2019 Arkansas Code
Title 14 - Local Government
Subtitle 3 - Municipal Government
Chapter 47 - City Manager Form of Municipal Government
§ 14-47-107. Subsequent Election on Mayor-Council Form of Government

(a)

• (1)

  • (A) After the expiration of six (6) years from the date on which the first board of directors takes office in a city organized under this chapter, a petition may be presented to the mayor by the board of directors by ordinance or by petition signed by electors equal in number to fifteen percent (15%) of the aggregate number of ballots cast for the position of mayor in the immediately preceding mayoral general election.

  • (B) Upon the receipt of a petition under this subdivision (a)(1), the mayor by proclamation shall submit the question of organization of the city under the mayor-council form of government at a special election to be held in accordance with § 7-11-201 et seq.

• (2)

  • (A) The proclamation shall be published at length one (1) time in a newspaper published in the city.

  • (B)

    • (i) Notice of the election shall be published in a newspaper published in the city one (1) time a week for two (2) weeks, the first publication to be not less than fifteen (15) days before the date set for the election.

    • (ii) No other notice of the election is necessary.

(b) If the plan is not adopted by a majority of the voters voting upon that issue at the special election called, the question of adopting the mayor-council form of government shall not be resubmitted to the voters of the city for adoption within four (4) years thereafter. Then the question to adopt shall be resubmitted upon the presentation to the mayor of a petition signed by electors equal in number to fifteen percent (15%) of the aggregate number of votes cast for the position of mayor in the immediately preceding mayoral general election.

(c) At the special election for the submission or resubmission of the proposition, the ballots shall read:

• “FOR the proposition to organize this city under the mayor-council form of government □ AGAINST the proposition to organize this city under the mayor-council form of government □”

(d)

• (1) The election thereupon shall be conducted, the votes canvassed, and the result declared in the same manner as provided by law in respect to other city elections.

• (2)

  • (A) The county board of election commissioners shall certify the result to the mayor.

  • (B) The result shall be conclusive and not subject to attack unless suit is brought within thirty (30) days after the certification by the county board of election commissioners in the circuit court of the county in which the city is situated to contest the certification.

(e)

• (1) Except as provided in subdivision (e)(2) of this section, if the majority of the votes cast on the issue are in favor of organization of the city under the mayor-council form of government, the city shall proceed to the election of all of the city officials who were subject to election in the city immediately before the date on which the city was organized under the management form of city government.

• (2) At the time the reorganization is effective under this chapter:

  • (A) The mayor shall continue in office until the remainder of his or her term of office; and

  • (B) A member of the city board of directors shall become a member of the city council and shall continue in office until the remainder of his or her term of office.

• (3) In a city that has a population of more than one hundred thousand (100,000) persons according to the most recent federal decennial census:

  • (A) A person who is on the ballot in 2020 to become a member of the city council shall serve a term of two (2) years if elected; and

  • (B) At the 2022 General Election, the newly elected city council members shall draw initial two-year or four-year terms to result in staggered four-year terms.

(f) If no suit is brought to contest the certification of the results of the election within the thirty-day period after the certification, the mayor shall file certificates stating that the proposition was adopted with the Secretary of State and county clerk of the county in which the city is situated.

(g)

• (1) The election of the city officials shall be held at the next time provided for the election of city officials under the statutes then in effect pertaining to the mayor-council form of government pertaining to the class of cities to which the particular city belongs.

• (2)

  • (A) All laws pertaining to the mayor-council form of government for such class of cities shall apply.

  • (B)

    • (i) On the date as prescribed by such laws when newly elected city officials take office, the term of office of all members of the board of directors shall terminate, and the transition to the mayor-council form of government shall be completed.

    • (ii) If, under the mayor-council form of government, the terms of council members are staggered, determination shall be made by lot and the length of the terms fixed accordingly.

(h) The provisions of this section for converting to the mayor-council form of government shall be in addition to the right to change to the mayor-council or any other form of municipal government that may exist under present law.

(i)

• (1) When a municipality elects to adopt the mayor-council form of government in the manner provided in this section, the question of reorganizing the municipality under the manager form shall not be submitted to the electors within a period of six (6) years, and thereafter only in the manner provided in § 14-47-106.

• (2) If the qualified electors of the municipality do not approve the organization of the municipality under the manager form of government at the election, the proposition shall not again be submitted to the electors of the city for a period of four (4) years, and then only in the manner provided in § 14-47-106.