A. Signed initiative petitions shall be filed with the finance director no later than 130 calendar days prior to the November general election. If such date falls on a weekend or legal holiday then the filing deadline shall extend to the end of the next working day.

B. Within three working days after the filing of the signed initiative petition, the finance director shall transmit the petition to the county auditor who shall verify the sufficiency of the signatures as provided herein and notify the finance director.

C. The county auditor shall proceed to make a determination of sufficiency with reasonable promptness and shall file with the finance director a written certificate stating the date upon which such determination was begun, which date shall be referred to as the terminal date for the purpose of filing signed petition pages. Additional pages of the signed initiative petition may be added by filing the same with the finance director prior to such terminal date.

D. Any signer of a filed petition may withdraw his or her signature by a written request for withdrawal filed with the finance director prior to such terminal date. The written request shall so sufficiently describe the petition as to make identification of the person and the petition certain. The name of any person seeking to withdraw shall be signed exactly the same as contained on the petition and, after the filing of such a request for withdrawal, prior to the terminal date, the signature of any person seeking such withdrawal shall be deemed withdrawn.

E. Not more than 20 calendar days after the filing of the petition, the finance director shall transmit the petition, together with the county auditor’s written certificate of sufficiency, to the city council at a regular meeting.

F. If the finance director finds, based upon the county auditor’s written certificate, that a petition is insufficient in signatures, he or she shall notify the principal petitioners and an additional 20 calendar days shall be allowed them in which to obtain the required percentage. This additional 20 calendar days is an extension of the filing period during which all signatures obtained after the filing deadline established in subsection (A) of this section may be submitted.

G. If it is determined by the finance director, based upon the county auditor’s certification, following the additional 20-day period, that the signatures are insufficient then an initiative measure may not be considered by city council. The finance director shall report the finding of insufficiency to the city council for information only. [Ord. 2006-05-042].