§ 5. Petition and commencement of proceedings.

(a)

A qualified voter may commence an initiative or referendum proceeding by filing with the city secretary the complete form of a petition proposed to be circulated, including signature pages, together with a copy of the full text of the initiative ordinance, or the ordinance to be reconsidered. The ordinance set forth with the petition shall be complete and in proper form including the caption.

(b)

Upon receipt of a proposed petition, the city secretary shall place the time and date on the petition and documents when filed, examine the filing for sufficiency as to form and place the time and date of the certification for circulation on such petition and documents. The city secretary shall provide a certified copy of such filing as certified for circulation to the person presenting same and file a copy of such certified documents and petition in the archives of the city.

(c)

The circulated petition must be returned and refiled with the city secretary within ninety (90) days after the date the petition is certified for circulation. Signatures obtained prior to the date of such certification shall be invalid and a petition returned after the expiration of ninety (90) days shall not be considered.