88.251. Utilities, franchises and contracts, procedure to grant, extend or renew--ballot form--majority vote required--notice required.
Utilities, franchises and contracts, procedure to grant, extend orrenew--ballot form--majority vote required--notice required.
88.251. Each franchise or contract provided for in sections 71.530,RSMo, 77.210, RSMo, 78.190, 78.630, RSMo, and sections 88.613, 88.770, and88.773 shall remain on file with the city clerk for public inspection atleast thirty days before the final passage or adoption thereof. Theeffective date of such franchise or contract shall be the earliest dateupon which one of the following events occurs: the bill approving thefranchise or contract is signed by the mayor or person exercising theduties of the mayor's office; the board of aldermen overrides the mayor'sveto; or the conclusion of the next meeting of the board of aldermen whenthe mayor has neither signed nor vetoed the bill. Every such franchise orcontract provided for above shall be subject to approval or disapproval ofthe voters of such city whenever twenty-five percent of the voters of suchcity, as appears from the number of voters who voted for mayor at the lastpreceding municipal election, file with the city clerk, within thirty daysafter the passing of the franchise or contract, a petition, in thefollowing form, calling for the submission of the question of approval ordisapproval of the grant of the franchise or contract to the voters of suchcity at a special election or at a regular municipal election:
To the city clerk of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
We, the undersigned, hereby request the appropriate election authorityto submit the grant of the following franchise or contract to the electorsof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at a special election or at a regularmunicipal election.
(State nature of franchise or contract.)
Upon receipt of such a petition by the city clerk, it shall be the duty ofthe city clerk to determine whether the petition has presented the questionin the form required by this section and whether the petition has beenexecuted in compliance with the terms of subsection 4 of section 115.019,RSMo. If the petition satisfies the requirements of this section andsubsection 4 of section 115.019, RSMo, the city clerk shall cause theappropriate election authority to give notice of an election and to submitthe question of approval or disapproval of the grant of the franchise orcontract to the voters at a special election, or at a regular municipalelection. Not later than the tenth Tuesday prior to an election, the cityclerk shall send to the appropriate election authority a certified copy ofthe legal notice to be published. The legal notice shall include theparticular question to be voted on at such election, the date and time ofthe election and a sample ballot. The appropriate election authority shallcause legal notice of such election to be published as required in chapter115, RSMo. The ballots used when voting upon such franchise or contractshall contain, but not be limited to, the following language:
Shall the city of . . . . . . . . . . . . . (name of city) enter intothe contract to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(State nature of proposed contract or franchise)?
â ã YES â ã NO
If you are in favor of the question, place an "X" in the box opposite"Yes". If you are opposed to the question, place an "X" in the boxopposite "No".
If a majority of the voters voting on that issue vote against suchfranchise or contract, the same shall no longer be effective on the datethe election authority certifies the election results. If a majority ofthe qualified voters voting on such proposed franchise or contract shallvote in favor thereof, such franchise or contract shall continue to be aneffective, valid and binding franchise or contract of the city and shallremain in full force and effect and cannot be repealed or amended. Nothingcontained herein shall be interpreted to prohibit the granting of afranchise by the use of the right of initiative petition.
(L. 1987 S.B. 412 § 1, A.L. 1989 H.B. 451, A.L. 1996 H.B. 1557 & 1489)Effective 6-13-96