Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Elections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident criticizes judge's ruling on charter revision referendum and urges accounting of legal costs
Summary
During public comment, resident Ray Paul criticized a court decision that changed how council seats were filled after a charter revision referendum, said explanatory materials sent to voters omitted the effective date, and urged the council to seek an accounting of taxpayer money spent on related legal challenges.
Resident Ray Paul used the public-comment period to challenge a judicial ruling connected to a recent charter revision referendum and urged the council to seek an accounting of legal costs.
"I'm disappointed in Judge Schuman's decision," Paul said, criticizing how the judge interpreted the charter changes and noting that explanatory materials mailed to voters did not describe the effective date of the proposal. Paul said the decision affected whether five or six council candidates took office immediately after the referendum.
Paul urged the council to demand accountability for taxpayer dollars used in legal fights over the charter and suggested removing the former town attorney from the town's bidders list. He also warned that a poorly written charter invites further litigation and costs.
The mayor thanked the speaker and reaffirmed that public input would be taken under the meeting's public comment rules. No council action was taken in response during the meeting; the speaker asked for a public accounting of taxpayer dollars expended on the litigation and said he was still waiting for that accounting.
The council's legal office and clerk were not recorded as giving an immediate response on the record during public comment.
