2006 Seattle Elections

General Elections Voters' Guide

Chrtr Am 15-Change Comptroller to Clerk - Complete Text

A RESOLUTION submitting a proposition to the qualified electors of the City, at an election to be held on November 7, 2006, to amend Subsection 1.D and Subsection 1.J of Article IV and Section 16 of Article VIII of the Charter of the City of Seattle to change "City Comptroller" to "City Clerk" and to bring the assignment of duties assigned to the City Clerk by this amendment into conformity with prior Charter amendments; calling on the City Clerk to certify the proposed amendment to the Director of the Department of Records and Elections of King County and requesting and directing such Director to call a special election and submit the proposition to City voters; and providing for the publication of such proposed amendment.

WHEREAS, in 1991 and 1999 City of Seattle voters approved charter amendments that eliminated the position of City Comptroller and transferred certain duties of the Comptroller to the City Clerk; and

WHEREAS, Subsection 1.D and Subsection 1.J of Article IV of the City Charter were overlooked during these previous charter amendments, and those sections continue to refer to "Comptroller" rather than "City Clerk" as was intended; NOW THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF 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, Subsection 1.D and Subsection 1.J of Article IV and Section 16 of Article VIII of the Charter of the City of Seattle are each amended as follows:

ARTICLE IV. Legislative Department

Section 1. D. WHEN REJECTED MEASURE AND SUBSTITUTE SUBMITTED TO PEOPLE; GENERAL AND SPECIAL ELECTIONS: If the City Council rejects any initiative measure, or shall during forty-five (45) days after receipt thereof have failed to take final action thereon, or shall have passed a different measure dealing with the same subject, the said rejected initiative measure and such different measure dealing with the same subject, if any has been passed, shall be taken in charge by the City Clerk Comptroller, and the City Council shall order the measure submitted to the qualified electors for approval or rejection at the next regularly scheduled election, irrespective of whether it is a state or municipal election or a primary or general election; but the City Council may in its discretion designate submission be at a general election rather than a primary or call an earlier special election.

Section 1. J. REFERENDUM BY PETITION; EFFECT OF; VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURES: The referendum may be invoked by petition bearing the signatures of the required percentage of qualified voters as to any non-emergency law or ordinance or any section, item or part of any such law or ordinance, which petition shall be filed with the City Clerk Comptrollerbefore the day fixed for the taking effect of the said law or ordinance, which shall in no case be less than thirty (30) days after the final favorable action thereon by the Mayor and City Council, acting in their usual prescribed manner as the ordinary legislative authority of the City, and the filing of such referendum petition as to any such ordinance or section, item or part thereof, shall operate to suspend the taking effect of the same, or any further action thereon, except as herein provided, viz: The City Clerk Comptroller shall verify 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 less than twenty (20) days after the filing of the petition.

ARTICLE VIII. Financial and Clerical

Sec. 16. 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, or by the 2006 amendment to Subsections 1.D and 1.J of Article IV of this Charter, also may be re-assigned by ordinance.

Section 2. The King County Director of Records and Elections, as ex officio supervisor of elections, is hereby requested to call a special election and is directed to submit the charter amendment proposed herein to the qualified electors of the City at the election on November 7, 2006.

Section 3. 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 prepared by the City Attorney pursuant to RCW 29A.36.071, and shall certify a copy of the proposed Charter amendment, and the same shall be published by the City Clerk in accordance with state law.