UPDATE: Petition Calling For Budget Revisions To Be Filed Monday

By Monday, petitioners say, they will have more than the requisite 474 signatures that will force the Montville Town Council to act on revising the 2012-2013 budget resolution, hold a town meeting to address the budget or perhaps see itself forced into holding a referendum on the controversial $56 million town spending plan.

According to by Monday at 4:30 p.m., the petition must not only have the minimum number of signatures, but each must be verified – signers must be registered voters, taxpayers or both. Once that’s done, the Town Council has 20 days to set a date for a town meeting.

Currently the budget resolution is suspended; since the council didn’t vote to overturn the mayoral line item veto on the proposed cutting of the assistant planner, the council needs to revisit that line item and make a decision or revision. Presumably, when and if it adjusts the budget to correct that, it could call that action sufficient, the town meeting would be cancelled and the petitioner would have the right to petition again with the same 474 signatures to overrule the resolution amending the budget.  A petition with  200 signatures would only be issued if  the Council were to take no action and send to town meeting and that could mean the issue goes to a referendum.  

But one of the citizens leading the call for the petition, James Andriote Sr., Chairman of Independence for Montville, said he and others “know the game the council will play.”

“Because the council used the Town Attorney to stop us from petitioning the mill rate, we want to ask the people to give us ideas as to what changes they feel should be made in the budget,” Andriote said.

Last week attorney

“We know the game the Council will play when the budget is defeated and sent back for more changes, they'll make a few changes, not enough to mean anything and then approve it and see if we petition it again,” he said. “That's why we want the people's input also. They will be ignoring what the people say and not just a select few.”

This move by residents to seek additional budget cuts was championed, indeed recommended, by Town Councilor Dana McFee who repeatedly urged citizens to draft a petition to force the budget to a town-wide vote.