CLAREMONT — A proposed amendment to the city charter that would allow for voter referendums to be placed on the ballot by petition has been submitted to the city clerk’s office.
Resident Sam Killay said 30 signatures were obtained for the petition, and once they are verified, the petition will be submitted to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General for review.
Killay said under RSA 49B:5, once the text is approved, the petitioners must obtain signatures of 15% of the number of voters in the last election for the question to be placed on the ballot on the next municipal election. Killay was not sure if that could happen at the annual school meeting March or if they have to wait until next November when City Council elections are held.
If the amendment passes, residents could place a referendum question on the ballot by petition with signatures of 10% of the voters in the most recent election, Killay said.
Killay said the recent debate over whether to privatize the city transfer station is one example of an issue that would be decided by referendum as there were number of residents who attended council meetings and spoke in opposition to privatization. The city received one bid from DeCamp Waste Services of Claremont, and city officials have said negotiations are continuing.
At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, resident Mike Tetu, a staunch opponent of privatization who has presented his own plan to maintain city control of the facility, mentioned the referendum petition and asked the council to delay any decision until the potential change in the charter to allow voter referendums.
Nearly 10 years ago, when the council was debating a bond to construct the new community center, opponents called for the council to put the question to a vote, even if it were advisory only.
Killay said there are some issues, decided by court rulings, where the council will retain exclusive powers and cannot be put to referendum, though he was not certain what those are.
Killay said the goal is to give voters a voice on issues where they have strong opinions.
“They don’t always make people happy,” he said of the council’s decisions. “I see this as being similar to check and balances and we are hoping to give more power to citizens and make the council more accountable.”
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@ gmail.com.
