May 11, 2008
By SETH AUGENSTEIN
SPARTA — Another petition — and another rejection.
A group of residents led by Jesse Wolosky submitted a petition on Wednesday challenging the latest salary ordinance passed by the Township Council in April, and Township Clerk Miriam Tower rejected the petition on Friday, saying that there weren't enough signatures to certify it.
Tower said that state statute requires 650 names on the petition to challenge the salary ordinance, which establishes a range for more than 50 non-union employees of the town such as the township manager, clerk and the office staff.
Wolosky said after submitting the petition that he and supporter Philip Lid had collected a total of 638 signatures in roughly a day of canvassing the downtown area around the post office and surrounding stores. Wolosky said they had wanted to "send a message" about relatively high salaries in the township.
"These are crazy numbers," Wolosky said, referring to the salaries of the township employees. Six of the non-union employees would be paid a six-figure maximum under the ordinance.
Tower had rejected another petition several weeks ago which was aimed at adding an "opt-out" clause to the controversial garbage ordinance establishing a waste removal utility. Wolosky and supporters have filed a lawsuit challenging her decision.
Township Manager Henry Underhill and the council have defended the salary ordinance as a simple guide establishing a range of salaries for the non-union employees of the township. Underhill said that the ordinance had not been updated since 2001, and several employees already make more than the maximum established in the old ordinance. The salary ordinance would not impact, or result in, increases to non-union workers' salaries.
Mayor Michael Spekhardt said it was "the latest windmill" Wolosky and his supporters had found to fight. He said that it costs roughly $20,000 to hold a townwide vote, such as the March 11 referendum on the garbage ordinance.
"It's a shame that Mr. Wolosky is spending so much time affecting how government is run," he said. "It could have been much cheaper if he had just voted in the first place.
"He's welcome to exercise his rights, but is it good for the town?" the mayor added.
Spekhardt is one of three councilmen who are subject to recall petitions by Wolosky and his group.
