HomeMy WebLinkAbout18 - Signature Verification - Greenlight InitiativeAgenda Item No. 18
December 13, 1999
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: LaVonne M. Harkless, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Budget Amendment for Signature Verification
RECOMMENDATION
Approve a budget amendment not to exceed $18,000 for the verification of the
signatures on the Greenlight initiative petition and authorize the City Clerk to contract
with the County of Orange to provide this service.
0 BACKGROUND
On June 21, 1999, the Greenlight committee filed the Notice of Intention and other
necessary documentation to begin circulating a petition to amend the City Charter.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Election Code, they published the Notice of Intent
to Circulate Petition on July 30, 1999, after which time they were allowed to begin
circulating the petition.
According to the proponents they will be submitting the petitions to the City Clerk's
office the week of December 6, 1999 or shortly thereafter. Once filed, the city clerk has
30 days, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays excepted, in which to verify signatures on the
petition by checking all signatures.
Due to the limited staffing in the City Clerk's office, it is my recommendation that we
contract with the County of Orange to provide this service. The cost to check signatures
is $2.00 per signature. Based on the anticipated number of petition signatures that the
proponents have indicated they will be submitting, a budget amendment not to exceed
$18,000 is needed. According to Elections Code §9266 the governing body receiving the
petition from the elections official shall provide the expenses of signature verification.
If the petition is signed by not less than 15 percent of the registered voters of the city
according to the county election department's last official report of registration to the
Secretary of State, the city charter proposal shall be submitted to the voters. The
registration figure reported to the Secretary of State's office is the figure in effect at the
time the Notice of Intent is published. The number of registered voters for the City of
Newport Beach as reported to the Secretary of State's office on February 10, 1999 was
45,187, therefore the proponents will need 6,778 verified signatures for this to qualify
for the ballot. The County will stop the verification process once they have verified the
number of signatures required.
0,
LaVonne M. Harkless, CMC /AAE
City Clerk
Attachment: Budget Amendment
0
0
City of Newport Beach NO. BA_ 024
BUDGET AMENDMENT
1999 -00 AMOUNT: $18,oao.00
CT ON BUDGETARY FUND BALANCE:
Increase Revenue Estimates Increase in Budgetary Fund Balance
X Increase Budget Appropriations AND X Decrease in Budgetary Fund Balance
Transfer Budget Appropriations No effect on Budgetary Fund Balance
SOURCE:
from existing budget appropriations
from additional estimated revenues
Px from unappropriated fund balance
EXPLANATION:
This budget amendment is requested to provide for the following:
To appropriate $18,000 to contract with the County of Orange for the Greenlight initiative petition signature verification.
There have been no prior budget amendments.
ACCOUNTING ENTRY:
BUDGETARY FUND BALANCE
Fund Account
010 3605
R &UE APPROPRIATIONS (3601)
Fund /Division Account
EXPENDITURE APPROPRIATIONS (3603)
Amount
Debit
Description
Fund Balance Control $18,000.00
Description
Credit
Description
Division Number 0220 Elections
Account Number 8080 Services - Professional and Technical NOG $18,000.00
Division Number
Account Number
Division Number
Account Number
Division Number
Account Number
Automatic System Entry.
Signed:
Financ' I Approval: Finance irector pate —
,
Administrative A royal: City Manager eD e
Signed:
City Council Approval: City Clerk Date