After You File

What counts as action

Under the Charter, the Council acts only by resolution, ordinance, franchise or formal recorded action. Acting on your petition means a recorded vote adopting or rejecting your Proposed Measure as you wrote it.

What doesn’t

None of these is a vote on your petition:

• referral to staff, a subcommittee or another body;
• a staff report or a General Information Packet entry;
• continuing the item to a later meeting;
• a vote on a version staff or the Council changed;
• combining your petition with others into one vote.

Check what the City adopted

If the Council adopts your measure, compare the City’s version with what you filed. The City may assign a number and use its own formatting. Any change in substance means the Council acted on a different measure, not on your petition.

Keep a record

Save what you filed and when, the agenda, any staff report, the vote and the minutes. If the City doesn’t act within fifteen days, or acts on something other than your measure, that record is what shows it.