AI-assisted research summary: A city may change to a different form of government, but generally not more than once every six years, and the change follows petition, notice, election, and charter-filing steps.
Unless otherwise provided by law, a city may adopt a different form of government not more often than once in a six-year period. A different form, other than a home rule charter, special charter, city-county consolidated government, or community commonwealth, must be adopted as follows: 1. Eligible electors of the city may petition the council to submit to the electors the question of adopting a different form of city government. The minimum number of signatures required on the petition shall be equal in number to twenty-five percent of those who voted in the last regular city election. The petition shall specify which form of city government in section 372.1 the petitioners propose for adoption. 2. a. Within fifteen days after receiving a valid petition, the council shall publish notice of the date that a special election will be held to determine whether the city shall change to a different form of government. The election date shall be as specified in section 39.2, subsection 4, paragraph “b”. If the next election date specified in that paragraph is more than sixty days after the publication, the council shall publish another notice fifteen days before the election. The notice shall include a statement that the filing of a petition for appointment of a home rule charter commission will delay the election until after the home rule charter commission has filed a proposed charter. Petition requirements and filing deadlines shall also be included in the notice. b. The council shall notify the county commissioner of elections to publish notice of the election and conduct the election pursuant to chapters 39 through 53. The county commissioner of elections shall certify the results of the election to the council. 3. If a majority of the persons voting at the special election approves the proposed form, it is adopted. 4. If a majority of the persons voting at the special election does not approve the proposed form, that form may not be resubmitted to the voters within the next four years. 5. If the proposed form is adopted: a. The elective officers provided for in the adopted form are to be elected at the next regular city election held more than eighty-four days after the special election at which the form was adopted. The adopted form becomes effective at the beginning of the new term following the regular city election. b. The change of form does not alter any right or liability of the city in effect when the new form takes effect. c. All departments and agencies shall continue to operate until replaced. d. All measures in effect remain effective until amended or repealed, unless they are irreconcilable with the adopted form. e. Upon the effective date of the adopted form, the city shall adopt by ordinance a new charter embodying the adopted form, and shall file a copy of its charter with the secretary of state, and maintain copies available for public inspection. [C73, §434 – 439; C97, §631 – 635, 637; S13, §633, 1056-a17, -a18, -a19, -a20, -a39; SS15, §1056-b1, -b2, -b22, -b26; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §6478, 6482 – 6487, 6491, 6549, 6568, 6569, 6616, 6617, 6619, 6620, 6623, 6680 – 6682, 6687, 6689, 6690, 6936 – 6940, 6942; C46, 50, §416.3, 416.6, 416.7 – 416.11, 416.15, 416.73, 416.93, 416.94, 419.2, 419.3, 419.5, 419.6, 419.9, 419.67 – 419.69, 419.74, 419.76, 419.77, 420.289 – 420.293, 420.295; C54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §363.31 – 363.38, 363B.6, 363C.12, 420.289 – 420.293, 420.295; C75, 77, 79, 81, §372.2] 89 Acts, ch 39, §6, 7; 94 Acts, ch 1180, §52, 53; 97 Acts, ch 170, §88; 2004 Acts, ch 1066, §30, 31; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §63, 71; 2021 Acts, ch 80, §236 Referred to in §372.4, 372.5, 373.6