August 21, 2008
by Margaret McHugh
A group of residents suing Sparta and its clerk for rejecting a petition for a referendum on a salary ordinance and another that seeks to let residents opt out of curbside garbage collection will be going to trial on Oct. 17.
Superior Court Judge Theodore Bozonelis set the trial date during a hearing in Morristown on Thursday.
Residents Jesse Wolosky, Philip Lid, Aileen Shane, Anne Simkatis and Myron Leski argued in court that township clerk Miriam Tower wrongly determined in May that the 638 signatures they collected for a referendum to repeal a salary ordinance weren't enough.
They collected another 30 signatures, but Tower wouldn't let them supplement the petition.
"All we are seeking is a say in how they are spending our money," Leski said.
At the October trial, Bozonelis also will decide whether Tower wrongly rejected a petition to let residents opt out of curbside garbage collection. The residents are going to trial without an attorney representing them.
