candidate for
28 mayor must receive forty percent (40 %) of the total votes
29 cast for mayor in order to be elected mayor without a
runoff, and if no candidate for the position of mayor
30 receives at least the required forty percent (40 %) of the
31 votes case, then the two (2) candidates receiving the
32 highest number of votes shall be the nominees for the
33 position of mayor and shall be certified to a special
34 runoff election which shall be held two (2) weeks from the
35 day on which the mayoral election is held.
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SECTION 2. As forth more fully in the ballot title
and government description contained in Section 1 of this
ordinance, the Board of Directors refers to the electorate
the question of the direct election of the Mayor, and of
requiring that the person selected Mayor receive a minimum
of forty percent (40 %) of the votes cast for Mayor, or if
no candidate receives this minimum forty percent (40 %) of
the votes cast, that the two candidates receiving the
highest number of votes shall be the nominees for the
position of mayor and shall be certified to a special
runoff election which shall be held two (2) weeks from the
day on which the Mayor election is held.
SECTION 3. The Mayor and City Clerk are directed to
complete any and all proclamations required by law to be
filed for a July 27, 1993, election, and to prepare and
publish any notices or advertisements required, and further
to perform all necessary acts to have the Pulaski County
Election Commission and other officers assure that this
matter is placed upon a ballot for a special election to be
held on July 27, 1993.
SECTION 4. Emergency. As noted by the fact that there
have been two elections within the last ten months to
reorganize the form of government within this City, there
is considerable interest and need for some ward
representation. The ability of the people to vote on
whether to adopt this form of government is deemed
essential to the government's continued functioning since
the Board has heard numerous public comments requesting a
modification in the manager form of government, and its
Governance Task Force and the Future - Little Rock Steering
Committee have recommended such a change. This vote being
held at the earliest practical moment to assure that this
additional representation is voted upon in 1993 is
essential to the public health, safety and welfare. An
emergency is therefore declared to exist and this ordinance
shall be in full force and effect from and after the date
of its adoption.
1 PASSED: June 1, 1993 311
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W 14,196,
A'Amwid; rimy •
Mal/ it,
APPROVED BY ELECTORS AT SPECIAL ELECTION HELD JULY 27, 1993.