A. Notice Of Insufficient Petition; Time For Correction: In the event that a petition filed with a city clerk does not contain the required number of certified signatures, the city shall inform the person or organization under whose authority the petition was circulated that the petition is defective for lack of certified signatures, and specify the number of additional signatures required to make the petition valid. If the city clerk's determination that the filed petition is defective occurs after the time limitation of section 1-11-5 of this chapter has expired, then an additional period of thirty (30) days after notice of correction will be granted to perfect the defective petition. If the petition is not perfected within the additional thirty (30) day period after notice of correction, the city clerk shall declare the petition null and void ab initio in its entirety.
B. Notice Of Sufficient Petition: In the event that a petition filed with a city clerk is found by the city clerk to contain the required number of certified signatures, the city clerk shall promptly, by certified mail, inform the petitioners, and shall also notify the city council at its next meeting, that the initiative or referendum petition is in proper form.
1. If the petition is for a referendum, the city council shall have thirty (30) days from the date of certification of a petition to repeal the ordinance being referred to the voters. In the event the city council repeals the ordinance, the referendum petition shall be declared null and void.
2. If the petition is an initiative petition, the city council shall have thirty (30) days to pass an ordinance substantially as proposed by the petition. In the event the city council passes such an ordinance, the initiative petition shall be null and void.
3. In the event the city council neither repeals the ordinance, which is the subject of a referendum petition, nor enacts an ordinance that is the subject of an initiative petition, an election shall be ordered by the city clerk to be conducted citywide. A special election for initiative or referendum shall be provided not more than ninety (90) days following the certification of the petition; provided, that in the event a municipal election will occur within the ninety (90) days, the initiative or referendum shall be submitted at the time of the municipal election. (2003 Code § 1-22-08)