Dear Editor:

I am writing about a Referendum that will be on our ballot on November 8th. City government wants to change the law that requires them to publish a legal notice when they pass a law.  They don’t want to have to put all the wording of the ordinance in the newspaper, as is now required by our Home Rule Charter.  This is really a trust issue between us, the citizens, and City Council.  Let’s look at some of the history of City Council actions since Home Rule became effective in 1978.

1)  Term Limits –  The Home Rule Charter reduced the number of city council members and they all  had to run at the same time for 4-year terms. This was intended to provide voters with a form of term limits by a “clean sweep” election if we were not satisfied with council’s actions.

The City tried to change this “clean sweep” provision twice.  They failed in 1981

but not before they appealed to Commonwealth Court to try to get around  the Home Rule Charter law . So  2011 was not the first time Council charged ahead, brushing aside the law and carrying their case to Commonwealth Court. (This time it was an attempt to keep the West Side Alliance Ballot Question off the ballot.)  They were successful in 1987 by telling the voters that “this will save you money”. Kind of like what they are saying now. The way to enforce term limits was gone. No more “clean sweep” is possible.

2)  Money  –  City government is now expressing a  profound desire to save the taxpayers money.  Last year, we the taxpayers finally finished paying off a $500,000 judgment against the City, the amount awarded to a local manufacturer in their suit against the City.  Just in time to start paying another $500,000 of our money to the State for the missing Gro-Warren grant monies. We are paying more than $3000 a month for 20 years to pay back the State grant agency.

The current referendums are presented to you by a City Council of whom half of its membership brought you two expensive court cases in 2011 and the 20-year payments. I’m not even going into the parking meter shakedown and the profit-making sewer billing company.  If city government has earned your trust after these actions, then vote the way they want you to.  If however you believe that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, vote NO on the referendum to not have to publish a legal notice when passing a law. It’s really just a matter of trust.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Lucia.

Warren