Section 5.03. Determination of Sufficiency. The committee shall file the completed petition in the office of the Clerk-Administrator. The required number of signers shall be at least fifteen percent for initiative and referendum, and for recall, at least twenty-five percent of the total number of electors who cast their votes for president at the last presidential election. Immediately upon receipt of the petition, the Clerk-Administrator shall examine the petition as to its sufficiency and report to the Council within ten days. Upon receiving the report, the Council shall determine by resolution the sufficiency of the petition.

Section 5.04. Disposition of Insufficient or Irregular Petition. If the Council determines that the petition is insufficient or irregular, the Clerk-Administrator shall deliver a copy of the petition, together with a written statement of its defects, to the sponsoring committee. The committee shall have thirty days in which to file additional signature papers and/or to correct the petition in all other particulars, except that, in the case of a petition for recall, the committee may not change the statement of the grounds on which the recall is sought. Within five days of receipt of the corrected petition, the Clerk-Administrator shall again report to the Council. If the Council finds that the petition is still insufficient or irregular, the Clerk-Administrator shall file the petition and notify the sponsoring committee. The final finding that the petition is insufficient or irregular shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose, nor shall it prevent the Council from referring the subject matter of the petition to the voters at the next regular or special election.