April 30, 2008
By TOM HOWELL JR.
NEWTON — Four Sparta residents have sued their township, claiming a petition for a second referendum on municipal garbage collection was rejected through an arbitrary reading of the law, court papers released Tuesday said.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Superior Court by Jesse Wolosky, also lists Philip Lid, Aileen Shane and Anne Simkatis as plaintiffs.
They argue the township and Municipal Clerk Miriam Tower infringed on their democratic rights by rejecting the petition with more than 600 signatures because it did not contain the full text of the proposed ordinance, the suit said. The new petition, seeking a second referendum, would allow residents to opt out of mandated garbage collection.
The issue has divided the town since late November, when several hours-long hearings brought out opponents of an ordinance to establish the mandatory collection. A group of residents used the meetings to form a petition movement that resulted in the March 11 referendum.
The referendum was defeated by more than 400 votes, but the suit says since about 46 percent of voters said "no" at the polls to creating a solid waste utility and collection fees, the township should provide an opt-out clause.
The residents filed the 69-page petition on March 18; it was rejected due to a "hyper-technical" reading of the law, the suit says.
Township attorney Tom Ryan said he has not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it, but noted that the petition was rejected for a "fundamental reason."
Ryan said, "Even people who signed the petition need to know exactly what the ordinance is that they want the council and voters to consider."
Plaintiffs argue the petition is easy to understand and clearly states their opt-out proposal.
They want the court to reverse the decision and compel the township to review the "genuineness" and number of signatures on their petition.
Herald Staff Writer Seth Augenstein contributed to this story.
