Water Referendum Petition
November 28, 2008 - Thumbs Up! As seen in the Norwich Evening Sun.
New York Judge rules in favor of the petition to hold a vote on the multi-million dollar water project and against all complaints by the village. Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved These words continue to echo: "The people have spoken loudly," and it couldn't be much louder than coming from the Supreme Court. The mayor and board members, who were elected on promises that they would take any water project to the people, were challenged and lost after breaking their promises. Being held accountable for their promises (some would call them political lies), New York Supreme Court, Madison County, ruled in favor of the petition by looking at Village Law and Election Law. The petition submitted by the 3 witnesses and defendants had 134 signatures. The Village of Earlville clerk, Christian Vischi, testified under questioning from the Village attorney, Willam Getman, about the list of registered voters from both Madison and Chenango Earlville residents. He verified that a minimum number of 106 signatures was required.
These are the objections and the judge's decision: A summary: The judge found the petition, though found with "technical defficiencies," was in substantial conformity with Village Law section 9. Based on that finding, the court is denying request for relief, except for striking the 6 names. The final argument brought by the Village attorney regarding difficulty of submitting to voters due to scheduling of funding and loan rates: Had the petition been promptly acted upon, then some of the arguments presented may not have been reached. The court directed the Village officials to proceed with the referendum vote.
During the court hearing, the Village attorney mentioned a letter from the health department regarding the water. This was the first time the letter was mentioned in public forum and was previously unknown by the general public. |