All the signature papers shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk as one instrument. After the filing of the petition, the city Clerk shall in compliance with all applicable State Statutes, rules, and regulations ascertain by examination the number of registered voters whose signature are appended thereto, and whether this number is at least twenty percent of the total number of registered voters who cast their votes at the last preceding municipal election. If the City Clerk finds the petition insufficient or irregular, the City Clerk shall at once notify one or more of the committee of sponsors of that fact, certifying the reasons for this finding. The committee shall then be given 30 days in which to file additional signature papers and to correct the petition in all other particulars. If at the end of that period the petition is found to be still insufficient or irregular the clerk shall file the same in this office and shall notify each member of the committee of that fact. The final finding of the insufficiency or irregularity of a petition shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose, nor shall it prevent the council from referring the measure to the registered voters at the next regular or any special election, at its option.
(Ord. 193, passed 6-3-2019)