The electors of the City shall have the power to approve or reject at the polls any ordinance or resolution passed by the Council except as hereinafter provided, such power being known as the referendum.
Within thirty (30) days after the final passage by Council of an ordinance or resolution, a petition signed by registered electors of the City not less in number than ten (10) percent of the number voting at the last preceding general election, may be filed with the Clerk of Council, requesting that such ordinance or resolution be either repealed or submitted to a vote of the electors. If said petition is signed by that number of electors of the City which equals twenty (20) percent or more of such electors, the date of the election may be fixed therein, which shall not be less than ninety (90) days from the time of filing thereof. When said petition is filed, the Clerk shall first ascertain the sufficiency of the petition. If found insufficient, the electors proposing the petition shall have ten (10) days after notification to correct the insufficiency. If found sufficient, the Council shall thereupon, within thirty (30) days after the filing of such petition, reconsider such ordinance or resolution.
If, upon such reconsideration, the ordinance or resolution is not repealed, the Council shall submit it to a vote of the electors on the date fixed in the petition, or if no date be so fixed, at the first general election in any year occurring more than ninety (90) days after the filing of such petition. No such ordinance or resolution shall go into effect until approved by a majority of those voting thereon.
Whenever the Council is by law or provisions of general ordinance required to pass more than one (1) ordinance or other measure to complete the legislation necessary to make and pay for any public improvement, the provisions of this section shall apply only to the first ordinance or other measure required to be passed and not to any subsequent ordinances or other measures relating thereto.
Ordinances providing for a tax levy, or for improvements petitioned for by the owners of a. majority of the front feet of the property benefited and to be specially assessed therefor, and appropriation ordinances limited to the subject of appropriations, shall not be subject to referendum.
Whenever the electors shall have authorized the issuance of bonds, subsequent ordinances or other measures relating to the issuance of such bonds shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.
Emergency ordinances shall be subject to referendum, except that emergency ordinances shall go into effect at the time indicated therein. If, when submitted to a vote of the electors, an emergency measure be not approved by a majority of those voting thereon, it shall be considered repealed as regards any further action thereunder, but such measure shall be deemed sufficient authority for payment, in accordance with the ordinance, of any expense incurred previous to the referendum vote thereon.
Ordinances submitted to the Council by initiative petition and passed by the Council either with or without change but not submitted to a vote of the electors shall be subject to referendum in the same manner as other ordinances.
No measure which has been defeated by the electors of the City at a referendum election shall be reintroduced and passed by the Council of the City for a period of one (1) year.