State Closes Loophole - Referendum Certain!

Buried in a routine cleanup bill at the end of the legislative session was corrective wording closing the loophole in Senate Bill 3050; this allowed a simple majority to approve going over the "Tax Cap". The loophole required a 4/5ths majority to approve going over the cap in the first year, but not in subsequent years (this is over simpliefied). Well, we now need 6 of 7 Councilors to vote to exceed, so the Provisional Budget is meaningless - not that we thought it would stand as is. What this means is the Town Council has to go back to the $1.2 million cut (or pretty close to that) to keep it under the cap. We will not know the Councils final vote until July 26th, when they vote their final budget.

So, we can not wait and we can not stand silent. We have begun planning for the referendum, we will have 14 days beginning July 27th to get close to 1,500 signatures - NO EASY TASK. We have developed a visibility campaign that will be ready for the 14th. What we need now is EVERYONE at the Town Council public meeting on the 14th. We need to show our support. Second, if you would agree to collect signatures or stand at a collection point (drive and sign @ High School), please email me at david@sosportsmouth.com. We can only succeed with many hands.

Stay tuned for more...