May 22, 2009
By BRUCE A. SCRUTON
HOPATCONG -- A notice of intention to begin a petition drive to recall Mayor Sylvia Petillo was certified Thursday, starting a process that could see a special election sometime in September.
The letter submitted by the "Committee to Recall Sylvia Petillo from the Office of Mayor" starts a 160-day legal timetable that is shortened by other restraints, such as no special election within 28 days of the general election, an election must occur on a Tuesday and the time limits on advertising the election.
Some residents are upset about Petillo casting the deciding vote last month to privatize the borough's trash collection, leading to the layoff of a dozen Department of Public Works employees.
The municipality is deeply mired in a fiscal quagmire that will have officials going to Trenton in June or July asking for a state waiver on its 2009-10 budget.
According to a preliminary budget presented Wednesday, the proposed budget carries a 10.9 percent property tax increase, far greater than the 4 percent limit imposed by state regulations. If the borough does not get the waiver from the state, it will be forced to make another $600,000 in cuts, which probably will affect other services.
In addition to the controversy over trash collection, the borough also decided to eliminate its local health department and join the Sussex County program. That decision, however, met with public approval and resulted in one person retiring with the others in the department either taking jobs with the county or transferring to other municipal positions.
"I'm sorry it's come to this," Petillo said. In Hopatcong's form of government, the mayor only votes if the council vote is tied.
"We are facing fiscal hardships and we made the best decision we could under the circumstances," she said. "I'm afraid this (recall) effort will divide the town even more."
The people who signed as members of the committee were Antoinette Haines, Tara Marie Suplicki and Anne Marie Strangeway. None could be reached Thursday afternoon for comment and the letter did not give a reason for the recall attempt.
Haines, who appears before the council at most of its meetings, is the mother of a DPW employee, although he is not among those losing their jobs. She was a vocal critic of the privatization plan and said those employees do much more than collect garbage and the borough will be losing a valuable service.
The next step will be for the recall committee to present the actual petition language to the municipal clerk to be certified before names can be collected.
State law requires the committee to collect at least 25 percent of the 9,571 voters registered for the 2008 election, or 2,393 names, to schedule the election. Any voter registered in Hopatcong is eligible to sign the petition.
If the petition language contains reasons for the recall attempt, the law gives Petillo an opportunity to have rebuttal language included on the petition.
Marge McCabe, administrator for the county Board of Elections, said once the petitions are turned in, the municipal clerk has 10 days to review the list to be sure there are enough eligible names. If there are, the election will be scheduled for not less than 60 days, nor more than 90 days later and must fall before the 160-day limit.
