A municipal charter is the basic document that defines the organization, powers, functions and essential procedures of the Village government. The Charter may be amended by ordinance initiated by the Village Council, by a petition of the voters, or by action initiated by the Charter Revision Commission.
Under Article 6 of the Village’s Charter(PDF, 1MB), citizens can compel the Village Council to call an election on a proposed charter amendment. The charter amendment process requires a petition signed by electors of the Village equal in number to at least ten percent (10%) of the total number of electors registered to vote at the last regular Village election.
The Village Charter sets the method by which the Village Clerk calculates required numbers of signatures for particular petitions. For initiative, referendum and charter amendment, the Village Clerk’s office does the following:
Step 1: Contacts the voter registrar in Miami-Dade County to obtain the number of registered voters that were registered to vote at the last general Village election.
Step 2: Multiplies the number of registered voter times the percentage required (10%) to obtain the number of valid signatures, which must be on that petition.
Mkataba wa manispaa ni hati ya msingi ambayo hufafanua shirika, mamlaka, kazi na taratibu muhimu za serikali ya kijiji. Mkataba unaweza kubadilishwa kwa amri iliyoanzishwa na Halmashauri ya Kijiji, kwa ombi la wapiga kura, au kwa hatua iliyoanzishwa na Tume ya Marekebisho ya Mkataba. Chini ya kifungu cha 6 cha Mkataba wa Kijiji (PDF, 1MB), wananchi wanaweza kulazimisha Halmashauri ya Kijiji kuita uchaguzi juu ya marekebisho yaliyopendekezwa ya mkataba. Mchakato wa marekebisho ya mkataba unahitaji ombi lililotiwa saini na wapiga kura wa Kijiji sawa na angalau asilimia kumi (10%) ya idadi ya wapiga kura waliosajiliwa kupiga kura katika uchaguzi wa mwisho wa kawaida wa Kijiji. Mkataba wa Kijiji huweka njia ambayo Mkurugenzi wa Kijiji huhesabu idadi inayohitajika ya saini kwa ombi fulani. Kwa ajili ya mpango, kura ya maoni na marekebisho ya mkataba, ofisi ya Mkurugenzi wa Kijiji hufanya yafuatayo: Hatua ya 1: Kuwasiliana na msajili wa wapiga kura katika Kaunti ya Miami-Dade kupata idadi ya wapiga kura waliosajiliwa kupiga kura katika uchaguzi wa mwisho wa kijiji. Hatua ya pili: Kuongeza idadi ya wapiga kura waliosajiliwa kwa asilimia inayohitajika (10%) kupata idadi ya saini halali ambazo lazima ziwe kwenye ombi hilo.