(a) Upon a petition being filed in the offices of the Judges of Probate of Elmore and Tallapoosa Counties, the judges of probate of both counties, acting jointly, shall order an election to be held in the proposed district on the question, or questions, on which the petition requests an election.

(b) The petition shall be signed by 50 qualified property owners which shall include owners of all parcels of property comprising 25 percent or greater, whether considered as single contiguous parcels or combinations of parcels, owned by a single person, firm, corporation, or other legal entity, of the acreage located within the boundaries of the proposed district.

(c) When filed in the offices of the Judges of Probate of Elmore and Tallapoosa Counties, each petition in each county shall be accompanied by a filing fee in the amount of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) to be applied to defray the costs of compiling a list of qualified voters.

(d) Qualified voters shall be those natural persons who are qualified property owners identified as such in the most recent tax assessment rolls in the proposed area.

(e) The petition shall contain the description of the area proposed to be established as a district, shall state the name of the proposed district, and shall request the Judges of Probate of Elmore and Tallapoosa Counties to call an election on the following question: Shall there be created for the area a district for fire protection and emergency medical services?

(f) The petition for election on the establishment of the district may be accompanied by a petition for a referendum on the question of levying a proposed service charge, in the form of an assessed Family and Home Protection fee to be assessed on the basis and in the manner as provided in the petition, signed by the required number of qualified property owners residing within the proposed district. A petition for an election on the establishment of a district shall be deemed to be accompanied by a petition for an election on the question of levying a proposed service charge, in the form of an assessed Family and Home Protection fee, if the request for the election on the proposed district and the request for an election on the proposed service charge, in the form of a Family and Home Protection fee, are combined in a single petition.