The signatures have been submitted from the Stop The Funding Campaign, looking to get the City Administration Building Project to a public vote. While it's unclear whether these signatures will actually help get the City Administration Building to a public vote, petition drives have brought topics to a vote in the past.
April 8th, 2014 was a big date for the public. Building a Walmart at 85th and Minnesota, allowing the use of snow gates, and replacing the Spellerberg Pool with a indoor pool were all in the hands of the voters. All three of those issues were brought to the ballot by a petition drive.
It was an empty field on the South Side of Sioux Falls, but it was the spot of a lot of controversy. This was where the proposed Walmart was going to be built at 85th and Minnesota. In September of 2013, a group known as Save Our Neighborhood turned in more than 6,300 signatures to get it put to a public vote. 63 percent of voters sided with building a new Walmart, which has since been constructed.
A group of citizens, including current City Council Member Theresa Stehly, who wanted their driveways clear, collected signatures for the city to allow snow gates. They brought in more than 84-hundred signatures, and it passed with more than 75 percent of the vote.
A group known as Citizens for Saving Spellerberg Park didn't like the idea of an indoor pool at that location. That's why they brought just under 7,500 signatures to the city by March of 2013. More than a year later, more than 70 percent of voters decided to move forward with the indoor pool.
To potentially allow this current issue to be a public vote, the petitions need to be validated. In a press release sent out this afternoon, Sioux Falls city attorney David Pfeifle gives an idea of the validation process.
There's a requirement of approximately 5,750 valid signatures, or 5 percent of registered voters.
The City Clerk will conduct a random sampling process to validate the petition, and it must be reviewed according to South Dakota Administrative Rule.
April 8th, 2014 was a big date for the public. Building a Walmart at 85th and Minnesota, allowing the use of snow gates, and replacing the Spellerberg Pool with a indoor pool were all in the hands of the voters. All three of those issues were brought to the ballot by a petition drive.
It was an empty field on the South Side of Sioux Falls, but it was the spot of a lot of controversy. This was where the proposed Walmart was going to be built at 85th and Minnesota. In September of 2013, a group known as Save Our Neighborhood turned in more than 6,300 signatures to get it put to a public vote. 63 percent of voters sided with building a new Walmart, which has since been constructed.
A group of citizens, including current City Council Member Theresa Stehly, who wanted their driveways clear, collected signatures for the city to allow snow gates. They brought in more than 84-hundred signatures, and it passed with more than 75 percent of the vote.
A group known as Citizens for Saving Spellerberg Park didn't like the idea of an indoor pool at that location. That's why they brought just under 7,500 signatures to the city by March of 2013. More than a year later, more than 70 percent of voters decided to move forward with the indoor pool.
To potentially allow this current issue to be a public vote, the petitions need to be validated. In a press release sent out this afternoon, Sioux Falls city attorney David Pfeifle gives an idea of the validation process.
There's a requirement of approximately 5,750 valid signatures, or 5 percent of registered voters.
The City Clerk will conduct a random sampling process to validate the petition, and it must be reviewed according to South Dakota Administrative Rule.
The validation process requires the following:
- Approximately 5,750 valid signatures (5 percent of registered voters) are required to send an issue to a vote.
- The City Clerk will conduct a random sampling process to validate the petition. Five percent of the signatures must be reviewed according to South Dakota Administrative Rule. This entire process can take up to two weeks or longer, depending on various factors. Even if a petition is validated, any interested person could then challenge the petition, alleging specific deficiencies in the petition. If so, the City Clerk would need to review each of the specific deficiencies and make a determination regarding the validity of each of the signatures in question.
- Assuming the petition contains sufficient valid signatures, the City Clerk would then deem the petition “filed” with his office. The City Clerk would then present the petition to the City Council for further action. The City Council can either place the item on the April 2018 ballot or order a special election by ordinance.
- An election ordinance requires two separate readings at least five days apart.
- State law requires any special election to be at least 30 days from the effective date of the order calling for a special election.
- Election results must also be canvassed before any proposed measure would become effective, if approved by the voters
If the signatures are valid, the clerk can file it, and present it to the City Council for further action. The Council can either place the item on the April 2018 ballot or order a special election by ordinance.
The City Attorney also says the existence of the possible initiative effort does not prevent the city from selling the bonds needed to fund the City Administration building.